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College students entering adulthood often drink too much. Negative consequences can include missed classes, poor grades, a wide array of injuries, and even assault. Many academic institutions have addressed this problem by offering computer-delivered interventions (CDIs) for rapid and wide dissemination to students. Although effective in the short term, CDIs are not as helpful longer-term as face-to-face interventions. However, face-to-face interventions are typically only used with students who receive alcohol sanctions, whereas CDIs can be used with large groups (such as student athletes, or all incoming students) and are more cost-effective. This study examined the usefulness of “boosters” – personalized emails sent to post-CDI participants– for maintaining decreased drinking.

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An important part of communication is non-verbal. Most people who engage in social interactions recognize a range of emotional states reflected in other people’s facial expressions, body postures, and/or tone of voice. Alcoholism has been linked to difficulties in perceiving and processing emotions expressed in these non-verbal cues. This study examined whether these difficulties persist after long-term abstinence from alcohol.

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Alcohol-related problems often begin in the late teens to early twenties, then decrease as drinkers grow older. However, recent reports indicate greater-than-expected problematic drinking by older populations. There are limited ways to predict which older individuals may develop alcohol-related problems, including those with earlier-onset alcohol use disorders (AUDs). This analysis evaluated predictors of alcohol outcomes among individuals who earlier reported AUDs while participating in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).

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The ability to recognize emotion in others’ facial expressions is an important social skill for interpersonal relationships, work interactions, and family life. Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are linked to a number of deficits in reasoning and emotional functions, including difficulty in identifying emotional facial expressions. This study examined the emotion-recognition abilities of individuals with an AUD and whether the expected deficits were associated with drinking or anxious and depressive symptoms.

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Infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a contagious liver disease with symptoms that range from mild illness for a few weeks to serious, lifelong liver problems. Veterans with HCV infection are almost three times as likely to have an alcohol use disorder (AUD) than veterans without HCV. It is not well understood how the dual occurrence of HCV infection and an AUD impacts a person’s immune system, mood, and brain function. This study investigated how a co-existing AUD contributes to inflammation and psychiatric problems in adults with HCV.

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Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS illness and death in the U.S., accounting for 70 percent of new HIV infections. Furthermore, among men who have sex with men (MSM), black MSM are disproportionately at risk of HIV infection. Alcohol consumption may play a role in HIV transmission because it can lead individuals to have sex without using a condom. This study examined the links between condom use and drinking, before and during sex, and alcohol-use problems.

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent, affecting individuals from adolescence through adulthood. While alcohol is a known contributing cause of IPV, researchers are examining why some individuals who drink become violent but others who drink do not. These results and others will be shared at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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Alcohol hangovers are more significant and costly than people realize, new research shows. Although individuals may be “street legal” to drive a car, or go to work and operate machinery, they can be just as impaired with a hangover as if they were over the alcohol limit. These observations and others will be shared at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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Adolescence is a critical time for development of the brain, as well as accompanying cognitive and socioemotional abilities. It is also a time of high media activity. Results of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study that examined the effects of media activity on psychopathology among youth will be shared at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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“Pregaming” is defined as drinking alone or with other people before going to an event or get-together where alcohol may be present. Pregaming often involves rapid drinking, which can quickly produce high blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) that meet or exceed the legal limit for intoxication. It is a common, high-risk drinking activity among college students that remains largely unaffected by efforts to reduce its occurrence. This study sought to identify profiles of pregamers to characterize the specific risks associated with the behavior, and to develop more effective prevention strategies on college campuses.

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Cooperative learning refers to group-based learning activities that teachers can use to encourage academic involvement and achievement while simultaneously addressing deviant peer influences that may lead to alcohol use. Early results form a study of middle schools in Oregon show significant reductions in alcohol and tobacco use as well as deviant peer friendships. These results and others will be shared at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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Many people have opinions about alcoholism and alcoholics, but few have heard the stories of those afflicted with the disease. A plenary session at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21 will feature three persons in recovery who have agreed to share their stories.

