Two-Year Outcome of an Intervention Program for University Students Who Have Parents With Alcohol Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (OnlineEarly Articles). 1 October 2007


Only a few intervention studies aiming to change high-risk drinking behavior have involved university students with heredity for alcohol problems. This study evaluated the effects after 2 years on drinking patterns and coping behavior of intervention programs for students with parents with alcohol problems.

Positive effects of alcohol intervention between 1 and 2 years were found only in the combined intervention group, contrary to the 1-year results with effects of alcohol intervention with or without a combination with coping intervention.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: helena.hansson@med.lu.se

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Predictors of Initiation of Alcohol Use Among US Adolescents
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161:959-966.






To identify precursors of adolescent alcohol initiation and binge drinking.

Between 1998 and 1999, 611 girls (19%) and 384 boys (17%) initiated alcohol use. Older age, later maturational stage, smoking, adults drinking in the home, underage sibling drinking, peer drinking, possession of or willingness to use alcohol promotional items, and positive attitudes toward alcohol were associated with an increased likelihood of alcohol initiation.

Girls who ate family dinner at home every day were less likely to initiate alcohol use than girls who ate family dinner only on some days or never. Girls with higher social self-esteem and boys with higher athletic self-esteem were more likely to initiate alcohol use than those with lower self-esteem.

Among teens who initiated alcohol use, 149 girls (24%) and 112 boys (29%) further engaged in binge drinking. Among girls, positive attitudes toward alcohol, underage sibling drinking, and possession of or willingness to use alcohol promotional items were associated with binge drinking; among boys, positive attitudes toward alcohol and older age were associated with binge drinking.

Eating family dinner at home every day may delay alcohol uptake among some adolescents. Alcohol promotional items appear to encourage underage alcohol initiation and binge drinking; this may warrant marketing restrictions on the alcohol industry.

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Request Reprint E-Mail: laurie.fisher@channing.harvard.edu

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Life style habits such as alcohol consumption and physical activity in relation to serum apoB / apoA-I ratio amongst 64-year-old women with varying degrees of glucose tolerance
Journal of Internal Medicine (OnlineEarly Articles). 1 October 2007

To investigate how life style factors such as alcohol consumption and physical activity relate to the serum apoB / apoA-I ratio in a cohort of middle-aged women with varying degrees of glucose tolerance.

Alcohol consumption and regular physical activity at high levels were inversely associated with the serum apoB / apoA-I ratio independently of confounding factors such as obesity, lipid-lowering treatment, degree of glucose tolerance and hormone replacement therapy. Alcohol seemed related to the apoB / apoA-I ratio mainly through increasing apoA-I, whereas physical activity seemed mainly related to lowering of apoB. Alcohol consumption above a daily intake of 8.9 g, i.e. less than a glass of wine was accompanied by a decrease in apoB / apoA-I ratio.

Amongst these 64-year-old women with varying degrees of glucose tolerance, a moderate alcohol intake and regular physical exercise leading to sweating were associated with lower apoB / apoA-I ratio and these effects seem to be additive.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: caroline.schmidt@wlab.gu.se

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Body mass index, alcohol, tobacco and symptomatic gallstone disease: a Swedish twin study
Journal of Internal Medicine (OnlineEarly Articles). 1 October 2007

Both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of gallstone disease (GD).

We aimed to examine the association between symptomatic GD and overweight (body mass index, BMI, 25–30 kg m²), obesity (BMI > 30 kg m²), alcohol, smoking and smoke-free tobacco by analysing a large twin population.

Consistent with epidemiological studies, we found positive associations between BMI and the development of symptomatic GD. High alcohol consumption was associated with a decreased risk against GD. Tobacco use has no impact on GD.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: despina.katsika@ki.se

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Foetal alcohol syndrome: Drink destroyed my life



Matthew Verity was the first child in Britain to be diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome. As he reaches 30, Tanith Carey hears his remarkable story

Published: 11 September 2007

Lists are how Matthew Verity gets through the day. From the moment he wakes up, he uses notes pinned up around his flat to remind him what he needs to do to get dressed, to make breakfast, to leave the house. Yet another list is needed negotiate his way around the supermarket. Starting at the bread counter, he puts each item in his basket in exactly the same order each time. Once, when his local Morrison's changed its layout, Matthew was so overwhelmed he left without buying anything.

