AATP Journals

Estimating substance use disparities across intersectional social positions using machine learning: An application of group-lasso interaction network. Objective: An aim of quantitative intersectional research is to model the joint impact of multiple social positions on health risk behaviors. Although moderated multiple regression is frequently used to pursue intersectional research hypotheses, such parametric approaches may produce unreliable effect estimates due to data sparsity and high dimensionality. Machine learning provides viable alternatives, offering greater flexibility in evaluating many candidate interactions amid sparse data conditions, yet remains rarely employed. This study introduces group-lasso interaction network (glinternet), a novel machine learning approach involving hierarchical regularization, to assess intersectional differences in substance use prevalence. Method: Utilizing variable selection and parameter stabilization functionality for main and interaction effects, glinternet was employed to examine two-way interactions between three primary social positions (gender, sexual orientation, and race) predicting heavy episodic drinking, cannabis use, and cigarette use prevalence. Analyses were conducted using the All of Us Research Program (N = 283,403), a national sample with high representation from populations historically underrepresented in biomedical research. Results were replicated using holdout cross-validation and compared against logistic regression estimates. Results: Glinternet prevalence estimates were more stable across discovery and replication samples relative to logistic regression, particularly among sparsely represented groups. Prevalence estimates for cigarette and cannabis use were elevated among sexual minority and White cisgender women compared to heterosexual and non-White women, respectively. Conclusions: Glinternet may improve upon traditional moderated multiple regression methods for pursuing intersectional hypotheses by improving model parsimony and parameter stability, providing novel means for quantifying health disparities among intersectional social positions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 27 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Measuring susceptibility to use tobacco in an increasingly complex consumer marketplace: How many questions do we really need? Objective: Predicting which young people are likely to use tobacco in the future is critical for prevention and intervention. Although measures for assessing susceptibility to using tobacco have fulfilled this goal for decades, there is almost no standard for the number of items that should be administered, or which items should be administered for which products. This study explored whether brief but psychometrically sound versions of commonly used susceptibility measures can adequately capture the construct relative to longer measures. Method: A sample of young people (N = 451; M_age = 16.5 years; 64% females; 65% White) completed 33 susceptibility items, which are designed to assess susceptibility to use different types of tobacco products (cigarette, smokeless tobacco, vaping products, and little cigars/cigarillos) of various flavors (tobacco, menthol, and sweet). Results: Analysis of these 33 items indicated that asking about the likelihood of using each tobacco product class when a best friend offers it (four items in all) captures 98.5% of information that is captured using the longer set of items; asking the best friend question for each product by each flavor category (11 items in all) captures 99.7% of the information. Conclusions: Depending on research needs, tobacco use susceptibility can be measured with little loss of information by administering a limited set of items assessing the likelihood that a young person will use a tobacco product if a friend offers it for any product–flavor combination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Effects of alcohol consumption on gambling warning message recall and recognition. Objective: To understand the influence of acute alcohol consumption on the recall and recognition of warning messages. Method: Participants (n = 82) were randomly assigned to a condition where they consumed alcoholic beverages (target blood alcohol concentrations of 0.06%–0.08%) or a condition where they consumed juice. Participants in both conditions then gambled on preprogrammed slot machines in a casino-themed room with four pop-up warning messages appearing twice each. After the gambling session, participants in both conditions completed a filler task followed by free recall and recognition assessments. Results: Most participants (81%) recalled the gist, or the general idea, of the warning messages. However, participants in the alcohol condition underestimated the total number of messages they viewed to a significantly greater extent than those in the juice condition. Participants in the alcohol condition were also significantly less accurate in recognizing messages than participants in the juice condition. Participants in the juice condition were significantly more likely to recall the self-appraisal message than participants in the alcohol condition. There were no other significant differences in the recall of specific messages between conditions. Conclusions: Individuals who are moderately intoxicated are just as likely as nonintoxicated individuals to understand the general idea of warning messages but may have greater difficulty recalling specific details within those messages. Those who are intoxicated may have difficulties engaging in self-appraisal, indicating that messages that are focused on the financial consequences of gambling may be more impactful. