The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

ASHES Vol. 6(6) – Danger Ahead! The Effects of Looming Vulnerability on Smoking Cessation Attempts

For decades, public health advocates have developed and tested smoking cessation programs. One method, looming vulnerability, involves a perceived increase of susceptible dangers due to smoking, which heightens state anxiety. Researchers hypothesize that this change will stimulate efforts to quit. This week the ASHES reviews a study that examined the effects of looming vulnerability and smoking cessation (McDonald, D., O’Brien, J., Farr, E., & Haaga, D. A. F. 2010). Methods Researchers used a randomized control study design and surveyed 72 adult smokers. At baseline, researchers included questions for demographics, smoking history, nicotine dependence, and state anxiety. For both conditions, participants... Read more →

The DRAM, Vol. 6(5) – Don’t Stand Too Close! Alcohol Use Might be Contagious within Social Networks

Our peers – best friends, enemies, acquaintances, coworkers, etc. – have considerable influence on our behaviors, both good and bad. This influence is observable as early as preschool, and appears to peak during adolescence, when peer influence begins to trump parental influence (Dishion & Owen, 2002; Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992). This week, the DRAM reviews a study by Rosenquist and colleagues (2010) that uses innovative new techniques to measure alcohol use patterns within social networks. Methods Participants (n=5,124) were members of the offspring cohort (i.e., children of the original participants) of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), assessed across 7... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 15(5) – The 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey: Considering Gambling Involvement

Conventional wisdom suggests that specific gambling activities, such as Internet gambling, are especially “addictive.” However, recent research suggests that the relationship between gambling and disordered gambling is more complicated than playing specific types of games. Using a United States youth sample, research suggests that gambling involvement (e.g., the number of games one plays), is a better predictor of disordered gambling than participation in any particular game (Welte, Barnes, Tidwell, & Hoffman, 2009). This week the WAGER reviews a study that further explored this phenomena by examining the association between disordered gambling and gambling involvement within the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence... Read more →

STASH, Vol. 6(5) – To intoxicate or to ameliorate? Reasons for illicit use of buprenorphine among opioid-dependent treatment seekers

The previous edition of STASH highlighted the complex relationship between subjective distress and substance abuse. We continue to explore this theme in this week’s STASH by reviewing a new study about the illicit use of buprenorphine, an opioid analgesic, among opioid-dependent treatment seekers. Schuman-Olivier and colleagues (2010) explored whether treatment seekers typically use buprenorphine as an attempt to attain euphoria or as self-treatment for pain and symptoms of opioid dependence. Additional research goals were to describe the prevalence of illicit buprenorphine use and to explore how illicit buprenorphine use decreases as people become engaged in comprehensive substance abuse treatment. Methods... Read more →

Addiction & the Humanities, Vol. 6(5) - Exposure to Drug-related Music Lyrics

Many researchers suspect that exposure to public health toxins, such as gambling, alcohol, and tobacco, can lead to changes in engagement with those toxins (LaPlante & Shaffer, 2007; Shaffer, LaBrie, & LaPlante, 2004). Consistent with this perspective, many studies have examined the health effects of toxin-related imagery in movies, music, literature, and the like (Addiction and the Humanities, Vol. 6(3); 3(2); and 1(11). This week, for Addiction and the Humanities we review a study that examined the association between adolescents’ exposure to cannabis in popular music, and their cannabis use (Primack et al., 2009). Methods The researchers examined the baseline... Read more →