This week, Matthew will turn 30. As he struggles to live on his own, he is painfully aware how different his life would have been had his birth mother sought help for her binge-drinking.
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Start Talking Before They Start Drinking Campaign






The Family Guide site supports the Start Talking Before They Start Drinking Campaign in their efforts to combat underage drinking and to educate parents, youth, and others on the issue of alcohol abuse. Underage drinking can have serious consequences. You can protect your children from the risks associated with drinking by maintaining open communication and expressing a clear, consistent message about alcohol. Building a close relationship with your kids will make it easier for them to come to you for help in making decisions that impact their health and well-being.

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News Release - New Study in the Journal SLEEP Finds that Extended Wakefulness, Combined with Alcohol, Severely Impairs Driving Performance

American Academy of Sleep Medicine
10/01/2007

WESTCHESTER, Ill.– The combination of extended wakefulness and low-dose alcohol has significant adverse effects on a person’s ability to drive, and elevates the risk of getting into a vehicular accident, according to a study published in the October 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

The study, authored by Mark E. Howard, PhD, of the Institute for Breathing and Sleep in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia, focused on 19 volunteer professional drivers, who participated in a driving simulation and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task. The subjects were measured in a rested state (12-15 hours awake) and after extended wakefulness (18-21 hours awake) during two sessions. Alcohol was administered during one session, with performance measured at blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.00 percent, 0.03 percent and 0.05 percent in a non-sleep deprived state, and at 0.03 percent after extended wakefulness (at 1 a.m.and at 3 a.m.). During the second session, tests were performed at the same times without alcohol.

According to the results, extended wakefulness, combined with low-dose alcohol (0.03 percent BAC), resulted in more lapses and greater variation in lane position and speed than did a BACof 0.05 percent in a rested state.
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News Release - Leaders in addiction treatment announce national 'ACTION' campaign

October 1, 2007

MADISON - A cadre of private and public entities in the addiction treatment field announced the launch of the National Adopting Changes to Improve Outcomes Now (ACTION) Campaign for the improvement of addiction treatment services. The ACTION Campaign goals are to increase access to addiction treatment for individuals in need and to keep clients engaged in treatment.

The campaign, launched during National Recovery Month in September, has a goal of improving the lives of 55,000 people through improved treatment.

The ACTION Campaign is an unprecedented, cross-sector partnership among non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foundations, and government agencies. Those include the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS), the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD).
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Prospective Effects of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Sex on Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64:1145-1152.




Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), an early manifestation of externalizing behavior, may identify children at high risk for later substance abuse. However, the ADHD–substance abuse relationship often disappears when co-occurring conduct disorder (CD) is considered.

To determine whether there is a prospective relationship between ADHD and the initiation of substance use and disorders, and whether this relationship depends on the ADHD subtype (hyperactive/impulsive or inattentive), CD, or sex.

Hyperactivity/impulsivity predicts later substance problems, even after growth in later-emerging CD is considered, whereas inattention alone poses less risk. Even a single symptom of ADHD or CD is associated with increased risk.

Failure in previous research to consistently observe relationships between ADHD and substance use and abuse outcomes could be due to reliance on less-sensitive categorical diagnoses.


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Reprint request E-Mail: ielkins@tfs.psych.umn.edu
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New Standards Announced for Treating Substance Use Conditions

Endorsement by 350 Healthcare Organizations Promises to Transform Practice, Improve Health

September 20, 2007

More than 350 American healthcare organizations have endorsed a set of voluntary standards for the treatment of substance use conditions, the National Quality Forum (NQF) recently announced. Adoption of these standards by healthcare providers will dramatically improve the diagnosis and treatment of substance use conditions in the United States.
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Relationships among self-report assessments of craving in binge-drinking university students
Addictive Behaviors Volume 32, Issue 12, December 2007, Pages 2811-2818



Similarly to investigations using clinical samples, regression analyses revealed that recent drinking by binge-drinking students was associated with certain measures of self-reported craving.


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Reprint Request E-Mail: hrosenb@bgnet.bgsu.edu
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Early and adverse experiences with sex and alcohol are associated with adolescent drinking before and during pregnancy
Addictive Behaviors Volume 32, Issue 12, December 2007, Pages 2799-2810

The goal of this study was to examine the effects of early and adverse experiences with sex and alcohol on adolescent drinking the year before and during pregnancy.

