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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.12.024 Byline: Kristen P. Lindgren (a)(b), Peter M. Mullins (b), Clayton Neighbors (b), Jessica A. Blayney (b) Keywords: Alcohol; Curiosity; Alcohol problems; Sensation seeking; Positive psychology Abstract: Curiosity, composed of two factors: exploration and absorption, has been previously associated with life satisfaction, life meaningfulness, and enhanced positive affect. It also shares some overlap with sensation seeking, which has been linked to alcohol use and other addictive behaviors. The present research explored the association between curiosity and college women's problematic drinking in the context of sensation seeking. Participants (79 women) completed questionnaires measuring curiosity, sensation seeking, alcohol consumption, and consequences related to alcohol consumption. A zero-inflated negative binomial model indicated that curiosity and sensation seeking accounted for unique variance in alcohol-related problems after controlling for drinking. The curiosity factors had opposing relationships to alcohol-related problems: higher scores on absorption were associated with more alcohol-related problems whereas higher scores on exploration were associated with fewer alcohol-related problems. Should findings be replicated, the curiosity factors may represent additional prevention and intervention targets. Future directions for research about curiosity and drinking and for the inclusion of positive psychology constructs in addictive behaviors research are discussed. Author Affiliation: (a) University of Richmond, Department of Psychology, Richmond, VA 23173, USA (b) University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Box 345694, Seattle, WA 98195, USA Article Note: (footnote) [star] Portions of this research were present in a poster session at the Fourth European Conference on Positive Psychology, Opatija, Croatia.

ADDICTION RESEARCHERS USE the construct of automatic mental processes (Shiffrin and Schneider, 1977) to model the nonvolitional nature of addiction (see Goldman et al., 1991; Tiffany, 1990; Wiers and Stacy, [...], Objective: Little research has examined contextual influences on implicit measures of alcohol-related cognitions. The current study investigated whether contexts involving alcohol or social dating would affect automatic alcohol approach-avoid associations. Method: Undergraduates (n = 112 women, 109 men) completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) that measured alcohol approach-avoid associations before and after reading a vignette about a date that differed on two dimensions: (1) whether alcohol was present or absent and (2) whether the date ended in attraction or friendship. Results: When the vignette included an alcohol context, alcohol IAT scores increased from baseline (e.g., increased alcohol and approach associations). In a nonalcohol context, alcohol IAT scores increased from baseline when the date was not successful but not when it was successful. Conclusions: These results contribute to social cognitive science by indicating not only that social contexts with alcohol can influence automatic alcohol associations but also that social contexts without alcohol can influence automatic alcohol associations.

