Sex Differences in Negative Affect and Lapse Behavior During Acute Tobacco Abstinence: A Laboratory Study.

Sex Differences in Negative Affect and Lapse Behavior During Acute Tobacco Abstinence: A Laboratory Study.

Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2013 Jul 8;
Pang RD, Leventhal AM

Heightened negative affect during acute tobacco abstinence in women relative to men could be an important factor underlying sex differences in smoking motivation. However, little controlled experimental work addresses this hypothesis. The current study investigated sex differences in withdrawal-related negative affect, time to start smoking on a lab analogue smoking lapse task, and the interrelation between sex, withdrawal-related negative affect, and smoking lapse behavior. Following a baseline session, current smokers (women: n = 68, men: n = 131) attended two counterbalanced lab sessions (16 hours smoking abstinence and ad libitum smoking) during which they completed self-report measures of mood and withdrawal symptoms followed by a laboratory analogue smoking lapse task. In this task participants are monetarily rewarded for delaying smoking. Performance on this task serves as an analogue model of smoking lapse behavior by measuring smoker’s capability to resist temptation to smoke under conditions where abstinence is advantageous. Females showed greater abstinence induced increases in composite negative affect as well as several particular negative affect states (i.e., POMS Anger, Anxiety, Depression, and Confusion, ps < .05) but no differences in abstinence induced changes in other forms of affect or craving. Females also exhibited marginally greater abstinence induced decreases in their willingness to delay smoking for money (p = .10), which was mediated by abstinence induced increases in anger (p < .05). These results suggest that differential sensitivity to abstinence induced negative affect, particularly anger, could underlie sex specific smoking patterns. Negative affect during tobacco abstinence may be an important factor for understanding and treating nicotine addiction in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved). HubMed – addiction

Predicting Steep Escalations in Alcohol Use Over the Teenage Years: Age-Related Variations in Key Social Influences.

Addiction. 2013 Jul 9;
Chan GC, Kelly AB, Toumbourou JW, Hemphill SA, Young RM, Haynes MA, Catalano RF

This study examined how family, peer and school factors are related to different trajectories of adolescent alcohol use at key developmental periods.Latent Class Growth Analysis was used to identify trajectories based on five waves of data (from Grade 6 – age 12 to Grade 11 – age 17), with predictors at Grade 5, Grade 7, and Grade 9 included as covariates.Adolescents completed surveys during school hours.808 students in Victoria, Australia.Alcohol use trajectories were based on self-reports of 30 day frequency of alcohol use. Predictors included sibling alcohol use, attachment to parents, parental supervision, parental attitudes favorable to adolescent alcohol use, peer alcohol use, and school commitment.8.2% showed steep escalation in alcohol use. Relative to non-users, steep escalators were predicted by age-specific effects for low school commitment at Grade 7 (p = .031) and parental attitudes at Grade 5 (p = .003), and age-generalized effects for sibling alcohol use (ps = .001/.012/.033 at Grade 5/7/9) and peer alcohol use (ps = .041/.001/.001 at Grade 5/7/9). Poor parental supervision was associated with steep escalators at Grade 9 (p < .001) but not the other grades. Attachment to parents was unrelated to alcohol trajectories.Parental disapproval of alcohol use before transition to high school, low school commitment at transition to high school, and sibling and peer alcohol use during adolescence are associated with higher risk of steep escalations in alcohol use. HubMed – addiction

The impact of hazardous drinking on suicide among working-age Russian males: An individual-level analysis.

Addiction. 2013 Jul 9;
Pridemore WA

To estimate the association between hazardous drinking and suicide among working-age Russian males.Data are from the Izhevsk Family Study (IFS), a population-based case-control study of premature mortality among working-age Russian men. The present study used two sets of cases: all men aged 25-54 years living in Izhevsk who during October 2003-October 2005 (1) died of suicide (n=120) or (2) died of suicide or of injuries of undetermined intent (n=231). Controls were selected at random from a city population register. Drinking data were obtained from proxy informants living in the same household as cases and controls. Drinking exposures were defined by liters of ethanol consumed as a continuous variable, liters of ethanol as a categorical variable, frequency of consumption of non-beverage alcohol (e.g., colognes, medicines, cleaning fluids), and a measure of problem drinking based on behavioral indicators. The association between hazardous drinking and suicide was estimated by mortality odds ratios, adjusting for age, marital status, education, and smoking status.57% of cases and 20% of controls were problem drinkers. Men who drank 20+ liters of ethanol in the prior year were 2.7 times more likely (95% CI, 1.5-5.0) to die from suicide than moderate drinkers. Men who drank non-beverage alcohols 1-2 times/week were 3.9 times more likely (95% CI, 1.3-11.0) to die from suicide than men who rarely or never drank them. Problem drinkers were 3.7 times more likely (95% CI, 2.5-5.6) to die from suicide relative to non-problem drinkers. 43% of suicides were attributed to hazardous drinking (problem drinking or consuming non-beverage alcohol at least once/week or both).Hazardous drinking substantially increases the risk of suicide among working-age Russian males, with nearly half of all suicides attributed to this drinking pattern. HubMed – addiction

Characterising tobacco control mass media campaigns in England.

Addiction. 2013 Jul 9;
Langley T, Lewis S, McNeill A, Gilmore A, Szatkowski L, West R, Sims M

To characterise publically-funded tobacco control campaigns in England between 2004 and 2010 and to explore whether they were in line with recommendations from the literature in terms of their content and intensity. International evidence suggests that campaigns which warn of the negative consequences of smoking and feature testimonials from real-life smokers are most effective, and that four exposures per head per month are required to reduce smoking prevalence.Characterisation of tobacco control advertisements using a theoretically-based framework designed to describe advertisement themes, informational and emotional content and style. Study of the intensity of advertising and exposure to different types of advertisement using data on population-level exposure to advertisements shown during the study period.England.Television Ratings (TVRs), a standard measure of advertising exposure, were used to calculate exposure to each different campaign type.89% of advertising was for smoking cessation; half of this advertising warned of the negative consequences of smoking, while half contained how-to-quit messages. Acted scenes featured in 72% of advertising, while only 17% featured real-life testimonials. Only 39% of months had at least four exposures to tobacco control campaigns per head.A theory-driven approach enabled a systematic characterisation of tobacco control advertisements in England. Between 2004 and 2010 only a small proportion of tobacco control advertisements utilised the most effective strategies – negative health effects messages and testimonials from real-life smokers. The intensity of campaigns was lower than international recommendations. HubMed – addiction