Prenatal cocaine exposure and trajectories of externalizing behavior problems in early childhood: examining the role of maternal negative affect.

This study examined the association between prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) and developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior problems from 18 to 54 months of child age. A hypothesized indirect association between PCE and externalizing trajectories via maternal negative affect was also examined. Caregiving environmental risk and child sex were evaluated as moderators. This study consisted of 196 mother-child dyads recruited at delivery from local area hospitals (107 PCE, 89 non-PCE) and assessed at seven time points across the toddler to preschool periods. Results revealed no direct associations between PCE and externalizing behavior problem trajectories. However, results did indicate that PCE shared a significant indirect relationship with externalizing behavior problem trajectories via higher levels of maternal negative affect. The association between PCE and externalizing problem trajectories was also moderated by caregiving environmental risk such that PCE children in high-risk caregiving environments did not experience the well-documented normative decline in externalizing behavior problems beginning at around 3 years of age. This study suggests potential pathways to externalizing behavior problems among high-risk children.

Gender differences in natural language factors of subjective intoxication in college students: an experimental vignette study.

BACKGROUND: Examining the natural language college students use to describe various levels of intoxication can provide important insight into subjective perceptions of college alcohol use. Previous research (Levitt et al., Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2009; 33: 448) has shown that intoxication terms reflect moderate and heavy levels of intoxication and that self-use of these terms differs by gender among college students. However, it is still unknown whether these terms similarly apply to other individuals and, if so, whether similar gender differences exist. METHODS: To address these issues, the current study examined the application of intoxication terms to characters in experimentally manipulated vignettes of naturalistic drinking situations within a sample of university undergraduates (n = 145). RESULTS: Findings supported and extended previous research by showing that other-directed applications of intoxication terms are similar to self-directed applications and depend on the gender of both the target and the user. Specifically, moderate intoxication terms were applied to and from women more than men, even when the character was heavily intoxicated, whereas heavy intoxication terms were applied to and from men more than women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that gender differences in the application of intoxication terms are other-directed as well as self-directed and that intoxication language can inform gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts targeting problematic alcohol use among college students.

The language of intoxication: preliminary investigations.

BACKGROUND: The extensive vocabulary individuals use to describe alcohol's subjective effects has largely gone unexamined in contemporary alcohol research. The present study examined the language drinkers use to describe their own intoxication. It is argued that this language can provide a more complete characterization of alcohol's subjective effects than is available from existing objective and subjective measures of alcohol use and can inform future self-report research. METHOD: Toward this goal, a preliminary, cross-sectional, web-based study of the familiarity and usage of current intoxication-related words was conducted in 2 different samples (n = 290 and 146, respectively) of university undergraduates. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analyses using data from the first sample and confirmatory factor analyses using data from the second sample similarly showed that commonly used terms loaded onto 2 factors, which directly reflected the number of drinks required to be considered moderately or heavily intoxicated, respectively. Gender differences were also found in the familiarity and self-use of some terms across both samples. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that alcohol researchers include multiple intoxication-related terms in future self-report research, and to periodically assess current intoxication-related vocabulary considering demographic, generational, and socio-cultural differences.

Alcohol, Self-Regulation and Partner Physical Aggression: Actor-Partner Effects Over a Three-Year Time Frame.

The question of how individual differences related to self-regulation interact with alcohol use patterns to predict intimate partner aggression (IPA) is examined. We hypothesized that excessive drinking will be related to partner aggression among those who have low self-regulation. In addition, we explored the extent to which differences in self-regulation in one partner may moderate the relationship between alcohol use and partner aggression. A sample of married or cohabitating community couples (N = 280) ages 18-45 was recruited according to their classification into four drinking groups: heavy drinking in both partners (n = 79), husband only (n = 80), wife only (n = 41), by neither (n = 80), and interviewed annually for 3 years. IPA, drinking, and scores on measures of negative affect, self-control, and Executive Cognitive Functioning (ECF) were assessed for both members of the couple. The Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to analyze longitudinal models predicting the occurrence of IPA from baseline alcohol use, negative affect, self-control and ECF. Actor self-control interacted with partner self-control such that IPA was most probable when both were low in self-control. Contrary to prediction, actors high in alcohol use and also high on self-control were more likely to engage in IPA. Partner alcohol use was predictive of actor IPA when the partner was also high in negative affect. Low partner ECF was associated with more actor IPA. These findings suggest that self-regulatory factors within both members of a couple can interact with alcohol use patterns to increase the risk for relationship aggression.