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Alcohol dependence, and opiate, cocaine and other stimulant addictions, are all diseases of the brain that have behavioral manifestations and they are not due to criminal behavior alone or to antisocial or "weak" personality disorders. These observations and others will be shared during the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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Psychologists who are trained and experienced in treating alcohol problems can play an important role in treatment of both the affected individual as well as his or her family. This insight and others will be shared at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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Despite common stereotypes, alcohol treatment is not limited to attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings or “going to rehab.” A growing number of alcohol-treatment services in the U.S. are available as outpatient sessions with counselors and physicians; and now they can be found through NIAAA's Alcohol Treatment Navigator. These options and other real-world advice will be shared at the 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in San Diego June 17-21.

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The 41st annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) will take place in San Diego June 17-20. RSA 2018 provides a meeting place for scientists and clinicians from across the country, and around the world, to interact. The meeting also gives members and non-members the chance to present their latest findings in alcohol research through abstract and symposia submissions. Below are seven programming highlights. Full press releases available upon request.

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Impulsivity is broadly described as the tendency to act without prior thought. It is often linked to alcohol misuse in college students. However, impulsivity is a complex concept and it is likely that different subtypes of this psychological construct are associated with different patterns of alcohol misuse. This study examined links among several categories of impulsivity with both the frequency of alcohol consumption and the frequency of alcohol intoxication.

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Alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders in the U.S. greatly increased between 2001 and 2013, particularly among African-American emerging adults (i.e., those 18-29 years of age). Previous research showed that African American youth are unequally exposed to risk factors for substance use such as economic pressures, neighborhood disorder, and racial discrimination. This study examined how African American mothers’ protective parenting and alcohol use influenced their offspring’s drinking and perceptions of drinkers.

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An “alcopop” is a bottled alcoholic beverage that masks the taste of alcohol with flavors such as soda or lemonade. Originally marketed in Australia during the mid-1990s, alcopop brands such as Smirnoff Ice and Mike’s Hard Lemonade soon became popular in the U.S. Supersized alcopops, such as Four Loko, contain large quantities of alcohol and are reportedly popular among underage drinkers. This study examined the extent to which young adults recognize how intoxicated they would become from drinking supersized alcopops.

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Researchers asked 60 adult participants (31 men, 29 women) – recruited through newspaper advertisements – to record their daily social interactions for 20 days. Specifically, for each interaction, participants reported their perception of their interacting partner’s quarrelsome behavior, their own anger and quarrelsome behavior, and the number of alcoholic drinks consumed up to three hours prior to the event.

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Despite the pervasive use of social media by young adults, little is known about whether, and how, social-media engagement influences their drinking patterns and risk of alcohol-related problems. Reviews thus far have looked at drinking relative to risky behaviors and advertising. This review examined associations between young adults’ alcohol-related social-media activity – defined as posting, liking, commenting on, and viewing of alcohol-related content on social media – and their drinking behaviors and alcohol-related problems.

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Alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs), a range of effects that include lowered intelligence and developmental delays. Over 30 percent of the pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, with most women unaware of being pregnant until after the fourth week, and many not recognizing that they are pregnant until after that. However, the early weeks of pregnancy are critical for fetal development and susceptibility to the damaging effects of alcohol. While face-to-face interventions can significantly reduce risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP), this study, the Contraception and Alcohol Risk Reduction Internet Intervention (CARRII), examined an Internet-delivered intervention designed to reach more women at risk.

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Previous research showed that the combination of two risk factors – parental separation/ divorce and family history of alcoholism (FH+) – can have negative effects on offspring, including an earlier onset of substance use among adolescents and young adults, lower educational attainment in adulthood, and a greater risk of alcohol dependence. This study looked at the impact of parental divorce and FH+ on offspring’s alcohol problems, marijuana use, and interpersonal relationships with parents.