Abstract: Chronic pain is associated with reduced quality of life, increased medical expenditures, and significant economic costs. Chronic pain is among the most common chronic conditions in the United States, although estimates vary widely regarding its precise prevalence. Understanding the scope of the problem using the most contemporaneous data is therefore an important goal. This study sought to determine the prevalence of chronic pain and its impacts among adults in the United States using the National Health Interview Survey, a household-based annual survey of self-reported health status of U.S. adults that can be used to generate national-level estimates. Using a chronic pain module introduced in the 2019 edition of National Health Interview Survey, we found that 50.2 million adults (20.5%) reported pain on most days or every day. The most common pain locations were back pain and hip, knee, or foot pain. The most commonly used management strategies for chronic pain were physical therapy and massage. Respondents with chronic pain reported limitations in daily functioning, including social activities and activities of daily living. Respondents with chronic pain reported significantly more workdays missed compared with those without chronic pain (10.3 vs 2.8, P < 0.001). Overall, these findings indicate that more than 1 in 5 adults in America experiences chronic pain; additional attention to managing the burden of this disease is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective   Back pain is one of the most common pain syndromes in the United States, but there has been limited recent description of the role of emergency departments (EDs) in caring for patients with back pain. We investigated trends in the evaluation and management of back pain in U.S. EDs from 2007 to 2016. Methods   We performed a retrospective analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a nationally representative annual survey of ED visits, which includes data on patient-, hospital-, and visit-level characteristics. We evaluated trends among adult ED visits for back pain, including demographics, resource utilization, and disposition. Trends were assessed through the use of survey-weighted analyses. Results   Visit rates as a proportion of overall ED visits were stable from 2007 to 2016 (9.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.5–9.6] vs. 9.3% [95% CI: 8.6–10.0]; P  = 0.44). Admission rates declined from 6.4% (95% CI: 5.1–8.0) to 5.0% (95% CI: 3.5–6.9; P  < 0.001). Imaging utilization increased from 51.7% (95% CI: 49.3–54.1) to 57.6% (95% CI: 53.3–61.7; P  = 0.023), with an increase of 58.3% in computed tomography. Overall opioid utilization declined from 53.5% (95% CI: 49.4–57.5) to 46.5% (95% CI: 43.2–49.8; P  < 0.001). Tramadol use increased over the study period (4.1% [95% CI: 3.0–5.8] vs. 8.4% [95% CI: 6.6–10.7]; P  < 0.001). Conclusions   Opioid utilization during ED visits for back pain decreased from 2007 to 2016, whereas tramadol use more than doubled. Care intensity increased significantly despite declining admission rates. Further research into optimal strategies for back pain management in the ED is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on medical topics which include an online poison information web resource, Russell's viper envenomation, and alcohol-related emergency department visits.

Objective: More than one in five American adults experiences chronic pain, and numerous approaches can be used to treat chronic pain. Opioid analgesics are commonly used to treat pain though precise estimates of the prevalence of opi-oid analgesic use vary widely. This study sought to determine the prevalence of opioid use for pain among adults in the United States., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the National Health Interview Survey, a national-level house-hold-based annual survey of self-reported health status of US adults, using a chronic pain module introduced in the 2019 edition. We examined overall rates of opioid medication use for pain and correlates of opioid use using survey-weighted analyses., Results: We found 30.8 million adults (95 percent CI: 29.3-32.3 million), or 12.3 percent (11.8-12.8) of the population, had used opioids for pain in the preceding 12 months, while 9.3 million (8.6-10.0 million), or 3.7 percent (3.5-4.0), had used opioids for chronic pain in the preceding 3 months. Individuals reporting pain every day were more likely to have used opi-oids than those experiencing pain less frequently. Individuals who had tried other methods such as physical therapy and self-management programs were more likely to have used opioids. Individuals who used opioids for pain were more likely to report poorly controlled pain, with 38.0 percent (31.5-45.0) reporting their pain management was "not at all effective.", Conclusions: Opioid use for chronic pain is common and frequently part of a multimodal and multidisciplinary approach.

Objective: To examine recent trends in and predictors of hydromorphone administration in US emergency departments (EDs) compared with other opioids., Design: Retrospective review of data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2007 to 2014., Participants: All adult ED visits where an opioid analgesic was administered were included., Main Outcome Measures: Trends in and predictors of hydromorphone administration were assessed using survey-weighted logistic regression, comparing hydromorphone visits with ED visits where other opioids were administered., Results: From 2007 to 2014, in an estimated 128.9 million US ED visits where opioids were administered, hydromorphone use increased significantly from 30.2 percent in 2007 to 36.8 percent of visits in 2014 (p = 0.027). Hydromorphone accounted for a greater proportion of opioids administered by the end of the study period, compared to other opioids. Patient characteristics associated with hydromorphone were age <65 years, white race, private insurance or Medicare, and severe pain. Patients who received hydromorphone also had indicators of higher severity illness, including more laboratory testing, procedures, and higher admission rates. Common conditions where hydromorphone was administered were headache, back pain, musculoskeletal pain, and abdominal pain., Conclusion: From 2007 to 2014, hydromorphone was administered to more than one in three US ED patients who were administered opioids, and several factors predicted its use. High use was found in some conditions where opioid use is inappropriate, suggesting a need for additional initiatives to promote rational prescribing of high-potency opioids.