High Risk For Alcohol-related Problems Research Articles

Generational conflict, alcohol use and brotherhood: an exploratory survey of a rural career fire department in the Midwest

PurposeThe purpose of this article was to identify factors impacting burnout, resilience and quality of life in rural career firefighters. In addition, sources of stress and the impact of generational differences were explored.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory cross-sectional survey was conducted at a rural career fire department.FindingsThe findings of the project indicate that the firefighters had high levels of compassion satisfaction (CS) and relatively low levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout; displayed moderate to high psychological resilience and the majority felt moderate to high organizational support, but there was a noticeable minority who did not feel supported by the department. Findings indicate that organizational support is significantly related to both burnout and resilience. The majority of the men (88.3%) reported moderate to high risk for alcohol-related problems and over three-quarters (78.6%) reported binge drinking behavior in the past year. Qualitative findings highlight generational differences and chain of command challenges as primary stressors.Originality/valueThis is a unique study in that it focuses on a rural career department. What was found were issues similar to those facing urban career fire departments.

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Uterine Fibroids.

Lifestyle factors, such as alcohol intake, have placed a substantial burden on public health. Alcohol consumption is increasing globally due to several factors including easy accessibility of this addictive substance besides its legal status and social acceptability. In the US, alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death (after tobacco, poor diet and physical inactivity) with an estimated 88,000 people dying from alcohol-related causes annually, representing 1 in 10 deaths among working adults. Furthermore, the economic burden of excess drinking costs the US around $249 billion ($191.1 billion related to binge drinking). Although men likely drink more than women do, women are at much higher risk for alcohol-related problems. Alcohol use is also considered to be one of the most common non-communicable diseases, which affects reproductive health. This review article summarizes the current knowledge about alcohol-related pathogenesis of uterine fibroids (UFs) and highlights the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of UFs in response to alcohol consumption. Additionally, the effect of alcohol on the levels of various factors that are involved in UFs pathogenesis, such as steroid hormones, growth factors and cytokines, are summarized in this review. Animal studies of deleterious alcohol effect and future directions are discussed as well.

Drinking Problems and Social Anxiety among Young Adults: The Roles of Drinking to Manage Negative and Positive Affect in Social Situations

Background: Socially anxious individuals seem to be at a high risk for alcohol-related problems because they drink to cope. Yet social anxiety is unique among the anxiety conditions in that it is characterized by lower positive affect (PA). It is unclear whether drinking to cope is related to drinking to decrease negative affect (NA) or increase PA. Objectives: We tested whether social anxiety was related to more drinking problems via the sequential relations between affect (NA or PA), drinking to change affect (decrease NA or increase PA), and drinking quantity. We also tested whether the indirect effect of drinking to increase PA was significantly less than that of drinking to decrease NA. Methods: Past-month drinkers with clinically elevated social anxiety (n = 174) and those with more normative or lower social anxiety (n = 362) completed an online survey. Results: Social anxiety was indirectly related to drinking problems via the sequential effect of NA, drinking to decrease NA, and drinking quantity. Social anxiety was indirectly related to drinking problems via the sequential relations of PA and drinking quantity and of drinking to increase PA and drinking quantity. The indirect effect of drinking to increase PA did not significantly differ from drinking to decrease NA. Conclusions/Importance: Socially anxious drinkers may drink not only to decrease NA but also to increase PA in social situations. Both of these drinking motives appear to play important roles in socially anxious drinkers’ experience of drinking-related problems.

HIV-related thought avoidance, sexual risk, and alcohol use among men who have sex with men

ABSTRACTHIV-related “cognitive escape” refers to a tendency to avoid thoughts associated with HIV, which may be particularly common among men who have sex with men (MSM) who are often inundated with HIV information, potentially to the point of fatigue. HIV-related cognitive escape is associated with increased sexual risk behaviors, such as condomless sex, and heavier alcohol use patterns. Other studies show that some MSM may use alcohol specifically to facilitate sex. These sexual motives for drinking (SMDs) could be one mechanism whereby cognitive escape leads to health risk behaviors. In this study, we tested models exploring whether cognitive escape was associated with markers of sex risk (condom use, number of sex partners) and alcohol use/problems, and examined whether SMDs mediated these associations. Heavy drinking, HIV-negative men (N = 196) aged ≥ 21 years who self-reported past year condomless anal sex with men completed assessments as part of a larger study. Results suggest that cognitive escape was associated with higher number of anal sex partners (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.50, SE = 0.04, p < .001), decreased condom use (B = −0.30, SE = 0.14, p = .028), and increased alcohol-related problems (IRR = 1.28, SE = 0.07, p = .001) but not with drinking quantity. Sexual motives for drinking appeared to partially mediate the observed relationship between cognitive escape and alcohol-related problems, but other relationships did not show evidence of mediation. Findings suggest that those who tend to avoid HIV-related thoughts may be at increased risk for HIV and alcohol-related problems. Drinking to facilitate sex may partially account for the higher risk for alcohol-related problems conferred by cognitive escape. Alcohol interventions for MSM may be more effective if they address alcohol’s role in coping with HIV threat and in facilitating sex under these circumstances.