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Decades of clinical and pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that chronic drinking leads to long-lasting changes in reward- and stress-related neuronal circuitry. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an important part of this circuitry. Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) are commonly used by neuroscientists to identify signals in nerve circuits that specify certain behaviors, perceptions, emotions, innate drives, or motor functions. This rodent study investigated the effects of DREADDs on nerve cell activity in the NAc (comprised of a core and a shell) in relation to binge-like drinking.

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Many young adults know firsthand that alcohol hangovers are unpleasant. However, few psychometrically sound instruments (tests that accurately measure personality, mental ability, opinions, etc.) have measured hangovers beyond the college-age years. This study investigated the psychometric properties of two interconnected scales – the Hangover Symptom Scale (HSS) and the Hangover Symptom Scale – Short Form (HSS-5) – among a) light and heavy drinkers, b) individuals with a positive or negative family history of an alcohol use disorder (AUD), and c) men and women in a post college-aged sample.

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Underage drinking can lead to risky or harmful behaviors that include unintentional and unprotected sex, physical and sexual assault, traffic and other injuries, suicide, homicide, and overdoses. Binge drinking among adults is defined as five drinks consumed during two hours by adult men and four drinks by adult women – typically producing a blood alcohol level (BAL) of ≥0.08%. Adolescents can reach a similar BAL after consuming fewer drinks. This paper explored whether and how different levels of adolescent drinking affected associations with health-risk behaviors.

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Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a complex trait, both in its causes and characteristics. Individuals’ sensitivity to alcohol can predict their risk of adverse alcohol outcomes like AUD. Further, AUD runs in families, reflecting in part a genetic component. Alcohol sensitivity includes multiple sub-types whose characteristics (phenotypes) reflect the genetic and environmental factors that interact to produce the disorder. This critical review examines phenotypes related to a person’s response to alcohol, with an emphasis on specific gene variants that potentially impact alcohol sensitivity.

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Alcohol use in social settings can have both desirable and undesirable effects – ranging from better mood and less anxiety to verbal and physical aggression, including violence. These outcomes often reflect the interplay of factors that are both internal and external to an individual. Intra-individual differences in alcohol reactions contribute to the various internal responses to drinking that a person may have; for example, alcohol can induce both positive and negative effects in the same person at different times. However, how that person acts upon impulses that he or she may have can depend on inter-individual differences, such as the individual’s frequency or intensity of drinking in comparison to others. This study examined the influence of inter-individual differences in alcohol use on intra-individual perceptions of drinking during real-world social interactions.

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Each year in the U.S., more than 40,000 patients need a liver transplant because of complications associated with cirrhosis and liver failure. Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) alone accounts for nearly 30 percent of all liver transplants, yet up to 50 percent of patients with alcoholism return to drinking within five years of undergoing a liver transplant. Many transplant centers now require a minimum of six months of alcohol abstinence prior to placing candidates on the United Organ Network Sharing waiting list. This pilot study examined the use of text messaging as an alcohol relapse-prevention intervention for patients with ALD scheduled to undergo a liver transplant.

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Emerging adulthood (between ages 18-25) is a period of critical vulnerability for problematic alcohol use. A substantial amount of research has examined alcohol risks in college-student populations, while much less research has focused on emerging adults who are not attending college. This study investigated the effectiveness of a brief personalized feedback intervention (PFI) tailored for nonstudent at-risk drinkers, the influence of gender on intervention outcomes, and the acceptability of the intervention to participants.

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Alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and recovery research typically focuses on outcomes such as 'days abstinent.' Yet the degree to which individuals may be functioning better physically, socially and psychologically, how happy they may be, and their levels of self-esteem may be equally important as measures of progress. Little is known about whether such changes occur, when they may occur, and for whom, as people progress in recovery. This study sought to improve understanding of recovery milestones and points of vulnerability and growth.

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Women have become increasingly involved in drunk driving and fatal crashes. However, much of the research on drunk driving has been conducted using predominantly male samples. Little is known about the life context, psychiatric histories, and family backgrounds of women arrested for drunk driving. This study was based on interviews with women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI); the study also compared women with single DUIs with those who had multiple DUI convictions.