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Associations between posting about alcohol on social networking sites and alcohol-induced blackouts in a sample of young adults not in 4-year college. Objective: Research among young adults (YA), in samples of majority White college students, indicates links between posting about alcohol on social media and self-reported drinking behavior. We sought to extend this work by examining unique associations between public versus private posting about alcohol and the high-risk outcome of alcohol-related blackouts among a sample of racially/ethnically diverse YA not in 4-year college. Method: A sample of 499 participants (ages 18–29; 52.5% female; 37.5% Black/African American, 26.9% White, 25.3% Hispanic/Latinx) completed an online survey about social media use and drinking behavior. Results: Across three platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter [now known as “X”]), public posting on Instagram was most common. Adjusting for covariates, a higher frequency of private posting about alcohol was associated with a higher frequency of past-month blackouts. Tests of simple effects of posting on blackouts within racial/ethnic subgroups indicated that private posting about alcohol was significantly associated with past-month blackouts only among those who most strongly identified as Black/African American or White but not among those who most strongly identified as Hispanic/Latinx. Further, public posting was significantly associated with past-month blackouts, though the association was specific to White participants. Conclusions: Whether posting about alcohol may be useful in identifying risky drinking behavior may depend on racial/ethnic identification as well as whether private or public posting is being considered. Results have implications for eventual online interventions, which can identify individuals potentially at risk for hazardous drinking based on their social media posting behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Profiles of transdermal alcohol concentration and their prediction of negative and positive alcohol-related consequences in young adults’ natural settings. Objective: Transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) sensors provide a multidimensional characterization of drinking events that self-reports cannot. These profiles may differ in their associated day-level alcohol-related consequences, but no research has tested this. We address this using multilevel latent profile analysis. Method: Two hundred twenty-two young adults who regularly engage in heavy drinking (M_age = 22.3, 64% female, 79% non-Hispanic White) responded to surveys and wore TAC sensors for 6 consecutive days. We tested whether four previously identified TAC profiles: (1) high-fast (8.5% of days), (2) moderate-fast (12.8%), (3) low-slow (20.4%), and (4) little-to-no-drinking days (58.2%) differed in numbers of negative and positive consequences and in the odds that both consequence types occurred on the same day. Results: High-fast (incident rate ratio [IRR_low-slow] = 6.18; IRR_{little-to-no-drinking} = 9.47) and moderate-fast (IRR_low-slow = 3.71; IRR_{little-to-no-drinking} = 5.68) days contained more negative consequences compared to low-slow and little-to-no-drinking days. High-fast (IRR = 2.05), moderate-fast (IRR = 1.88), and low-slow (IRR = 1.43) days contained more positive consequences than little-to-no-drinking days. The odds of having only positive consequences were highest on low-slow, χ²(3) = 9.10, p < .05, days but the odds of experiencing both consequence types increased on moderate-fast and high-fast days, χ²(3) = 39.63, p < .001. Conclusions: Compared to little-to-no-drinking days, TAC profiles indicative of drinking (high-fast, moderate-fast, and low-slow) contained more negative and positive consequences. However, the odds of experiencing only positive consequences were highest among low-slow days and decreased on moderate-fast and high-fast days as the odds of negative consequences rose. These findings provide novel evidence reinforcing harm reduction approaches that seek to maximize positives and minimize negatives of alcohol consumption through emphasis on slow-paced, low-volume drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Profiles of alcohol intoxication and their associated risks in young adults’ natural settings: A multilevel latent profile analysis applied to daily transdermal alcohol concentration data. Objective: Transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) sensors capture aspects of drinking events that self-reports cannot. The multidimensional nature of TAC data allows novel classification of drinking days and identification of associated behavioral and contextual risks. We used multilevel latent profile analysis (MLPA) to create day-level profiles of TAC features and test their associations with (a) daily behaviors and contexts and (b) risk for alcohol use disorders at baseline. Method: Two hundred twenty-two regularly heavy-drinking young adults (M_age = 22.3) completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) at baseline and then responded to mobile phone surveys and wore TAC sensors for six consecutive days. MLPA identified day-level profiles using four TAC features (peak, rise rate, fall rate, and duration). TAC profiles were tested as correlates of daily drinking behaviors, contexts, and baseline AUDIT. Results: Four profiles emerged: (a) high-fast (8.5% of days), (b) moderate-fast (12.8%), (c) low-slow (20.4%), and (d) little-to-no drinking days (58.2%). Profiles differed in the odds of risky drinking behaviors and contexts. The highest risk occurred on high-fast days, followed by moderate-fast, low-slow, and little-to-no drinking days. Higher baseline AUDIT predicted higher odds of high-fast and moderate-fast days. Conclusions: Days with high and fast intoxication are reflective of high-risk drinking behaviors and were most frequent among those at risk for alcohol use disorders. TAC research using MLPA may offer novel and important insights to intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Drinking intention–behavior links vary by affect among heavy-drinking young adults: An ecological momentary assessment and transdermal sensor study. Objective: Drinking intention is a predictor of heavy-drinking episodes and could serve as a real-time target for preventive interventions. However, the association is inconsistent and relatively weak. Considering the affective context when intentions are formed might improve results by revealing conditions in which intention–behavior links are strongest and the predictive power of intentions is greatest. Method: We investigated the links between drinking intentions reported in the morning and same-day drinking behavior, moderated by positive and negative affect (PA, NA) in a sample of heavy-drinking young adults. Participants wore the SCRAM continuous alcohol monitor transdermal alcohol sensor anklet for 6 consecutive days in their natural environments and responded to daily ecological momentary assessments that included morning intentions to drink and PA/NA items. Drinking events and patterns were measured using morning-report counts and features from the sensor. Bayesian gamma-hurdle and Poisson multilevel