Early age at first alcoholic drink predicted problem alcohol use before pregnancy and drinking during pregnancy. Coercive first coitus was not associated with alcohol use, but drinking during first coitus predicted problem alcohol use before pregnancy as well as drinking during the first trimester of pregnancy.

In sum, early use of alcohol and use of alcohol during first coitus may be risk factors for problematic alcohol use before pregnancy and during pregnancy among childbearing teenagers.

Implications for the health of adolescent mothers and their offspring are discussed.


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Reprint Request E-Mail: degennan@pitt.edu
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Evaluating personal alcohol feedback as a selective prevention for college students with depressed mood
Addictive Behaviors Volume 32, Issue 12, December 2007, Pages 2776-2787

This research evaluated a brief mailed intervention for alcohol use as an adjunct to a brief treatment for college students with depression symptoms. The intervention aimed to correct normative misperceptions and reduce students' drinking and related consequences.

Results indicated no main effects of the intervention on drinking or related problems but students receiving feedback showed significant reductions in their perception of drinking norms compared to the control group. Furthermore, students whose normative perceptions reduced showed significant reductions in total drinks per week and total alcohol related problems compared to those whose norms did not reduce.

Results support the importance of correcting normative perceptions and provide direction for selective prevention of alcohol use and related problems among college students with depressed mood.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: geisner@u.washington.edu

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Delinquency as a mediator of the relation between negative affectivity and adolescent alcohol use disorder
Addictive Behaviors Volume 32, Issue 12, December 2007, Pages 2747-2765



This investigation examined mediators of the longitudinal relation between negative affectivity and the development of problematic drinking behavior in adolescent boys and girls.

Compared with personal delinquency, both attitudes toward delinquency and peer delinquency were superior predictors of affect-related drinking. Our results also demonstrated that positive attitudes toward delinquency mediated the relation between negative affectivity and later development of an alcohol use disorder.

These findings suggest that a proneness to unpleasant affect impacts adolescent drinking by heightening risk for general rejection of normative behavior, rather than by increasing drinking as a means of managing affect. The importance and implications of testing delinquency variables together in the same model are discussed.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: peter@uky.edu
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Drinking on the Premises in Norway: Young Adults' use of Public Drinking Places
Addictive Behaviors Volume 32, Issue 12, December 2007, Pages 2737-2746




In this paper various aspects of young adults' use of premises licensed to sell alcoholic beverages are discussed.

Results from a log-linear regression analysis showed that although some demographic groups tended to be intoxicated more often (men, younger people, single people and people without higher education), frequency of drinking in licensed premises had a strong positive effect on frequency of intoxication.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: il@sirus.no
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News Release - SAMHSA Awards $24 Million to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment in Targeted Areas

September 28, 2007

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration today announced the award of 16 grants totaling about $24 million over three years to enhance or expand substance abuse treatment capacity in targeted areas of need.

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The 16 awards are funded up to $500,000 per year in total costs. Continuation of these awards is subject to the availability of funds as well as the progress achieved by the grantees. Total funding for year one is almost $8 million. The grantees are:

Native American/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander Populations
Cook Inlet Tribal Council Inc., Anchorage, Alaska--$500,000 per year for three years to expand and enhance outpatient substance abuse treatment capacity targeting Alaska Native/American Indian adults in Anchorage.

Dena’ Nena’ Henash, Fairbanks, Alaska--$499,379 per year for three years to expand its residential service unit, Old Minto Family Recovery Camp, while adapting the current program to better meet the needs of its patients.

Native Images Inc., Tucson, Ariz.--$498,884 per year for three years to deliver the evidence-based Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model within a traditional Talking Circle framework targeting Native American and bicultural Native American/Hispanic female trauma and violence survivors and to provide culturally competent outreach and pretreatment substance abuse and HIV/AIDS intervention targeting Native American and other youth at risk.

Santa Clara Pueblo, Espanola, N.M.--$500,000 per year for three years to expand and enhance the capacity to provide evidence-based family treatment to adolescents and families experiencing issues related to alcohol and substance abuse.

E-therapy
Arapahoe House Inc., Thornton, Colo.--$499,998 per year for three years to enhance and expand its continuum of services by establishing E-TREAT, which will address treatment capacity problems caused by long wait periods and client “no shows” through Internet and wireless communication technologies.