(Dis)similarity in Impulsivity and Marital Satisfaction: A Comparison of Volatility, Compatibility, and Incompatibility Hypotheses.

Impulsivity is negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, but whether relationship functioning is harmed or helped when both partners are high in impulsivity is unclear. The influence of impulsivity might be exacerbated (the Volatility Hypothesis) or reversed (the Compatibility Hypothesis). Alternatively, discrepancies in impulsivity might be particularly problematic (the Incompatibility Hypothesis). Behavioral and self-report measures of impulsivity were collected from a community sample of couples. Mixed effect polynomial regressions with response surface analysis provide evidence in favor of both the Compatibility Hypothesis and the Incompatibility Hypothesis, but not the Volatility Hypothesis. Mediation analyses suggest results for satisfaction are driven by perceptions of the partner's negative behavior and responsiveness. Implications for the study of both impulsivity and relationship functioning are discussed.

Should Parents Allow Their Adolescent Children to Drink at Home? Family Factors as Predictors of Alcohol Involvement Trajectories Over 15 Years.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined familial risk and protective factors as moderators of parents allowing their adolescent children to drink at home on longitudinal alcohol involvement trajectories. METHOD: A total of 772 community adolescents and their parents provided data beginning in 1989 and at four subsequent time points over 15 years; Black adolescents were intentionally oversampled (50% at baseline). RESULTS: Outcomes related to allowing adolescents to drink at home depended on family structure: Adolescents from intact families who were allowed to drink at home showed the lowest levels of alcohol use and problems over time, whereas those from nonintact families who were allowed to drink at home showed the highest levels of involvement. These results controlled for family history of alcohol problems, consistent parenting styles, and demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that allowing adolescents to drink at home is neither inherently protective nor risky but depends on the family context. Implications for the development of adolescent alcohol involvement are discussed.

Insecure attachment styles, relationship-drinking contexts, and marital alcohol problems: Testing the mediating role of relationship-specific drinking-to-cope motives.

Research and theory suggest that romantic couple members are motivated to drink to cope with interpersonal distress. Additionally, this behavior and its consequences appear to be differentially associated with insecure attachment styles. However, no research has directly examined drinking to cope that is specific to relationship problems, or with relationship-specific drinking outcomes. Based on alcohol motivation and attachment theories, the current study examines relationship-specific drinking-to-cope processes over the early years of marriage. Specifically, it was hypothesized that drinking to cope with a relationship problem would mediate the associations between insecure attachment styles (i.e., anxious and avoidant) and frequencies of drinking with and apart from one's partner and marital alcohol problems in married couples. Multilevel models were tested via the actor-partner interdependence model using reports of both members of 470 couples over the first nine years of marriage. As expected, relationship-specific drinking-to-cope motives mediated the effects of actor anxious attachment on drinking apart from one's partner and on marital alcohol problems, but, unexpectedly, not on drinking with the partner. No mediated effects were found for attachment avoidance. Results suggest that anxious (but not avoidant) individuals are motivated to use alcohol to cope specifically with relationship problems in certain contexts, which may exacerbate relationship difficulties associated with attachment anxiety. Implications for theory and future research on relationship-motivated drinking are discussed.

Relationship-specific alcohol expectancies and gender moderate the effects of relationship drinking contexts on daily relationship functioning.

OBJECTIVE: Research shows that drinking with one's partner in romantic relationships is associated with positive relationship functioning (e.g., increased intimacy), whereas drinking apart from one's partner is associated with negative relationship functioning (e.g., increased negative behaviors/events). Relationship-specific alcohol expectancies (RSAE) may moderate these associations and illuminate for whom these processes are more positive or negative. The current study tested RSAE as a moderator of the time-lagged daily associations between relationship drinking contexts and next-day relationship functioning in a sample of mostly adult, married, moderate-drinking couples. METHOD: Both members of 118 couples completed daily diary reports of drinking episodes and positive and negative relationship functioning for up to 56 days. Multilevel models predicted next-day relationship functioning from time-lagged relationship drinking contexts and between-person differences in RSAE and gender. RESULTS: The results replicate previous research showing decreased negative and increased positive relationship functioning following drinking with (vs. apart from) one's partner. RSAE interacted with gender to moderate the association between drinking-with-partner and next-day positive relationship functioning. Men high in social expectancies and women high in intimacy expectancies reported significantly greater next-day positive relationship functioning following drinking-with-partner. In addition, both men and women high in intimacy expectancies reported significantly greater next-day negative relationship functioning following drinking-apart-from-partner. No effects were found for other RSAE domains. CONCLUSIONS: These results support and extend prior research showing that women's relationship drinking is associated with intimacy enhancement, whereas among men it is associated with social effects. The current study has implications for future research and theory on relationship-motivated drinking processes.

