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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 (ΔR 2  = 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., (© 2019 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.)

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]

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]