Recent Trends in Alcohol Outlet Density, Distances from Educational Institutions and Sales Campaigns in Chiang Mai Municipality (Metropolitan), Thailand: Should We Be Worried for Our Youths?

Since 2008, alcohol control policies in Thailand have been considered quite comprehensive. The study aimed to investigate the subsequent changes in alcohol outlet density and patterns of sales promotion, which may be useful for monitoring the effectiveness of policies and helpful for planning prevention strategies to reduce alcohol-related harms. All accessible routes in the Chiang Mai Municipality (Metropolitan: CMM) were surveyed in 2009, 2011 and 2014. During each round of survey, the geographical coordinates of alcohol outlets and educational institutions in the CMM were recorded using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). In addition, alcohol sales campaigns were documented. Three main trends emerged by 2014. The first was that alcohol outlet density had increased. Second, the average distances between alcohol outlets and educational institutions decreased with evidence of clustering near educational institutions. Lastly, increased advertising of alcohol promotions and new sales campaigns not previously seen in 2009 and 2011 promoted high volume drinking in Chiang Mai Municipality (CMM). Our study reflects the potential gaps between some of the intended consequences of alcohol control policies and the actural trends emerging in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Young people in CMM may be at a particularly high risk for alcohol-related problems due to high exposure to alcohol outlets and sales campaigns near their educational institution.

Direct and indirect effects of alcohol expectancies on alcohol-related problems.

This study investigates pathways from alcohol outcome expectancies to alcohol-related problems (ARPs), considering alcohol volume and episodic heavy drinking (EHD) as potential mediators. It is further examined whether these pathways vary by age. The population-based sample comprised 6,823 individuals aged 18 to 64 years reporting alcohol use in the past year. Direct and indirect effects of five alcohol expectancies (social assertiveness, tension reduction, sexual enhancement, cognitive impairment, aggression) and alcohol use (average daily intake, EHD) on a latent measure of ARPs (six items of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) were investigated. A multiple-group structural equation model with three age groups (18 to 24, 25 to 44, 45 to 64 years) was examined. In individuals aged 18 to 24 years, social assertiveness expectancies were positively associated with average intake and EHD, which in turn were associated with more ARPs. In addition, expectancies related to cognitive impairment and aggression were directly linked to more ARPs without mediation in this age group. In individuals aged 25 years and older, tension reduction expectancies were associated with more ARPs through increased average intake. In contrast, high scores on cognitive impairment were associated with lower average intake and in turn with fewer ARPs. Challenging expectancies of sociability in young and expectancies of relaxation in mid adulthood might help decrease high-risk drinking and subsequently ARPs. Considering negative alcohol expectancies may help to identify younger individuals at high risk for ARPs, even if they have not previously exhibited repeated excessive drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Getting “Game”: Pregaming Changes During the First Weeks of College

Objective: Many students pregame (ie, drink before drinking), but there are scant data evaluating changes following college entry. The authors examined pregaming across the fall quarter and identified predictors of change and initiation in college. Participants: Freshmen (N = 708; 53% female, 100% drinkers) were recruited during university orientation (baseline). Methods: Self-report data were collected at baseline and end of fall quarter for 3 cohorts (the 2008–2010 academic years) and included demographics, alcohol use, problems, pregaming, personality, and expectancies. Results: Pregaming increased from 61.7% (baseline) to 79.9% (follow-up), with students pregaming twice as often and attaining higher blood alcohol concentration at follow-up. Many (54%) baseline non-pregamers initiated by follow-up. Initiation was associated with increased overall drinking (including heavy episodic drinking), positive expectancies, and greater behavioral activation sensitivity. Conclusions: Pregaming rapidly escalates upon college entry and students who initiate in college may be at higher risk for alcohol-related problems. Campus prevention and intervention efforts should consider including pregaming in their prevention programming.

