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OBJECTIVE First-time-in-college (FTIC) students are relatively inexperienced with alcohol and have pressure to assimilate to new norms, and, therefore, are at a heightened risk of alcohol-related consequences. The present study investigates the use of a brief deviance regulation theory (DRT) intervention to increase the use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) among FTIC students. METHOD Participation took place completely online. Participants were first-year college students (n = 147, Mage = 18.11, 77.68% female) at a large southwest U.S. university. Participants were randomly assigned one of three conditions: (a) a positive message about individuals who use PBS, (b) a negative message about individuals who do not use PBS, or (c) an assessment-only control group. Participants then completed weekly assessments for 5 weeks, examining alcohol use and consequences, PBS use, and perceived PBS norms. Contrasting previous research, the present study investigated weekly effects of the intervention. In addition, norm type (quantity vs. frequency) was examined as moderators of intervention messaging. RESULTS Across conditions, both quantity and frequency norms increased over time. The positive message produced immediate and lasting effects on SLD PBS among those with higher (+ 1 SD) frequency norms. The intervention effects for the negative message, using the quantity norm, grew across time on all PBS. CONCLUSIONS These results provide initial support for the use of a DRT prevention program for FTIC students. Negative messages may promote long-term PBS use, while positive messages may be most effective in addressing immediate and lasting changes in the use of alcohol protective strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Attentional bias (AB) has been linked to alcohol use, mood, and alcohol craving, with key differences across different types of mood and biological sex. However, further exploration of the role of AB across these alcohol variables is needed. The current study examined the relationship between mood and AB as predictors of alcohol craving using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Exploratory analysis examined these effects as a function of biological sex.Participants (n = 69) from a Midwestern University carried a mobile device for 15 days and provided ratings of momentary mood (positive mood, anxious mood, and sad mood), alcohol craving, and AB. Data were analyzed using a two-level multilevel regression model, with associations between craving, mood, and AB examined at both the momentary and between-subjects levels.Across assessments, positive and negative moods were positively associated with momentary craving, with AB found to operate differently between men and women. At the within-subjects level, increases in positive mood among men strengthened the AB-craving association, while women showed stronger AB-craving associations when positive mood decreased. At the between-subjects level, trait-like sadness led to positive AB-craving associations for men, however, this was the opposite for women. Similarly, AB-craving associations were positive and robust for men with trait-like positive mood but again the opposite was observed for women.The findings highlight the importance and nuances of biological sex in the context of mood, AB, and craving. Interventions targeting AB and/or emotion regulation may yield different outcomes for men and women.

Loss-of-control eating (LOCE) is often conceptualized as a negative reinforcement mechanism. However, LOCE does not consistently reduce negative affect (NA). One explanation for continued LOCE, despite a lack of NA reduction, may be expectations of NA reduction. Emotion regulation difficulties and low distress tolerance often predict LOCE, but have not been examined in the context of NA reduction expectancies.This study examined the main and interactive relationships between emotion regulation difficulties, distress tolerance and NA reduction expectancies on LOCE in US adults (n = 3331).This study consisted of a battery of surveys administered to a national sample of US adults.Results indicate NA reduction expectancies are robust, eclipsing the predictive effects of other emotion regulation variables. Distress tolerance was only able to attenuate the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and LOCE when NA reduction expectancies were low.These findings identify NA reduction expectancies as having a strong relationship with LOCE, such that the protective factor of distress tolerance is only relevant when such expectancies are low. Clinical implications suggest that targeting NA reduction expectancies in eating interventions that bolster emotion regulation difficulties and distress tolerance may improve the effectiveness of said interventions. Additionally, stand-alone expectancy interventions should be assessed for the purpose of LOCE reduction. Directions for future research are discussed.

Harm reduction is a framework that places substance use on a spectrum from total abstinence to continued controlled use. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are a set of individually implemented harm reduction strategies that have shown to reduce the rate of use and severity of consequences from risky behaviors. Previous research has shown that PBS use effectively reduces negative consequences. The present study provides an overview of the literature on PBS measures for various risk behaviors, and common interventions used in conjunction with PBS. Of the articles reviewed, 15 validated PBS measures were found and eight distinct categories of PBS interventions. The 15 measures reviewed included risk factors such as alcohol use/consequences (n = 8), dating and sexual behaviors (n = 4), gambling (n = 1), cannabis (n = 1), and condom use (n = 1). A survey of the literature produced eight distinct categories of interventions with varying degrees of effectiveness: (a) Brief Motivational Interventions, (b) Personalized Normative Feedback, (c) PBS Skills Training, (d) PBS Instruction, (e) Deviance Regulation Theory Interventions, (f) Behavioral Economic Based Interventions, (g) Counterfactual Thinking and (h) Episodic Future Thinking. Findings from the present study corroborate the notion that PBS effectively reduce negative consequences associated with behaviors, such as negative alcohol-related consequences, harmful cannabis use, and adverse sexual outcomes. Research on interventions targeting PBS is lacking in areas outside of alcohol use. Within alcohol use, the utility of interventions varies widely. Understanding the reason for this discrepancy is an important area for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Trauma exposure and comorbid substance use are highly prevalent among female drug court participants. Despite the pervasiveness of the issue, few studies have investigated the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and nonmedical prescription drug use among this specific population. The present study examined the impact of posttraumatic stress, social support, and nonmedical prescription drug use on graduation outcomes among female participants in a specialized drug court program (N = 210). Participants either received motivational enhancement therapy/cognitive behavioral therapy (MET-CBT; N = 210) or both MET-CBT and Seeking Safety through intensive outpatient treatment (n = 109). The findings indicated that graduation was negatively correlated with posttraumatic stress, r = -.19, p = .007, d = 0.40; past 90-day nonmedical prescription painkiller, opiate, and analgesic use, r = -.19, p = .001, d = 0.44; tangible social support, r = -.24, p = < .001, d = 0.51; and past-month substance use problems, r = -.25, p < .001, d = .50. In addition, past-month substance use problems, OR = 0.84, 95% CI [0.72, 0.97]; PTSS, OR = 0.90, 95 % CI [0.82, 0.99]; and tangible social support, OR = 0.94, 95% CI [0.89, 0.98], were significant negative predictors of graduation. These results speak to the importance of facilitating the development of specialized evidence-based drug court interventions that target and improve comorbid substance use and trauma outcomes among female drug court participants to reduce recidivism and set a precedent for future research to replicate and expand upon these findings.

