The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

ASHES, Vol. 8 (11) – Anxious that you’re more at risk? Anxiety disorders moderate susceptibility to nicotine dependence

Many factors can influence how quickly a person transitions from the first cigarette to nicotine dependence, if the transition occurs at all. Anxiety disorders, in particular, might be involved in “telescoping” (i.e., transitioning relatively quickly from recreational use to dependence). A recent WAGER reviewed a study that showed similar telescoping effects of gender and anxiety on the development of pathological gambling. This week’s ASHES reviews a study investigating whether anxiety disorders accelerate the transition between the onset of smoking and onset of nicotine dependence (Kushner, Menary, Maurer, & Thuras, 2012). Kushner and colleagues predicted that individuals with an anxiety disorder... Read more →

The DRAM, Vol. 8(11) – What do you think when you drink? The relationship between implicit associations, explicit expectations, and drinking behavior

People’s underlying thoughts and expectations toward drinking are related to self-reported alcohol consumption (Wiers, Van Woerden, Smulders, & De Jong, 2002).However, few previous studies have examined the effect of cognitions on actual drinking behavior in naturalistic settings. This week’s DRAM reports on a semi-naturalistic study examining the associations between implicit (i.e., not consciously elaborated) and explicit (i.e., consciously elaborated) beliefs about alcohol and observed drinking behavior (Larsen, Engels, Wiers, Granic, & Spijkerman, 2012). Methods One hundred twenty-one undergraduate students (64 women) who reported drinking alcohol participated in a semi-naturalistic drinking study in the Netherlands. Participants completed an implicit association test... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 17(10) – Up close: Gambling and the telescoping effect

Researchers have observed that women tend to start gambling later in life but progress to gambling-related problems more quickly compared to men (Nelson et al., 2006). Piazza, Vrbka and Yeager (1989) refer to this phenomenon as the telescoping effect. Although the causes of telescoping remain unclear, previous studies investigating gender differences in the development of addiction suggest that anxiety disorders might relate to telescoping (Ibanez, 2003; Kushner, 2011); people who have a co-morbid anxiety tend to progress more quickly from recreational to hazardous drinking. This week’s WAGER reviews a study that tested whether co-morbid anxiety also helps explain gender differences... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - One Week Left for Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations

Deadline Extended: December 14, 2012 The Division on Addiction seeks nominations for its 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations are welcome from any interested party and nominees can reside anywhere in the world. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals who have made sustained, outstanding, and unusually significant contributions to the study and treatment of addiction throughout a career. Please send nominations in writing to Tasha Chandler (Head of Research and Academic Operations, Division on Addiction, 101 Station Landing, Suite 2100, Medford, MA 02155; [email protected]) by December 14, 2012. Nominations should include the nominee’s CV and a letter clearly identifying... Read more →

STASH, Vol. 8(10) – A mile higher: Do medical marijuana laws predict marijuana use?

The legal landscape of marijuana legislation has changed drastically in last decade with many states passing medical marijuana laws, decriminalizing small quantities of marijuana, or outright legalizing the use of marijuana. It is unclear how these laws might affect marijuana use and related problems. This week’s STASH reviews a study that examines how marijuana use and abuse/dependence differ in states with and without medical marijuana laws (Cerda, Wall, Keyes et al., 2012). Figure 1. States with legalized medical marijuana laws in 2004[i] Methods The primary exposure variable was whether states had legalized medical marijuana use by 2004 (Figure 1). For... Read more →