Effects of administered alcohol on intimate partner interactions in a conflict resolution paradigm.

OBJECTIVE: Although couples' alcohol use has been associated with intimate partner aggression and poorer marital functioning, few studies have examined the proximal effects of alcohol on couple interactions. The current experimental study examined the effects of alcohol, administered independently to male and female intimate partners, on positive and negative interaction behaviors within a naturalistic conflict resolution paradigm. METHOD: Married and cohabiting couples (n = 152) were recruited from the community and each partner randomly assigned to receive either alcohol (target dose: .08 mg/kg) or no alcohol. They engaged in two 15-minute interactions regarding current disagreements in their relationship, one before and one after beverage administration. Videotaped interactions were coded by trained observers using the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System, and positive and negative interaction behaviors were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. RESULTS: Participants displayed decreased negativity and increased positivity following alcohol consumption when their partners were sober but no differences in negativity or positivity when their partners also consumed alcohol. There were no gender differences. Although participants with a history of perpetrating intimate partner aggression displayed more negativity, prior aggression did not interact with beverage condition. CONCLUSIONS: The immediate effects of alcohol consumption on couple interaction behaviors appeared more positive than negative. Contrary to hypotheses, congruent partner drinking had neither particularly positive nor particularly negative effects. These unique findings represent a rare glimpse into the immediate consequences of alcohol consumption on couple interaction and stand in contrast to its delayed or long-term effects.

Relationship-specific alcohol expectancies and relationship-drinking contexts: reciprocal influence and gender-specific effects over the first 9 years of marriage.

Previous research has suggested that individuals in romantic relationships hold beliefs about the effects of relationship-drinking contexts (e.g., drinking with one's partner) on later relationship functioning, as well as the effects of relationship functioning on later relationship-drinking contexts, and that these reciprocal effects may be stronger among women compared with men. However, little research has directly examined relationship-specific alcohol expectancies, and no studies have tested the reciprocal associations between these expectancies and the extent of drinking in specific relationship contexts. The current study examined these reciprocal effects by testing time-lagged multilevel models using data from a community sample of 470 married couples during the first 9 years of marriage. As expected, results showed reciprocal effects between intimacy and social expectancies, respectively, and the extent of drinking-with-partner when both partners were drinking, which appeared to be adaptive mechanisms for relationships. Also as expected, some of these effects differed or were stronger for wives compared with husbands. Unexpectedly, reciprocal effects were also found between power expectancies and the extent of drinking apart from one's partner, which appeared to be maladaptive mechanisms for relationships. The current study supports and extends previous research on alcohol use in romantic relationships by showing how relationship-specific alcohol expectancies influence and are influenced from relationship-drinking contexts, and which processes might be adaptive versus maladaptive for romantic relationships. Implications for future research and theory are discussed.

The moderating effect of family involvement on substance use risk factors in adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral challenges.

OBJECTIVE: The current study longitudinally examined the moderating effects of family involvement, which previous research has shown to be a protective factor against adolescents' substance use involvement, on the associations between internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively, and substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco) and problems in a unique sample of adolescents with severe emotional and behavioral problems. METHOD: Adolescents (n=4786) and their parents were assessed at three waves over a 1-year period as part of the SAMHSA funded Comprehensive Community Mental Health Initiative (CMHI). Multilevel growth curve models were estimated using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to examine the associations between time-varying internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively, and substance use involvement over time as a function of family involvement at baseline. RESULTS: Results supported the hypothesis that family involvement protects against adolescent substance use involvement by buffering the adverse effects of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Specifically, for alcohol use, family involvement buffered the negative effects of high externalizing problems. For tobacco use, family involvement buffered the negative effects of both internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. For substance use problems, family involvement buffered the effects of only internalizing problems. Family involvement did not moderate effects of emotional and behavioral problems on marijuana use, however, a significant main effect was observed such that family involvement was negatively related to marijuana use. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the beneficial effects of family involvement on at-risk adolescents' substance use involvement are dependent on the type of emotional and behavioral problems the adolescent experiences as well as the type of substance the adolescent uses. Implications for family- and adolescent-focused treatment are discussed.

