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Objective: Substantial research has demonstrated the importance of implicit cognitive processes underlying substance use. However, there is a scarcity of research on implicit processes related to marijuana use. We adapted and tested the predictive validity (concurrent and prospective) of an implicit measure evaluating the strength of associations between marijuana and harm based on research demonstrating less marijuana use among individuals who report stronger explicit attitudes of marijuana's harms.Method: A community sample of 187 U.S. young adults living in a state with legal recreational marijuana use completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) evaluating marijuana-harm associations and measures of marijuana use and risk of cannabis use disorder (CUD) over time.Results: The marijuana-harm IAT had good internal consistency, and scores did not vary as a function of biological sex, legal age status for recreational marijuana use, or college student status. Scores did vary as a function of lifetime and recent use such that lifetime and current abstainers had stronger marijuana-harm associations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models demonstrated that marijuana-harm IAT scores significantly predicted concurrent risk of CUD and use such that stronger marijuana-harm associations were associated with less use and risk of CUD. Results evaluating outcomes longitudinally found limited support for IAT scores predicting increases in use over time and no support for predicting changes in risk of CUD over time.Conclusions: Findings provide preliminary evidence that stronger marijuana-harm associations may act as a protective factor against marijuana use and risk of CUD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine daily-level associations between alcohol-related consequences and next-day expectancies and alcohol use among frequently drinking college students using a measurement-burst daily diary study.Method: College students (N = 327; mean age = 19.7 years, SD = 1.26; 53.4% female) participated in a yearlong study in which they completed computerized interviews daily via mobile phones for 2 weeks in each academic quarter. Multilevel modeling was used to examine whether positive and negative consequences were associated with next-day alcohol expectancies and alcohol consumption.Results: Experiencing positive consequences from drinking was significantly associated with higher positive expectancies and a greater number of drinks consumed on the following day. The within-person association between daily consequences and next-day positive expectancies was stronger for those who were in fraternities/sororities compared with those who were not. Negative consequences were significantly associated with higher negative expectancies the next day but were not associated with number of drinks consumed the next day.Conclusions: Results of this study highlight the role of direct drinking experiences in influencing future expectations and drinking behavior using a method that enables analysis of both between- and within-person associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use is reported to be associated with heavier alcohol and marijuana use and more negative consequences, but less is known about the social, physical, and temporal contexts of SAM use. Method: Young adults (N = 326, 51.2% male, 49.1% White non-Hispanic) who reported pastmonth SAM use completed up to 14 daily surveys across five bursts that assessed SAM use and negative consequences and social, physical, and temporal contexts. We used multilevel models to examine SAM use contexts' associations with alcohol/marijuana quantity and consequences. Results: The social context of alone only (vs. with others only) was associated with consuming fewer drinks. Physical contexts that included using both at home and outside the home (vs. only at home) were associated with greater alcohol and marijuana quantity and negative consequences (but not after controlling for alcohol quantity); use outside the home only (vs. only at home) was associated with more alcohol use, more alcohol consequences (but not after controlling for alcohol quantity), and fewer marijuana consequences (even after controlling for marijuana quantity). The temporal context of first engaging in SAM use before 6 p.m. (vs. after 9 p.m.) was associated with greater alcohol and marijuana quantity and more marijuana consequences (but not after controlling for number of hours high), and first engaging in SAM use between 6 and 9 p.m. was associated with more hours high. Conclusions: SAM use contexts such as using with others, using outside the home, and using earlier in the evening are typically associated with greater alcohol/marijuana quantity and consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite the documented importance of alcohol outcome expectancies in predicting alcohol use and related consequences, little research has explored within-person variability in expectancies. This article details the construction and psychometric analysis of a measure of alcohol expectancies specifically designed for daily assessment. Method: We developed a 15-item instrument to measure the likelihood of experiencing various outcomes from drinking, as well as the subjective evaluation of these outcomes. College students (N= 352; mean age = 19.7 years, SD = 1.26; 53.4% female) participated in a yearlong study wherein they completed three computerized interviews daily via mobile phones for 2 weeks in each academic quarter. Multilevel exploratory factor analysis was used to examine dimensionality at between-person and within-person levels, and generalizability coefficients were calculated to establish reliability. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients were generally between .30 and .40, demonstrating both between-person and within- person variability. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a two-factor solution of positive and negative effects of alcohol, and two items with equivocal loadings were dropped from the final scale. The two subscales showed excellent reliabilities at within- and between- person levels, and the measure demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with a commonly used expectancy measure. Conclusions: Drinkers hold many expectations about the effects of alcohol, and measures are needed that are designed to capture both stable and context-dependent aspects of these beliefs. Results demonstrated significant day-to-day variation in the strength and valuation of alcohol expectancies, and the scale demonstrated good psychometric properties that establish its appropriateness for use in daily process studies of alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Experiencing negative substance use consequences may deter future use, alter patterns of substance use (e.g., substituting one substance for another, combining substances), or point to a sustained pattern of engaging in heavy or frequent use. We used monthly data to examine relationships between negative alcohol and cannabis use consequences experienced in one month and changes in use the following month. Method: Data were from 508 individuals (59% female; ages 18-23 years at enrollment) who were surveyed monthly for 2 years and used both alcohol and cannabis during the study period. Multilevel models assessed within-person associations between monthly fluctuations in substance-related negative consequences and the next month's substance use (i.e., typical drinks per week, cannabis use frequency, and simultaneous alcohol and cannabis/marijuana [SAM] use), controlling for the prior month's substance use. Results: Positive associations were found between alcohol consequences and the following month's alcohol use and between cannabis consequences and subsequent cannabis use, although only the cannabis association was statistically significant. There was little evidence of effects of cannabis consequences on the next month's alcohol use or alcohol consequences on the next month's cannabis use. Cannabis consequences had a positive and statistically significant association with the next month's SAM use. Within-substance positive associations were strongest for physical alcohol consequences and cannabis consequences of low motivation, memory problems, and trouble breathing. Conclusions: Experiencing negative cannabis use consequences predicted more frequent cannabis use and greater chance of SAM use 1 month later. Results point to negative consequences, along with prior use, indicating risk for future use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sexual minority women (SMW; e.g., lesbians, bisexual women) are at increased risk for alcohol use disorders and related problems compared with heterosexual women. However, little is known about the social context in which drinking occurs in this high-risk population. This study used latent class analysis to identify subgroups of SMW based on drinking locations and companions and examined whether class membership was associated with consequences, drinking motives, and LGBTQ-related constructs (e.g., outness, discrimination). Method: A sample of 670 SMW reported on alcohol use, drinking locations and companions, and related measures as part of a larger study on women's health. Results: Based on SMW's patterns of responding to drinking locations and companions, latent class analysis identified five classes: Infrequent Drinking Contexts (10% of sample, reference class), Private/Intimate Drinking (28%), Convivial Drinking (29%), Alone/Convivial Drinking (20%), and Multiple Drinking Contexts (13%). Greater consequences were associated with greater odds of membership in the Convivial, Alone/Convivial, and Multiple Drinking Contexts classes relative to the Infrequent Drinking Contexts Class. Drinking motives were associated with class membership, although significant group comparisons varied by motive. Higher LGBTQ community involvement was associated with greater odds of membership in the Convivial, Alone/Convivial, and Multiple Drinking Contexts classes. Conclusions: Drinking classes paralleled those found in the literature on heterosexual individuals (e.g., public versus private contexts). Women in the Alone/Convivial and Multiple Drinking Contexts classes may be at particular risk. The context within which SMW drink may be a useful way to identify women at highest risk for problematic drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There has been concern regarding increased substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among young adults, but much of this concern stemmed from cross-sectional or short-term data collected early in the pandemic. This study followed a young adult community cohort throughout the first 1.5 years of the pandemic to examine longer-term trends/trajectories in alcohol and cannabis use behaviors. Method: Beginning before the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020), 656 young adults completed up to eight surveys on substance use and other behaviors, which extended through August 2021. Multilevel spline growth models estimated changes in alcohol/cannabis use in three segments: (a) from pre-pandemic to April 2020, (b) from April 2020 to September/October 2020, and (c) from September/October 2020 to July/August 2021. Abstainers were removed from the analyses, yielding subsamples for alcohol models (n = 545; M age = 25.6 years; 59.8% female) and cannabis models (n = 303; M age = 25.6; 61.4% female). Results: Drinking frequency initially increased (3% per month), decreased in the second segment (4% per month), and plateaued in the final segment. Drinking quantity significantly decreased in all three segments: 4% per month in segment one, 3% per month in segment two, and 1% per month in the final segment. Cannabis frequency and quantity showed no significant changes across the first two segments, then significantly decreased in the final segment (3% and 6% per month, respectively). The significant changes for cannabis frequency/quantity were moderated by age, such that older participants had steeper decreases in the final segment. Conclusions: Findings highlight that young adult alcohol and cannabis use generally declined across the first 1.5 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, contrary to widespread concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research on substance use motives typically examines each substance separately. However, simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use-that is, using alcohol and marijuana at the same time so that their effects overlap-is common among young adults. This study examines day-to-day fluctuations in motives for using alcohol and/ or marijuana among young adult substance users as predictors of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use across days.Method: Data were from a community sample of young adults who reported