models with noninformative priors tested day-level associations. We hypothesized that drinking intention–behavior associations would be strongest on days with high levels of PA, but we did not hypothesize directionality for the NA effect given the conflicting results in previous literature. Results: Day-level drinking intention–behavior associations were stronger on days with higher versus lower PA according to sensors features. Associations were also stronger on days with lower versus higher NA. Conclusions: The strength of intention–behavior links may partly depend on the affective contexts in which intentions are formed. Results could fine-tune intervention approaches by elucidating the affective contexts in which intentions may more clearly link to drinking behavior to reduce the intensity of an episode—better anticipating problematic drinking among young adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Momentary mindfulness versus distraction coping messages to reduce cannabis craving among young adults: A microrandomized trial. Objective: Rates of problematic cannabis use among young adults are high and increasing. Craving for cannabis varies throughout the day and is an important risk factor for cannabis use, yet no studies to date have tested interventions offered at the moment craving is experienced in the natural environment. Method: This study used an efficient and innovative microrandomized trial design to test two distinct types of coping messages (mindfulness strategy vs. distraction strategy) offering brief coping strategies when moderate to severe craving was reported via ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Results: Young adults who regularly use cannabis (N = 53) were readily engaged in this 4-week intervention, and EMA completion was high throughout, demonstrating excellent feasibility of this approach. However, results indicated that coping messages did not reduce craving at the next EMA relative to control (thank you) messages, with no significant change in efficacy over time. Furthermore, exploratory analyses found that neither mindfulness nor distraction resulted in reduced craving relative to the control message. Conclusions: Despite this outcome, this method of testing digital interventions targeting momentary risks for substance use such as craving holds promise for rapidly and efficiently screening a wide variety of intervention strategies for inclusion in future just-in-time adaptive interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Social decision making in binge drinking: An exploration through moral dilemmas. Objective: The continuum hypothesis proposes that binge drinking and severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) share qualitatively similar cognitive and emotional impairments. In SAUD, these deficits have a demonstrated impact on social decision making, resulting in a utilitarian bias. Namely, when confronted with moral dilemmas, patients with SAUD tend to focus on the consequences of their actions rather than on social norms. However, social decision-making abilities remain unexplored in binge drinking. We offered the first insights on the generalization of the continuum hypothesis to social decision making, through a multinomial processing tree model applied to moral dilemmas, the “CNI model” of moral decision making. Method: We compared 35 binge drinkers (20 females) and 36 light drinkers (21 females) on a battery of 48 moral dilemmas involving interpersonal relations from the CNI model, through multinomial modeling analyses. In each dilemma, participants were asked if they would perform the described action, generating individual scores for sensitivity to consequences, sensitivity to norms, and inaction tendency. Results: The statistical model related to the CNI approach fits the data well. Binge drinkers and controls did not differ regarding their sensitivity to consequences nor their sensitivity to moral norms, and both groups displayed an equal inaction tendency in response to moral dilemmas. Conclusions: We provided insights to better understand the specific (socio)cognitive domains impaired in subclinical populations with alcohol use disorder. We showed preserved social decision making in binge drinking, which suggests that the continuum hypothesis documented for classical neurocognitive functions does not extend to complex social abilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Internalizing symptoms, negative urgency, and coping motives: Potential pathways to alcohol consequences. Objective: Building upon prior research, the present study tested coping motives as a mediator of relations between both negative urgency and internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety, and stress), and alcohol-related consequences using longitudinal data. We also tested negative urgency as a moderator of prospective relations between specific internalizing symptoms and alcohol-related consequences. Method: The study utilized data from a longitudinal study of young adults (N = 448; M_age = 22.27, SD = 1.25). Participants (56.5% male) were evaluated at baseline and at 12-month and 24-month follow-ups. Mood, impulsivity, coping motives, and alcohol consequences were assessed at baseline, and motives and consequences were assessed at follow-ups. Results: Prospective indirect effects of internalizing symptoms and negative urgency on alcohol consequences through coping motives were not observed. However, cross-sectional post hoc analyses indicated that higher levels of internalizing and negative urgency were indirectly associated with greater alcohol consequences through coping motives, with similar patterns observed for depression, anxiety, and stress. Although support was found for mediated effects in the cross-sectional model, no evidence was found for negative urgency moderating the impact of internalizing, stress, anxiety, or depression on alcohol consequences in either cross-sectional or longitudinal models. Conclusion: Findings provide cross-sectional but not longitudinal support for coping motives as a potential mechanism through which a broad range of internalizing symptoms are associated with alcohol consequences. Findings did not support interactions between negative urgency and internalizing symptoms. The results highlight the need for further exploration of mediated effects using ecological momentary assessments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 14 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT