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Aims Structured clinical interviewing is considered the gold standard in psychiatric diagnosis. The Diagnostic Assessment Research Tool (DART) is a novel modularized, non-copywritten, semi-structured interview; however, no studies have examined the psychometric properties of its alcohol use disorder (AUD) module. The primary aims of this study were to: (i) validate the factor structure of the DART AUD module and (ii) examine measurement invariance across several key demographic and subgroup factors. Methods Participants were community members in Hamilton, Canada and Boston, USA who self-identified as making a significant AUD recovery attempt (N  = 499). Internal reliability was examined via the Kuder–Richardson 20 statistic, and correlations between symptom count and drinking quantity/frequency were examined. Then, symptom-level data were included in a confirmatory factor analysis to examine model fit of a single hypothesized factor structure. Finally, measurement invariance analyses were conducted for sex, age, ethnicity (White vs. racialized), and study site. Results This study found evidence for adequate internal reliability (rKR20  = 0.75), and symptom scores correlated with drinking quantity and frequency (r  = 0.16–0.43). Confirmatory factor analysis results suggested excellent fit for the unidimensional one-factor AUD model (χ 2 = 0.09, confirmatory factor index = 0.99, Tucker Lewis index = 0.99, standardized root mean square residual = 0.06, root mean square error of approximation = 0.02). Measurement invariance analyses revealed that the factor structure was equivalent between sex, age, ethnicity, and study site. Conclusions Findings provide strong evidence for the psychometric validity of the DART AUD module and support its use in research and clinical practice. The DART represents a credible alternative to other diagnostic interviewing tools for AUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims This study uses a high-resolution phenome-wide approach to evaluate the motivational mechanisms of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) that have been robustly associated with coarse alcohol phenotypes in large-scale studies. Methods In a community-based sample of 1534 Europeans, we examined genome-wide PRSs for the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), drinks per week, alcohol use disorder (AUD), problematic alcohol use (PAU), and general addiction, in relation to 42 curated phenotypes. The curated phenotypes were in seven categories: alcohol consumption, alcohol reinforcing value, drinking motives, other addictive behaviors, commonly comorbid psychiatric syndromes, impulsivity, and personality traits. Results The PRS for each alcohol phenotype was validated via its within-sample association with the corresponding phenotype (adjusted R2s = 0.35–1.68%, P s = 0.012–3.6 × 10−7) with the exception of AUD. All PRSs were positively associated with alcohol reinforcing value and drinking motives, with the strongest effects from AUDIT-consumption (adjusted R2s = 0.45–1.33%, P s = 0.006–3.6 × 10−5) and drinks per week PRSs (adjusted R2s = 0.52–2.28%, P s = 0.004–6.6 × 10−9). Furthermore, the PAU and drinks per week PRSs were positively associated with adverse childhood experiences (adjusted R2s = 0.6–0.7%, P s = 0.0001–4.8 × 10−4). Conclusions These results implicate alcohol reinforcing value and drinking motives as genetically-influenced mechanisms using PRSs for the first time. The findings also highlight the value of dissecting genetic influence on alcohol involvement through diverse phenotypic risk pathways but also the need for future studies with both phenotypic richness and larger samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delay discounting—the extent to which individuals show a preference for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards—has been proposed as a transdiagnostic neurocognitive process across mental health conditions, but its examination in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comparatively recent. To assess the aggregated evidence for elevated delay discounting in relation to posttraumatic stress, we conducted a meta-analysis on existing empirical literature. Bibliographic searches identified 209 candidate articles, of which 13 articles with 14 independent effect sizes were eligible for meta-analysis, reflecting a combined sample size of N = 6897. Individual study designs included case-control (e.g. examination of differences in delay discounting between individuals with and without PTSD) and continuous association studies (e.g. relationship between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and delay discounting). In a combined analysis of all studies, the overall relationship was a small but statistically significant positive association between posttraumatic stress and delay discounting (r =.135, p <.0001). The same relationship was statistically significant for continuous association studies (r =.092, p =.027) and case-control designs (r =.179, p <.001). Evidence of publication bias was minimal. The included studies were limited in that many did not concurrently incorporate other psychiatric conditions in the analyses, leaving the specificity of the relationship to posttraumatic stress less clear. Nonetheless, these findings are broadly consistent with previous meta-analyses of delayed reward discounting in relation to other mental health conditions and provide further evidence for the transdiagnostic utility of this construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brief interventions for alcohol use disorder (AUD) are generally efficacious, albeit with variability in response. Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) may characterize neurobiological indicators that predict the response to brief interventions and is the focus of the current investigation. Materials and Methods: Forty‐six individuals with AUD (65.2% female) completed a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan immediately followed by a brief intervention aimed at reducing alcohol consumption. Positive clinical response was defined as a reduction in alcohol consumption by at least one World Health Organization (WHO) risk drinking level at 3‐month follow‐up. rsFC was analyzed using seed‐to‐voxel analysis with seed regions from four networks: salience network, reward network, frontoparietal network, and default mode network. Results: At baseline, responders had greater rsFC between the following seed regions in relation to voxel‐based clusters than non‐responders: (i) anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in relation to left postcentral gyrus and right supramarginal gyrus (salience network); (ii) right posterior parietal cortex in relation to right ventral ACC (salience network); (iii) right interior frontal gyrus (IFG) pars opercularis in relation to right cerebellum and right occipital fusiform gyrus (frontoparietal); and (iv) right primary motor cortex in relation to left thalamus (default mode). Lower rsFC in responders vs. nonresponders was seen between the (i) right rostral prefrontal cortex in relation to left IFG pars triangularis (frontoparietal); (ii) right IFG pars triangularis in relation to right cerebellum (frontoparietal); (iii) right IFG pars triangularis in relation to right frontal eye fields and right angular gyrus (frontoparietal); and (iv) right nucleus accumbens in relation to right orbital frontal cortex and right insula (reward). Conclusions: Resting state functional connectivity in the frontoparietal, salience, and reward networks predicts the response to a brief intervention in individuals with AUD and could reflect greater receptivity or motivation for behavior change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impulsivity refers to a number of conceptually related phenotypes reflecting self‐regulatory capacity that are considered promising endophenotypes for mental and physical health. Measures of impulsivity can be broadly grouped into three domains, namely, impulsive choice, impulsive action, and impulsive personality traits. In a community‐based sample of ancestral Europeans (n = 1534), we conducted genome‐wide association studies (GWASs) of impulsive choice (delay discounting), impulsive action (behavioral inhibition), and impulsive personality traits (UPPS‐P), and evaluated 11 polygenic risk scores (PRSs) of phenotypes previously linked to self‐regulation. Although there were no individual genome‐wide significant hits, the neuroticism PRS was positively associated with negative urgency (adjusted R2 = 1.61%, p = 3.6 × 10−7) and the educational attainment PRS was inversely associated with delay discounting (adjusted R2 = 1.68%, p = 2.2 × 10−7). There was also evidence implicating PRSs of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder, externalizing, risk‐taking, smoking cessation, smoking initiation, and body mass index with one or more impulsivity phenotypes (adjusted R2s: 0.35%–1.07%; FDR adjusted ps = 0.05–0.0006). These significant associations between PRSs and impulsivity phenotypes are consistent with established genetic correlations. The combined PRS explained 0.91%–2.46% of the phenotypic variance for individual impulsivity measures, corresponding to 8.7%–32.5% of their reported single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)‐based heritability, suggesting a non‐negligible portion of the SNP‐based heritability can be recovered by PRSs. These results support the predictive validity and utility of PRSs, even derived from related phenotypes, to inform the genetics of impulsivity phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with major psychosocial disruptions and there is particular concern for individuals with substance use disorders. Objectives: This study characterized the psychosocial and experiential impacts of the pandemic on individuals seeking alcohol use disorder (AUD) recovery, including pandemic impacts on self-reported drinking, heavy drinking, tobacco, cannabis, and stimulant use. Methods: Participants were 125 AUD+ individuals (% males: 57.60; Mage = 49.11, SD = 12.13) reporting on substance use from January 1st–24th March, 2020 (pre-pandemic) and since the stay-at-home orders commenced, 24th March–June 28th 2020 (intra-pandemic). Within-subjects changes were examined and a latent profile analysis was performed to identify subgroups differentially impacted by the pandemic. Results: Large proportions reported psychosocial impacts of COVID-19, but drinking and other substance use did not reveal significant changes. Latent profile analyses revealed two subgroups: Profile 1 (n = 41/125), "Moderately Impacted") and Profile 2 (n = 84/125), "Severely Impacted"). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the group that was moderately impacted by the pandemic exhibited significantly fewer heavy drinking days (p =.02) during the intra-pandemic period, but no other substance use changes. The group showing severe pandemic impacts did not exhibit changes in alcohol or other drug use but evidenced more severe anxiety and depression (ps <.001). Conclusions: We found heterogeneous subtypes of pandemic-related impacts in AUD recovery patients. There is need to provide psychosocial support to this particular population and further monitoring substance use and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals' social networks exert a strong influence on alcohol use, but valid assessment of network drinking behavior is typically lengthy and high in participant burden. The aim of this study was to validate the Brief Alcohol Social Density Assessment (BASDA), an efficient measure of perceived alcohol use within a person's social network, in a sample of adult drinkers from the general community. Specifically, the convergent, criterion‐related, incremental validity and internal validity were investigated by examining the BASDA in relation to other established measures of drinking motives, weekly drinking level, and severity of involvement. Methods: Participants were 903 (56% female) adults who reported drinking in the last year and who completed the BASDA, the Drinking Motives Questionnaire, the Daily Drinking Questionnaire, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Results: Significant positive correlations were found between the BASDA and drinking motives, drinking quantity, and the AUDIT (rs = 0.21 to 0.51, ps < 0.001), providing support for convergent validity. There was a significantly higher BASDA score for those scoring at or above an AUDIT cutoff for hazardous drinking (p < 0.001), providing support for criterion‐related validity. Finally, beyond motives and covariates, the BASDA was significantly associated with total AUDIT score (ΔR2 = 0.09, p < 0.001), indicating its additive contribution and providing support for incremental validity. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed excellent fit, and all items significantly loaded onto a single factor (p < 0.0001), providing evidence of internal validity. The resulting alcohol social density latent variable was significantly and robustly associated with drinks per week and AUDIT total score. Conclusions: These findings provide further support for the BASDA as a valid and efficient measure of social network alcohol density for understanding social influences on alcohol misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]