The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

Op-Ed/Editorials: List of selected recipients for May giveaway

The Division on Addiction is pleased to announce the following people will receive a scholarship for our online Addiction in Your Practice course - Charity Collier, Doug DiMartile, Luis Fernandez, Corey Kane, Danny White, Sr., and fifteen others. http://bit.ly/DOA20th_May. Thank you for celebrating our 20th anniversary with us! Read more →

ASHES, Vol. 8(5) - When thinking becomes reality: Cognitive factors associated with future smoking initiation and progression

Previous issues of ASHES have discussed how cognitive factors might affect smoking cessation. For example, we previously described how positive attitudes toward quitting smoking were related to short-term abstinence (Schuck, Otten, Engels & Kleinjan, 2011). Today’s ASHES reviews a Chinese longitudinal study (Guo, Unger, Azen, MacKinnon, & Johnson, 2012) exploring how different reasons for smoking predict smoking initiation and progression among adolescents. Methods Researcher recruited 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th graders from 147 high schools in China. 14,434 students participated in a paper/pencil baseline survey, and 12,382 of these completed a follow-up survey one year later. Forty nine percent of... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials: Celebrating 20 Years with Monthly Giveaways - May Reminder

2012 is the 20th anniversary of the Division on Addiction #DOA20th. To celebrate, each month we will host one anniversary event. This month we are giving away 20 scholarships for our online CME course, Addiction in Your Practice. Students who would like to be considered for a scholarship can send a brief statement (100 words maximum) to basis@divisiononaddictions.org by May 30. The statement should detail your interest in the online course and why you should be selected. On May 31, we will post a list of scholarship recipients. If selected, we will require verification that you are a current student.... Read more →

The DRAM, Vol. 8(5) - Virtual expectations: The effect of manipulated Facebook profiles on drinking norms and cognitions in adolescents

With over 900 million active users worldwide (Facebook.com, 2012), Facebook is the dominant social networking site in the world. With the growing influence of Facebook, it is important to understand how content on social networking sites affects adolescents’ growth and behavior. This week’s DRAM reviews a study exploring the effects of exposure to Facebook profiles containing alcohol cues on adolescents’ thoughts and beliefs regarding alcohol use (Litt & Stock, 2011). Methods Researchers recruited 189 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15 from private schools, sports teams, and church youth groups. Participants believed they had 40 minutes to view the... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials: Celebrating 20 Years with Monthly Giveaways - May Reminder

2012 is the 20th anniversary of the Division on Addiction #DOA20th. To celebrate, each month we will host one anniversary event. This month we are giving away 20 scholarships for our online CME course, Addiction in Your Practice. Students who would like to be considered for a scholarship can send a brief statement (100 words maximum) to basis@divisiononaddictions.org by May 30. The statement should detail your interest in the online course and why you should be selected. On May 31, we will post a list of scholarship recipients. If selected, we will require verification that you are a current student.... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 17(4) - Bad behavior makes for bad bets? Early childhood temperament as a predictor of later disordered gambling

Research suggests that negative emotionality and impulsivity are risk factors for disordered gambling. In a previous WAGER (WAGER 17(2)), we reviewed a recent study linking impulsive behavior at age 7 to lifetime gambling problems. This week, the WAGER reviews a study that extends those results further, examining the link between temperament at age 3 and disordered gambling in adulthood (Slutske, Moffitt, Poulton, & Caspi, 2012). Method Participants, recruited as part of a longitudinal study of health and behavior, included 91% of all people born in a single town in New Zealand between April 1972 and March 1973 (N=1,037). Nine hundred... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials: Celebrating 20 Years with Monthly Giveaways - May

2012 is the 20th anniversary of the Division on Addiction #DOA20th. To celebrate, each month we will host one anniversary event. During April, we gave away 20 copies of Harvard Health Publications' new book, Almost Alcoholic: Is My (or My Loved One's) Drinking a Problem? This month we are giving away 20 scholarships for our online CME course, Addiction in Your Practice. Students who would like to be considered for a scholarship can send a brief statement (100 words maximum) to basis@divisiononaddictions.org by May 30. The statement should detail your interest in the online course and why you should be... Read more →

STASH, Vol. 8(4) – Does the approach bias predict escalation of cannabis use?

When people use drugs for a prolonged period of time, they can develop an automatic tendency to approach rather than avoid drug-related cues – a trait named approach bias (Mogg & Bradley, 2005). This week’s STASH reviews a Dutch study that investigates if the approach bias toward cannabis-related stimuli predicts future escalation of cannabis use among heavy cannabis users (Cousijn, Goudriaan, & Wiers, 2011). Method Participants were 32 heavy cannabis users (34% female) and 41 non-using controls (37% female) aged 18 – 25 recruited through advertisements on the Internet and in the coffee-shops in Amsterdam1. Heavy cannabis use was defined... Read more →

Addiction & the Humanities, Vol. 8(4) - Watch what you drink: How alcohol placement in movies affects adolescent drinking

Unlike the tough stance the movie industry has on smoking, the portrayal of alcohol use in movies is all but unrestricted. Moreover, during recent years alcohol use has played a role as a central plot device in movies such as The Hangover. Although research has shown that alcohol marketing (Gordon, MacKintosh, & Moodie, 2010), peer alcohol use (Ferguson & Meehan, 2011), and possession of alcohol-branded items (Fisher, Miles, Austin et al., 2007) are associated with onset of alcohol use, it is unclear how strongly movie viewing habits factor into a youth’s risk matrix for early onset drinking - especially when... Read more →