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There are medications available to help people who drink excessive amounts of alcohol reduce or stop their drinking. One such medication is the opioid antagonist naltrexone, which has been approved for treatment of alcohol dependence by the Food and Drug Administration. Although naltrexone can reduce alcohol craving and help promote recovery for some individuals, it does not work for everyone. Prior research suggested that nicotine use/smoking status and genetic differences were predictors of response to naltrexone. This study further investigated the impact of nicotine use/smoking status and variation in the mu opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), specifically, an A118G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, or DNA sequence variation), on the effects of naltrexone on a range of drinking outcomes.

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Binge or heavy episodic drinking (HED) – defined as four or more drinks in a two-hour period – among U.S. university women has increased by 40 percent during the past 30 years. This dramatic development suggests that women are “closing the gender gap” by drinking at rates similar to those of men. Feminine norms – beliefs and expectations about what it means to be a woman – may play a role in altering drinking patterns among this group. This study examined trajectories of HED among young adult women and the gender-relevant factors that may predict these trajectories.

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Genetic epidemiology is the study of how genetic factors may influence health. Twin and adoption studies have shown that about half of the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is due to differences in the genotypes that people carry, yet few specific genes that play a causal role have been identified. Scientists believe AUDs are highly polygenic – involving many genes – likely thousands. However, genetic risk for AUD may differ among populations. This study evaluated whether the genetic risk for AUDs differed among four population samples.

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American Indians who drink alcohol are often collectively characterized as having greater risks for alcohol problems, alcohol misuse, and alcohol-use disorders. Indeed, despite high abstinence rates, American Indians experience elevated rates of many alcohol and other drug problems. However, American Indians also predominantly reside in poor and rural areas. This study investigated whether geographic areas that included reservations or large American Indian populations had greater incidences of alcohol- and drug-related hospitalizations.

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Puerto Ricans make up the second largest Hispanic group in the United States, comprising 9.5% of the population (Mexicans are the largest group). Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. continent have some of the highest rates of drinking, binge drinking, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) of any of the U.S. Hispanic national groups. This research investigated lifetime criteria and severity (mild, moderate, severe) of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) AUD in Puerto Rico.

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While moderate drinking – up to one drink per day for women, two for men – can be part of a healthy lifestyle, excessive and chronic drinking can contribute to injury and disease. Each year, U.S. patients utilize emergency department (ED) services more than 130 million times, averaging nearly four visits per every 10 people. Alcohol-related injury and disease are commonly the cause of these visits. This study examined trends in ED visits that involved heavy and chronic drinking by age and gender between 2006 to 2014.

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Deception by research participants is a problem that needs to be recognized and addressed, according to a recent review. Research participants who conceal or fabricate information to gain admission to and participate in clinical research – for example, when financial compensation is provided – can undermine the reliability and reproducibility of study findings, and may contribute to false conclusions about medication efficacy and safety. The authors of the review suggested ways to identify and thus minimize the enrollment of rule-breaking study subjects who aim to participate in alcohol research.

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In many western countries, public concern about violence and other problems at sporting events has increased. Alcohol is often involved. Research shows that approximately 40 percent of the spectators drink alcohol while attending U.S. baseball and football games, especially when alcohol is served within the arenas themselves. Alcohol-related problems can be compounded at large sport stadiums that hold tens of thousands of spectators. This study examined occurrences of overserving at licensed premises both inside and outside the arenas, and allowing entry of obviously intoxicated spectators into the arenas.

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Early adolescence is a high-risk period for alcohol experimentation and initiation. Adolescent drinking is linked to exposure to alcohol use in the media. This study examined the influence that movie portrayals of drinking may have on the onset of drinking among 6th, 7th and 8th graders, and the impact that viewing the movie with a friend or parent might have. Researchers also examined movie influence across a spectrum of early-drinking milestones: sipping alcohol (but not consuming a full drink), consuming a full drink of alcohol, and engaging in heavy episodic drinking.

