Intimate Partner Aggression During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations With Stress and Heavy Drinking.

Objective: This study aimed to test empirically whether (1) the local impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increases in intimate partner aggression (IPA) and heavy drinking, and (2) heavy drinking moderated the association between COVID-19 stress and IPA perpetration. Method: Participants were 510 individuals (approximately 50% who endorsed a sexual or gender minority identity) recruited via Qualtrics Research Services in April 2020, during the height of shelter-in-place (SiP) restrictions across the United States. They completed a questionnaire battery that included measures of COVID-19 stressors, physical and psychological IPA perpetration, and heavy drinking. Results: Rates of physical and psychological IPA perpetration significantly increased after implementation of SiP restrictions which aimed to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. COVID-19 stress was significantly and positively associated with physical and psychological IPA perpetration; however, COVID-19 stress was positively associated with physical IPA perpetration among non-heavy drinking, but not heavy drinking, participants. Conclusions: Drawn from a large sample of participants of diverse sexual identities, findings tentatively implicate COVID-19 stress as a critical correlate of IPA perpetration and suggest that "low risk" individuals (i.e., non-heavy drinkers) should not be overlooked. These data provide preliminary support for the usefulness of public health polices and individual-level interventions that target stress, heavy drinking, and their antecedents.

Reduction in Cannabis Use and Functional Status in Physical Health, Mental Health, and Cognition.

Treatment for substance use disorders has traditionally been abstinence-oriented, but evaluating the merits of low-level cannabis use as potential treatment endpoint may identify benefits that are clinically relevant for treatment-seeking individuals who do not attain abstinence. This study explores if reduction in cannabis use to a lower level of use is related to improved physical health, mental health, and perceived cognitive functions. Study participants with a history of problematic cannabis use (n = 111) completed assessments. Regression models were used to explore the relationship between past 30-day cannabis use levels (abstinent [57%], low use [22%] defined as less than or equal to 3 days per week, and heavy use [22%] defined as 4 or more days of use per week) and functional status in physical health, mental health, and cognition. Compared to heavy users, both abstinent and low-use individuals were similarly associated with better global health, appetite, and depression outcomes. Abstinent users also reported improved sleep, anxiety, and self-reported cognitive functioning relative to heavy users. Thus, reduction in cannabis use to lower levels is associated with beneficial outcomes important to health and other areas of functioning in individuals with problematic cannabis use.