Gateway Community Services Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.--$500,000 per year for three years for Gateway Connect to provide e-therapy, telephone therapy and integrated therapy by Internet, telephone, and face-to-face.

Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio--$499,588 per year for three years to provide group and individual counseling and support, and case management via electronic means, primarily though video conferencing and video phone technology, to deaf persons referred to substance use disorder treatment in Ohio.

Mid-Columbia Center for Living, The Dalles, Ore.--$500,000 per year for three years for the Strengthening Teens, Empowering Parents On-line project, serving youth 12-18 and their parents.

Grassroots Partnerships
Samuel’s House Inc., Key West, Fla.--$500,000 per year for three years for the Women in Transition Project, a coordinated continuum of care service delivery system for homeless women with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.

Nicasa, North Chicago, Ill.--$500,000 per year for three years to establish a grassroots partnership between Mano a Mano Family Resource Center, a grassroots organization in Round Lake Park, Ill., and Nicasa’s Women & Services Program.

Rays of Sonshine, Monroe, La.--$492,650 per year for three years to expand the Rays of Sonshine substance abuse treatment program for women with children and to enhance prevention outreach and peer-to-peer services.

Ananias Inc., Shreveport, La.--$499,200 per year for three years for the Louisiana PATHS project to provide outreach, detox, outpatient, and residential substance abuse treatment and referrals; HIV/AIDS service; and accurate evaluations of data.

Other Populations or Emerging Substance Abuse Issues
Colorado State Judicial Branch, Denver--$498,095 per year for three years to expand and enhance methamphetamine treatment options for justice-involved pregnant and parenting women with co-occurring mental health issues and their families.

Center for Community Alternatives, Syracuse, N.Y.--$500,000 per year for three years to expand and enhance treatment and recovery support services for people who have had criminal justice system involvement.

Centerstone Community Mental Health Centers Inc., Nashville, Tenn.--$500,000 per year for three years for Project SELF-Nashville, which is a culturally sensitive, community-based treatment program that services adolescents with substance abuse and/or co-occurring mental disorders and their families in Davidson County.

Central Virginia Community Services, Lynchburg-- $500,000 per year for three years to expand care for adolescents by implementing the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (ACRA) and the Assertive Continuing Care (ACC) intensive outpatient treatment protocol that includes adolescents and their families.

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Alcohol linked to more murders in Scotland
1 October 2007

Alcohol was a factor in twice as many murders in Scotland as was previously thought after a mistake was made in official figures, it was revealed today.

It has emerged that 57 people (41%) accused of murder in 2005/2006 were reported to have been drunk at the time - not the 19% previously stated.

But only 13 people (9%), not the 41% previously stated, were reported to be under the influence of drugs at the time.
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New Exam To Raise Drink Awareness

Sunday September 30, 2007

Schoolchildren will be examined on alcohol and its dangers with the launch of a new qualification this week.

The alcohol awareness certificate, developed by innkeeping institute BII, is aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds.
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Letters to the Telegraph

30 September 2007

Gordon's the drunkards' best friend

When Gordon Brown launches his crackdown on teenage binge drinking (News, September 23), I trust that he will reflect on his own contribution to the problem. As Chancellor, he set the levels of excise duty that have fuelled alcohol consumption while presiding over a fall in alcohol prices to historically low levels in relation to income. Today, per capita consumption levels in Britain outstrip those of both the French and the Germans.

Despite this, his tax policy looks set to continue. Treasury projections for excise duties on alcohol, tobacco and fuel show that they will continue to drop while other taxes continue to rise in relative terms.

The Prime Minister would only demonstrate a genuine commitment to stemming young people's drinking if he was to reverse these trends.

Kathy Gyngell, Centre for Policy Studies, London SW1
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Perspectives and Future Directions
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 31 (s3), 87s–90s.

Mechanisms of behavior change (MOBC) in treating drinking problems is a topic of growing importance.

This article identifies salient themes presented in talks during the first Annual RSA Satellite on Mechanisms of Behavior Change in Alcoholism Treatment.

Themes focused on the need to move beyond a passive approach to identifying MOBC in alcoholism treatment and a number of conceptual and methodological advances were proposed.

While a consensus has emerged that more attention should be paid to MOBC in alcoholism treatment research, a subgroup of experts are calling for MOBC to be the primary focus in future efforts.

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Reprint Request E-Mail: jm977@columbia.edu

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