Brief Field-Based Intervention to Reduce Alcohol-Related Problems Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

This study evaluated the utility of a brief field-based intervention to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among men who have sex with men. A randomized control trial was designed to test a brief alcohol intervention against an attention-placebo control intervention. Over a 13-week period in fall 2009, a sample (n = 152) of men who have sex with men was recruited at a local gay bar in San Diego, CA, and were randomized to a brief alcohol intervention or an attention-placebo control group. Sober bar patrons were recruited before bar entrance and asked to undergo a brief survey and give a breath alcohol sample at exit from the bar. Breath alcohol concentrations at exit from the bar were not significantly different between those in the experimental alcohol feedback condition and those in the attention-placebo control condition. However, among participants in the experimental condition, those categorized as high risk for alcohol-related problems at entrance drank significantly less than planned as compared with participants categorized as low risk for alcohol-related problems. Brief, venue-based interventions may be appropriate for men who have sex with men who plan to drink at rates that would put them at higher risk of alcohol-related problems. Additional studies exploring the utility of brief intervention in risk settings are warranted.

Alcohol Consumption And Policy Perception Among College Freshman Athletes

College athletes consume more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related consequences than non-athlete populations. Freshman athletes are at an even higher risk for alcohol-related problems as they learn to deal with the demands of college athletics. Researchers have suggested that the development of appropriate alcohol policy may be a useful strategy to reduce alcohol problems among athletes; however, study results are inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of team, athletic department, and university policy on college athletes’ alcohol consumption. A survey of 263 college freshman athletes from two NCAA universities measured alcohol consumption and perception of alcohol policies at the university, athletic department, and team levels. Results indicated that athletes who abstain from alcohol were more likely to believe in strong enforcement and the desire for greater policy restrictions at the university, athletic department, and team levels. Results also revealed differences in alcohol consumption patterns between team vs. individual sports. These findings suggest a need to develop extensive, strictly enforced alcohol policies to influence alcohol behavior of college freshman athletes.

Prevalence and characteristics of employees reporting heavy or problem drinking

Introduction. This study examined the prevalence and demographic characteristics of chronic heavy drinkers, binge drinkers, those who report a problem with alcohol, and those at high risk for alcohol-related problems. Methods. The sample comprised a worksite population of 18,053 employees. The study was based on responses to questions contained in a confidential health profile administered to employees at seven companies by an outside vendor (Johnson & Johnson Health Management, Inc.). Results. Almost 1 in 4 participants (23.0%) was found to be at risk for alcohol-related problems. About 1 in 5 respondents (20.1%) reported binging, 1 in 10 reported chronic heavy drinking (9.8%), and 2.6% reported a drinking problem within the past month. Younger respondents were more likely to report binging but older respondents were more likely to report chronic heavy drinking. Men were more than twice as likely to report binging and almost four times as likely to report chronic heavy drinking, but only one and one-half times as likely to report a drinking problem within the past month. Other differential demographic associations with alternative measures of heavy drinking are described. Conclusion. The results suggest that a health profile administered at the worksite can be an effective screening tool for identifying employees at high risk for alcohol-related problems.

Psychosocial and Cognitive Correlates of Alcohol Use in Younger Adult Immigrant and U.S.-Born Hispanics

Hispanic groups, taken together, constitute nearly 9% of the U.S. population. Research undertaken in the last decade has demonstrated that segments of the Hispanic male population are particularly heavy drinkers and are at high risk for alcohol-related problems. This article reviews several of the most important studies of alcohol use and its consequences among Hispanics, and reports new data from a study of alcohol use and its correlates among 452 young adult men and women in Los Angeles. The findings show important differences between immigrants and U.S.-born Hispanics as well as clear gender differences in terms of alcohol use patterns, expectations about the benefits of alcohol consumption, and depressive symptomatology associated with the use of alcohol. These differences have implications for the design of prevention and treatment services for Hispanics and these are discussed.

Cognitive ability and drinking behavior in a national sample of young adults.

The role of verbal intelligence (VI) as an antecedent and moderator of alcohol-related problems was investigated for a national sample of young adults. A measure of VI was used to predict alcohol related behavior 5 years later. Results indicated that lower VI was associated with lower risk for drinking per se. Lower VI was also associated with higher risk for alcohol-related problems among those who drink. These findings were robust across gender, age, and to a large extent across different areas of alcohol related problems. Cognitive-behavioral functions associated with intelligence, such as social judgement, social inference, and social skills, are proposed as possible moderators of the relationship between intelligence and alcohol-related problems.