Alcohol and other substance use by faculty, staff, and students in a university community during two hurricanes: Lessons for preventing risky misuse.

Communities commonly warn against heavy alcohol and other substance use during natural disasters like hurricanes, because such use may produce risk for individuals and communities, with studies showing deleterious effects persisting months or even years. Examining patterns and emotional correlates of use in the immediate presence of hurricanes may identify useful risk prevention targets. We assessed self-reported substance use and emotions in a university community (faculty, staff, and students) having the unlucky fate of experiencing hurricanes in early September 2 years in a row. Participants (403 in 2018, 76.0% female; M age 28.82; SD = 12.36 and 292 in 2019, 72.6% female; M age 30.63; SD = 13.96) reported typical weekly substance use and emotions and then the same data during each hurricane day. Results showed elevated use of alcohol, caffeine and tobacco before and during each hurricane, but a rapid drop-off of alcohol and caffeine (but not tobacco) use immediately after-although anxiety remained high. Findings are interpreted using both tension-reduction and stress-coping models and suggestions are made for future risk mitigation.

Women's Drinking Decisions in Heterosocial Situations: Development and Validation of Scenarios to Assess Influence of Attraction and Risk-Awareness.

These three related studies created a set of ecologically valid scenarios for assessing relative associations of both attraction and sexual coercion risk-recognition in college women's heterosocial situational drinking decisions. The first study constructed nine scenarios using input from heterosexual drinking women in the age cohort (18-30) most likely to experience alcohol-related sexual coercion. In the second study, 50 female undergraduates (ages 18-25) assessed the salience of three important dimensions (attraction, risk, and realism) in these scenarios. The third study was a factor analysis (and a follow-up confirmatory factor analysis) of the elements of coercion-risk as perceived by the target group with two female samples recruited 1 year apart (Sample 1: N = 157, ages 18-29); Sample 2: N = 157, ages 18-30). Results confirmed that the scenarios could be a useful vehicle for assessing how women balance out risk and attraction to make in-the moment heterosocial drinking decisions. The factor analysis showed participants perceived two types of situations, based on whether the male character was "Familiar" or "Just Met" and perceived themselves as happier and more excited with Familiar males. However, in contrast to HIV risk studies, Familiar males were perceived as higher risk for unwanted sex. Future research will use the six scenarios that emerged from the factor analysis to study how attraction and risk perception differentially affect young adult women's social drinking decisions.

What Do Women Want? A Qualitative Study of Dating.

Many approaches to decrease unwanted sex for women emphasize enhanced risk recognition. However, women often remain in risky situations despite recognition; so we need to understand the attractions of normative dating and sex. In this focus group study, 45 young adult women discussed their attractions to men, dating, and sex. Themes emerged describing conflicts between what they wanted, dating realities, desire for "traditional" behavior from the man, alcohol use, sexual arousal (hers and his), indirect communication about sex, feeling "obligated," and enhanced self-esteem. Results suggest improving risk-recognition programs by examining and clarifying women's goals for dating and putting positive emphasis on "have fun, achieve your goals, but try to avoid harm in the process."

A comparison of African-American versus Caucasian men screened for an alcohol administration laboratory study: recruitment and representation implications.

African-Americans are under-represented in alcohol research, especially alcohol administration laboratory studies. Specific recruitment of African-Americans into laboratory studies, however, may also inadvertently affect the generalizability of the findings. In the current study, we compared all African-American young adult men (n=53) who volunteered and met criteria for an alcohol administration study to a sample (n=50) of Caucasian men recruited for the same study. Groups were compared on variables including demographics, quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption and other substance use, consequences of use and psychopathology. Compared to their Caucasian counterparts, African-American men reported less drinking frequency and quantity, less use of other substances and fewer negative consequences, but their alcohol and drug use was more likely to be associated with various measures of psychopathology. Results suggest that even when recruiting participants using criteria that should minimize differences (i.e. all participants were "social drinkers"), differences on key variables were evident. These differences may have important implications for alcohol research.

Incidence, sources, and self-management of depression in persons attending a rural health clinic in southeastern North Carolina.

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, sources, and self-management strategies of depression in a sample of 48 persons visiting a primary care clinic in rural Southeastern North Carolina. Forty percent of the participants met the criteria of clinical depression on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Highest rates of depression found in single, African American men who were employed with adequate health insurance were attributed primarily to work related stressors in dealing with overwhelming social problems of other rural residents, as well as economic stressors. Critical incident interviews identified depression self-management strategies and sources of social support.

The effects of alcohol and cue salience on young men's acceptance of sexual aggression.

Research suggests that alcohol intoxication may increase a young man's likelihood of sexual aggression. This laboratory analogue experiment tested a disinhibition versus alcohol myopia explanation of alcohol's role by investigating effects of acute alcohol administration, expectations and individual differences drawn from Malamuth's Confluence Model of Sexual Aggression (i.e., Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence: AIV, Need for Sexual Dominance: NSD) on young men's acceptance of sexual aggression. Young adult heterosexual men (n=334) attended two laboratory sessions each. In the first, they completed screening and individual differences measures. In the second, they were assigned randomly to consume one of four beverages: Control, Placebo, Low Dose Alcohol (0.33 ml alcohol/kg body weight) or Moderate Dose Alcohol (0.75 ml/kg) and view one of two video-delivered scenario conditions: "Anti-Force Cues" (scenario of a couple on a date with embedded explicit cues mitigating against forced sex) or "No Cues" (Identical scenario with no Anti-Force cues). Participants then judged 1) should the man continue to force the woman to have sex? 2) would they force the woman? and 3) who was responsible for the outcome? Results supported a disinhibition versus alcohol myopia model. Consuming alcohol increased acceptance of sexual aggression. Further, higher NSD and AIV scores were associated with acceptance of forced sex, but only after alcohol consumption. Overall, findings showed that key individual difference factors from Malamuth's Confluence Model enhance precision of predicting sexual aggression risk by young men under the influence of alcohol.

Development and validation of videotaped scenarios: a method for targeting specific participant groups.

Researchers using scenarios often neglect to validate perceived content and salience of embedded stimuli specifically with intended participants, even when such meaning is integral to the study. For example, sex and aggression stimuli are heavily influenced by culture, so participants may not perceive what researchers intended in sexual aggression scenarios. Using four studies, the authors describe the method of scenario validation to produce two videos assessing alcohol-related sexual aggression. Both videos are identical except for the presence in one video of antiforce cues that are extremely salient to the young heterosexual men. Focus groups and questionnaires validate these men's perceptions that (a) the woman was sexually interested, (b) the sexual cues were salient, (c) the antiforce cues were salient (antiaggression video only), and (e) these antiforce cues inhibited acceptance of forced sex. Results show the value of carefully selecting and validating content when assessing socially volatile variables and provide a useful template for developing culturally valid scenarios.