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Purpose: Evidence suggests that people drink more alcohol and experience more adverse alcohol-related consequences (ARCs) on occasions when they also consume caffeine. The current study examined whether this increase in risk is a result of caffeine attenuating the subjective effects of alcohol intoxication (i.e., the masking hypothesis)., Methods: Undergraduate students (n = 148) reported their drinking patterns using a modified Timeline Followback approach. For each recalled drinking occasion, alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, perceived blood alcohol concentration, and ARCs were assessed. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the influence that alcohol and caffeine consumption had on perceived intoxication and the experience of ARCs., Results: At the occasion level, greater caffeine consumption was associated with increased consumption of alcohol and increased ARCs. There was also a significant curvilinear relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and perceived intoxication, such that the more alcohol was consumed on each occasion the less each additional drink increased perceived intoxication. Increased caffeine consumption weakened the association between alcohol consumption and perceived intoxication and it also weakened the association between alcohol consumption and ARCs. Specifically, the weakest relationship between ARCs and alcohol consumption existed at the highest level of caffeine consumption (240+ mg). Caffeine increased subjective intoxication., Conclusions: These findings do not support the masking hypothesis. Caffeine was strongly associated with ARCs when consumed at high doses and this effect does not appear to be the result of drinking more alcohol or underestimating one's blood alcohol content. Efforts to reduce caffeinated alcohol beverage use are greatly needed., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Young people are increasingly consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmEDs). As coingestion of these beverages results in greater adverse consequences than from drinking alcohol alone, we need to understand what factors contribute to and deter coingestion. Existing studies in this area have not utilized a theoretically based or empirically validated measure of outcome expectancies for drinking AmEDs. Our study modified Morean, Corbin, and Treat's (2012) Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Scale to assess the expected effects of drinking AmEDs. We evaluated the factor structure and concurrent validity of the Anticipated Effects of Alcohol Mixed with Energy Drinks (AEAMEDS) among 549 university students, aged 18-25, who had a lifetime history of consuming alcohol (231 had consumed AmEDs in the past 90 days). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a 4-factor structure. Consistent with hypotheses, stronger high arousal/positive expectancies and weaker low arousal/negative expectancies were associated with greater AmED use. At the bivariate level, stronger low arousal/positive expectancies were associated with greater quantities of AmED use, but this relationship disappeared when taking into account other outcome expectancies. Moreover, students expected low arousal/positive expectancies to be less intense when consuming AmEDs than alcohol alone, but ratings for all other AmED expectancies were equivalent to consuming alcohol alone. These findings contribute to our knowledge of risk and protective factors for AmED use. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)

The high prevalence of cannabis use by Australian secondary school students makes schools an ideal setting for the delivery of substance use prevention programs. Although efficacious school-based cannabis prevention programs exist, there is scant research investigating the perceived role legitimacy and role importance of school staff. As such, this study surveyed a sample of 1691 Australian school staff by utilizing Generation Next seminars which are attended by professionals working with young people. The self-completed survey identified that, despite elevated contact with students relative to other school staff, teachers reported the least role importance and legitimacy of all school staff. Further, teachers reported the lowest level of staff drug education training, which was an important predictor of an increased feeling of role importance and legitimacy among school staff.

Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug by Australian secondary school students yet there is scant research investigating school staff responses to student cannabis use. As such, this study surveyed 1,692 school staff who attended Generation Next seminars throughout Australia. The self-complete survey identified that the majority of school staff had discussed cannabis use at least once in the past year, although teachers were less likely to report having cannabis-related discussions compared to other school staff. Staff drug education training was consistently associated with an increased prevalence of cannabis-related discussion and assistance. These findings highlight a need for drug education among school staff and particularly among teachers.

Background: General practitioners (GPs) and nurses are ideally placed to address the significant unmet demand for the treatment of cannabis-related problems given the numbers of people who regularly seek their care. The aim of this study was to evaluate differences between GPs and nurses' perceived knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors toward cannabis use and its screening and management., Methods: This study involved 161 nurses and 503 GPs who completed a survey distributed via conference satchels to delegates of Healthed seminars focused on topics relevant to women and children's health. Differences between GPs and nurses were analyzed using χ(2)- tests and two-sample t-tests, while logistic regression examined predictors of service provision., Results: GPs were more likely than nurses to have engaged in cannabis-related service provision, but also more frequently reported barriers related to time, interest, and having more important issues to address. Nurses reported less knowledge, skills, and role legitimacy. Perceived screening skills predicted screening and referral to alcohol and other drug (AOD) services, while knowing a regular user increased the likelihood of referrals only., Conclusions: Approaches to increase cannabis-related screening and intervention may be improved by involving nurses, and by leveraging the relationship between nurses and doctors, in primary care.

Background: In the absence of a standardized cannabis unit, self-report instruments are inadequate for accurate quantification of cannabis use. The study extends the feasibility of using a cannabis substitute to reliably and validly measure quantity of cannabis use., Method: Ninety-eight adult Australian cannabis users (M age=27.98, SD=11.10; 65.31% male) completed a 90-day Timeline Followback interview regarding their cannabis use, utilizing the cannabis substitute Marijuanilla to report on quantity of use. Ninety-two of these individuals completed the interview at two time-points, and 56 of these participants had collaterals corroborate their cannabis use reports., Results: Inter-rater reliability was excellent, while test-retest reliability was good to excellent. Intra-class correlation coefficients between participant and collateral reports, while similar to previous research, were unacceptable. Quantity of cannabis use statistically significantly added to frequency of use in predicting cannabis problems and dependence severity. Concurrent and discriminant validity were established with single-item and positive impression management measures, respectively. In addition, Marijuanilla appeared similar to one specimen of street seized cannabis, but not to two others. Importantly, participants' cravings to use cannabis did not increase as a result of using the cannabis substitute to report on their cannabis use., Conclusions: These data suggest that utilizing Marijuanilla to facilitate the reporting of grams of cannabis use may be reliable and valid; however, such comprehensive assessment may only be necessary for clinical trials and epidemiological studies, which rely on precise estimates of cannabis use., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study examined whether biological sex, social anxiety, and drinking motives relate differently to distinct types of alcohol-related consequences using Poisson regression. One hundred eighteen college students completed self-report measures assessing drinking motives and social anxiety and an interview assessing alcohol consumption and consequences. Highly socially anxious women were particularly apt to experience adverse role functioning consequences, while men were particularly apt to experience physical consequences. Although highly socially anxious women reported more personal consequences than did women with low to moderate social anxiety, men with low to moderate social anxiety reported experiencing more social and personal consequences than did women with low to moderate social anxiety. When taking into consideration the above associations, coping motives were statistically associated with social consequences and marginally related to personal consequences, while enhancement motives were significantly associated with physical consequences. Targeting these factors may lead to effective interventions for individuals with co-occurring social anxiety and drinking problems., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)