Loss-of-control eating (LOCE, the subjective inability to refrain from eating or cease eating), is highly mood-driven. Mood-related eating motives and eating expectancies have been identified as contributors to binge eating. However, little is known about how these factors relate to LOCE, much less their relationship with daily-level LOCE. This study assessed the impact of trait eating expectancies and daily eating motives on the relationship between daily affective states and LOCE. United States adults (n = 109) reporting recent LOCE participated in a ten-day diary study, completing two surveys per day regarding eating behaviors, mood, and motives. Data were analyzed at the within- and between-subject levels utilizing a Bayesian approach to examine pathways from mood to LOCE, mediated by eating motives and accounting for a moderating impact of baseline eating expectancies on the path leg between mood and motives. Negative mood was associated with LOCE at both the within- and between-subjects level by way of coping motives, and directly at the within-subjects level. Negative affect (NA) reduction expectancies did not moderate the indirect pathway. Positive mood was only associated with LOCE at the within-subjects level, via pleasure motives. This relationship was potentiated via reward expectancies. Therefore, although negative mood appears be a robust predictor of LOCE regardless of trait NA reduction expectancies, positive mood appears to have a specific set of conditions under which individuals are at increased likelihood of LOCE at the within-subjects level. These findings suggest that eating expectancies and motives for eating may be meaningful targets in LOCE interventions.

OBJECTIVES Despite numerous drinking interventions, alcohol use among college students remains a significant problem. Typically activated after negative events, counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process that contrasts reality with an imagined better alternative. As a result, counterfactual thinking highlights potential causal links between problematic behaviours and negative outcomes, which can strengthen intentions to change behaviour. Recent research has found that modifying behavioural intentions to engage in protective behavioural strategies (PBS) has led to increased PBS use and reduced alcohol outcomes. The current study evaluated counterfactual thinking as a way to increase PBS use intentions. DESIGN Intervention US study with college student drinkers. METHODS A sample of college students (n = 466) completed a web-based assessment of demographics, drinking, alcohol consequences, and PBS use. Those who endorsed an adverse drinking event were randomly assigned to an intervention condition (Control, Negative event only, Negative event with description, or Negative event with counterfactual). Following the intervention, participants reported intentions to engage in each PBS subtype over the next week. RESULTS Relative to control, the counterfactual condition resulted in greater PBS use intentions across all subtypes. Neither the negative event only nor the negative event with description resulted in higher PBS use intentions, relative to control. Importantly, the control group did not report whether they experienced a negative event; thus, we cannot definitively determine the effect this may have on the data. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a new theory-driven avenue for alcohol use interventions utilizing counterfactual thinking to enhance safe drinking intentions.

Background Alcohol misuse continues to be a significant public health problem. Understanding the factors that may contribute to the harmful progression in drinking is an important aspect of public health. Previous research has shown that affect regulation is associated with problematic alcohol use. Additionally, emotion instability has been found as a predictor of alcohol-related problems and may be linked to reinforcement mechanisms. Methods The current study examined positive mood, negative mood, and mood instability in real time across drinking and nondrinking days utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Current drinkers (n = 74) were recruited for a 21-day EMA study. Participants completed up to 10 random assessments of positive mood, negative mood, and alcohol use per day. Mood instability was assessed as the squared difference in current mood from mood in the previous assessment. Data were analyzed using piecewise multilevel regression to examine mood trajectories across drinking and nondrinking days. Results Positive emotion across the day was higher on drinking days than nondrinking days and continued to increase after drinking initiation. In contrast, negative emotion across the day was lower on drinking days than nondrinking days and continued to decrease after drinking initiation. Emotional functioning was stable across the day on nondrinking days. However, on drinking days there was a steady increase in emotional instability leading up to drinking initiation, followed by a rapid stabilization after initiation. Conclusions This study highlights the potentially reinforcing impact of alcohol via emotional stability. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of mood dynamics when examining the reinforcing effects of alcohol consumption.