Alcohol craving in patients diagnosed with a severe mental illness and alcohol use disorder: bidirectional relationships between approach and avoidance inclinations and drinking.

OBJECTIVE: The current study was undertaken to better understand the craving-drinking relationship among individuals dually diagnosed with a severe mental illness (SMI) and an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Using an ambivalence conceptualization of craving (Breiner, Stritzke, & Lang, 1999), we investigated the bidirectional relationships between desires and behavioral intentions to use (approach inclinations) and not use (avoidance inclinations) alcohol and drinking outcomes in patients diagnosed with an SMI-AUD. METHOD: Patients (N = 278) seeking outpatient dual diagnosis treatment from a community mental health center were followed longitudinally over the course of 6 months. Assessments at baseline, 2-month, 4-month, and 6-month intervals included approach and avoidance inclinations, alcohol urges, readiness to change, and drinking outcomes. RESULTS: Time-lagged multilevel growth curve modeling found that avoidance inclinations moderated the effect of approach inclinations on subsequent drinking outcomes differentially over time. Specifically, avoidance inclinations attenuated the effect of approach on subsequent heavier drinking levels, and high avoidance/low approach demonstrated significant decreases on levels of drinking over time. Results also indicated that number of drinks consumed and heavy drinking days predicted subsequent approach inclinations differentially over time, such that lower levels of drinking predicted decreases in approach inclinations. Decreases in drinking also predicted higher subsequent avoidance inclinations, which were maintained over time. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the complexity of subjective craving responses and the importance of measuring both approach and avoidance inclinations. Among those diagnosed with SMI-AUDs, treatment strategies that increase avoidance inclinations may increase abstinence rates in this difficult-to-treat population.

Husband and wife alcohol use as independent or interactive predictors of intimate partner violence.

OBJECTIVE: Men's heavy drinking has been established as a risk factor for their perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV); however, the role of women's drinking in their perpetration of IPV is less clear. The current study examined the relative strength of husbands' and wives' alcohol use and alcohol dependence symptoms on the occurrence and frequency of husbands' and wives' IPV perpetration. METHOD: Married and cohabiting community couples (N = 280) were identified and recruited according to their classification in one of four drinking groups: heavy episodic drinking occurred in both partners (n = 79), the husband only (n = 80), the wife only (n = 41), and neither (n = 80). Husband and wife alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence symptoms, and IPV perpetration were assessed independently for both partners. RESULTS: Husband and wife consumption and alcohol dependence symptoms contributed to the likelihood and frequency of husband IPV, both independently and interactively. Husband, but not wife, alcohol dependence symptoms contributed to the occurrence of any wife IPV, although both partners' alcohol dependence symptoms predicted the frequency of wife aggression. Couples with discrepant drinking were not more likely to perpetrate IPV. CONCLUSIONS: Findings for husband IPV support previous research identifying alcohol use of both partners as a predictor. However, for wives, alcohol appears to play less of a role in IPV perpetration, perhaps reflecting that women experience less inhibition against physical aggression in their intimate relationships than do men.

Daily alcohol use and romantic relationship functioning: evidence of bidirectional, gender-, and context-specific effects.

Whether beneficial or harmful, cause or effect, the nature of associations between drinking and close relationship processes remains unclear. The present study examined these issues by using daily reports of alcohol use and relationship functioning from 69 heterosexual couples over 3 weeks. Multilevel modeling indicated that alcohol had both positive and negative effects on relationship processes and that effects were more positive for women, and when small amounts were consumed, partners drank together, or they consumed similar amounts. Interestingly, however, positive effects on intimacy and partner behaviors were not mediated by sexual contact. In the reverse direction, women were found to drink more than men in response to relationship difficulties and feeling disconnected from their partner (i.e., low intimacy). Overall findings indicate that associations between drinking and relationship processes are complex and bidirectional and that they may be more important for women than men.