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Military sexual trauma (MST) is defined as sexual harassment and/or sexual trauma experienced during the course of military service. It includes uninvited or unwanted verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature, such as attention, verbal remarks, touching, sexual coercion, sexual assault, and rape. MST happens to both men and women, and can have mental and physical health consequences. However, little attention has been paid to the behavioral health consequences of MST, such as substance misuse. This study examined the prevalence of MST during deployment among male Reserve and National Guard soldiers, and the extent to which MST exposure during deployment was associated with frequent heavy drinking and alcohol problems post-deployment.

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Early-age drinking is common in many western nations; for example, 54 percent of Australian 14- to 19-year olds have reported past-year alcohol use. Although early-age drinking has been associated with developing later alcohol problems, findings have been inconsistent. This study used data from the Australian Parental Supply of Alcohol Longitudinal Study to examine age at first drink, age of first drunkenness, and associations with subsequent drinking during adolescence.

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Although estimates vary, scientists believe that 50 to 64 percent of the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is inherited. One way to identify this risk is through a person’s subjective response to alcohol. This study investigated the effects of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or changes in DNA sequence called rs279858 (in the GABRA2 gene) and rs2832407 (in the GRIK1 gene) – previously linked to AUD risk – on individuals’ subjective responses to intravenously administered alcohol.

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Heavy drinking impairs balance and motor coordination, which is why increased body sway is a useful indicator to both police and bartenders that a person may be intoxicated. People often drink alcohol at the same time that they ingest stimulant drugs such as caffeine or nicotine, yet it is unclear how these stimulants affect alcohol-induced balance impairment. This study examined whether combining a high-caffeine energy drink with alcohol can influence expected alcohol-induced increases in body sway.

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The etiology (i.e., underlying causes) of a behavior, such as alcohol drinking, can change during adolescence and young adulthood. Prior alcohol research has shown that, in general: shared/common environment influences are strongest in early adolescence, declining in strength until young adulthood; unique environmental influences are moderate, but stable, during adolescence and young adulthood; and genetic influences are weakest during early adolescence, steadily increasing in strength until young adulthood. This study examined the relations between genetic and environmental etiologies of alcohol use and the influence of peer use, parental autonomy granting, and maternal closeness on this behavior.

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Although drinking by U.S. adolescents has decreased during the last decade, more than 20 percent of U.S. high-school students continue to drink alcohol before the age of 14 years. This can have adverse effects on their neurodevelopment. For example, youth who initiate drinking before 14 years of age are four times more likely to develop psychosocial, psychiatric, and substance-use difficulties than those who begin drinking after turning 20 years of age. Little is known about how the age of alcohol-use onset influences brain development. This is the first study to assess the association between age of adolescent drinking onset and neurocognitive performance, taking into account pre-existing cognitive function.

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In every U.S. state, it is illegal for adults to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or greater. In 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states lower the BAC limit for driving from .08 to .05 grams. Most industrialized nations have already enacted a .05 BAC limit. This study investigated whether lowering the BAC limit to .05 would be an effective alcohol policy in the United States.

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Alcohol use disorder (AUD) often co-occurs with chronic pain (CP), yet the relationship between the two is complex – involving genetic, neurophysiological, and behavioral elements – and is poorly understood. This review addressed the genetic influences on brain reward and stress systems that neurological research suggests may contribute to the co-occurrence of AUD and CP.

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Sometimes scientists do not see the value of sharing their knowledge and expertise with non-scientists and members of the public may believe that researchers enjoy a rarefied existence. This critical review addresses the important, yet limited gap that exists between these two realms by discussing the Spit for Science project. Spit4Science is a university-wide research undertaking at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) that focuses on alcohol and other drug use and related mental-health outcomes. It incorporates two forms of participatory research that have gained increasing attention in recent years, community-engaged research and citizen science.