SAM use in the past month (analytic sample: N = 399, mean [SD] age = 21.63 [2.17]; 50.9% women). Participants reported alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use, and also motives "for alcohol and/or marijuana use" for 14 consecutive days.Results: Multilevel models showed that elevated enhancement motives were associated with heavy episodic drinking, drinking more, and more hours high from marijuana. Elevated social motives were associated with heavy episodic drinking and drinking more, and also with fewer hours high. Elevated conformity motives were associated with drinking more. SAM use was more likely: on alcohol days and on marijuana days with elevated enhancement and conformity motives, on alcohol days with elevated coping motives, and on marijuana days with elevated social motives.Conclusions: SAM use on a given day was primarily associated with enhancement and conformity motives. Social motives were more strongly linked to alcohol use, and to some extent coping motives were linked to marijuana use in this young adult sample. Further examination of situation-specific motives and contexts of use is needed to inform development of real-time interventions for SAM use and consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Underestimating how much one will drink has been associated with greater alcohol-related consequences. Elevated mood or drinking context may relate to drinking more than planned (or intended) among college students. The aims of the current study were to test (a) whether positive and negative mood and contextual factors on a given day were associated with the likelihood of unplanned heavy drinking (defined as unplanned heavy episodic or high-intensity drinking), and (b) whether days with unplanned heavy drinking were associated with more negative consequences.Method: The analytic sample included 352 college students (53.4% female; 71.3% non-Hispanic White) who completed daily assessments via automated telephone interviews. Multilevel models were used to test predictors of unplanned heavy drinking (Aim 1) and predictors of consequences (Aim 2).Results: Almost a third (29.60%) of drinking days were unplanned heavy drinking days. Individuals with higher average positive mood across the sampled days had lower odds of unplanned heavy drinking. No significant associations were observed between negative mood and unplanned heavy drinking. Weekend days and days with special occasions were associated with lower odds of unplanned heavy drinking. Unplanned heavy drinking was associated with more negative consequences on that day.Conclusions: Students were frequently not able to accurately predict the amount of alcohol they would consume on that day, which conferred an increased risk of negative consequences. Interventions could incorporate strategies that help students anticipate their alcohol consumption in order to employ protective behavioral strategies in high-risk contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although the concepts of harmonious and obsessive passion have been productive in explaining why people eagerly engage in such activities as sports, Internet use, and gambling, previous research has not yet extended these models to explain alcohol and marijuana use among college students. The current research was conducted to clarify the relationships among harmonious and obsessive passion, alcohol and marijuana use, and negative consequences.Method: Two studies were conducted using online assessments. In Study 1, 748 heavy drinking college students (58% female) were recruited and completed measures of passion for drinking alcohol, alcohol use, and alcohol-related negative consequences. In Study 2, 352 regular marijuana-using students (54% female) were recruited and completed assessments of marijuana passion, marijuana use, and marijuana-related consequences.Results: Study 1 found that among heavy drinking college students, harmonious passion was a stronger predictor of increased consumption than was obsessive passion, whereas obsessive passion was a stronger predictor of alcohol-related problems than was harmonious passion. Study 2 revealed similar findings with regard to harmonious passion predicting marijuana consumption; however, unlike Study 1, no significant difference between the passions was found in predicting marijuana-related problems.Conclusions: This research provides a novel perspective on motivation for alcohol and marijuana use. Findings suggest that understanding the locus of young adults' passion for substance use may be helpful in identifying those who are likely to develop a substance use disorder and therefore may be the most in need of assistance and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Alcohol expectancies (AEs) are positively associated with drinking behaviors, whereas the use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) is negatively related to alcohol outcomes among young adults. PBS have been shown to weaken relationships between some alcohol risk factors and alcohol outcomes. This study aimed to examine longitudinally the moderating effect of PBS on the relationships between AEs and alcohol outcomes among young adults. Method: Participants (N= 188; 61.7% female) were U.S. young adults participating in a larger longitudinal study. Measures of PBS, AEs, alcohol use, and related consequences were used from the baseline and 12-month follow- up assessments. Results: Negative binomial hurdle models found that PBS (total score) significantly moderated the relationship between positive AEs and consequences, such that among high school seniors endorsing higher positive AEs, those using more PBS in high school reported fewer negative consequences 1 year later. PBS (Manner of Drinking) also moderated the relationship between negative AEs and alcohol use, revealing the use of PBS in high school as having a protective function against later drinking among participants with high positive AEs. Last, PBS (Serious Harm Reduction) significantly moderated the associations between positive AEs and alcohol use and between negative AEs and consequences, such that participants with higher AEs and higher PBS use in high school were at greatest risk for drinking and experiencing negative consequences later. Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest that PBS use may be protective by weakening relationships between positive AEs and alcohol outcomes. Limitations and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]