The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

Addiction & the Humanities Vol. 3(8) - Examining racial and ethnic substance use differences following exposure to disaster.

Disasters, such as recent hurricanes and floods in North America, earthquakes in Indonesia, the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, and the New York City World Trade Center attack, have killed thousands and exposed thousands more to ongoing trauma. Survivors probably manage the aftermath of such disasters by utilizing coping methods dependent upon their current situation; specific strategies vary by culture. For example, researchers have found differences in social support and coping among different racial and ethnic groups (Pole et al., 2005; Kim et al., 2007.) This week, Addictions and the Humanities considers whether people exposed to the World Trade Center... Read more →

ASHES Vol. 3(8) - Pregnant and Smoking: Differences from Women who Abstain

Conventional medical care discourages pregnant women from smoking. However, quitting might be more difficult for some than others. For example, people with psychiatric disorders are more likely to smoke tobacco (Breslau, Kilbey, & Andreski, 1993; Gonzalez-Pinto et al., 1998), possibly because of self-medicating features of nicotine (Pomerleau, Marks, & Pomerleau, 2000). This week’s ASHES examines research detailing rates of various psychiatric disorders and certain demographic features of pregnant women who smoke, women who quit smoking because of their pregnancy, and pregnant women who never smoked. Flick et al. (2006) administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version IV (DIS; Robinson & Killen,... Read more →

The DRAM Vol. 3(8) - Can In Utero Exposure to Alcohol Lead to Alcohol Disorders During Early Adulthood?

Preliminary reports indicate that maternal drinking during mid pregnancy is (1) an independent contributor to the likelihood of alcohol consumption by age 14 and (2) significantly related to the development of alcohol disorders by age 21(Baer, Barr et al. 1998; Baer, Sampson et al. 2003). This DRAM reviews a longitudinal investigation focusing on the associations between maternal drinking during early and late pregnancy and the development of alcohol disorders during early adulthood among offspring. Alati, Al Mamun, Williams, O’Callaghan, Najman, and Bor (2006) interviewed 7,223 mothers who had their first antenatal visit at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Brisbane, Australia between... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 12(8) - In the face of adversity: Do protective factors prevent risky behavior?

Researchers have focused much attention on identifying high risk populations and risk factors involved in addictive behaviors such as disordered gambling. Less attention has been paid to resilience and the role it plays in preventing risky behavior in adolescent populations. Luthar and Cicchetti (2000) define resilience as a person’s ability to adapt positively (e.g., not exhibit emotional, behavioral, and social problems) in the face of adversity (i.e., negative life events). In this edition of The WAGER we examine research by Lussier, Derevensky, Gupta, Bergevin, & Ellenbogen (2007) that investigated resilience and youth gambling behavior. Researchers recruited 1,273 participants aged 12... Read more →