Interpersonal ethnic-racial discrimination and tobacco products: The moderating role of critical action.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to understand the role of critical action, sociopolitical participation, an essential form of consciousness in the relationship between interpersonal discrimination and the use of tobacco products. METHOD: The present study was part of a more extensive longitudinal study on students' genetic and environmental experiences. To examine these associations, 164 racially minoritized college students (Mage = 19.86, SD = 0.28) were surveyed for this study. RESULTS: Findings indicated that the relation between interpersonal ethnic-racial discrimination (IERD) and tobacco products was moderated by critical action. Specifically, IERD was associated with greater use of tobacco products when students had low critical consciousness-critical action. The relation between IERD and the use of tobacco products became nonsignificant when students had high critical action. CONCLUSIONS: Critical action was protective in mitigating increased tobacco use in the context of discrimination experiences. Research, clinical, and policy implications are discussed in efforts to reduce tobacco-related disparities among racially minoritized college students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol use disorder symptoms: Testing interactions with polygenic risk.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test whether COVID impact interacts with genetic risk (polygenic risk score/PRS) to predict alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms. Method: Participants were n = 455 college students (79.6% female, 51% European Ancestry/EA, 24% African Ancestry/AFR, 25% Americas Ancestry/AMER) from a longitudinal study during the initial stage (March-May 2020) of the pandemic. Path models allowed for the examination of PRS and previously identified COVID-19 impact constructs. Results: There was a main effect of the AUD PRS on AUD symptoms within the EA group (ß: .165, p < .01). Additionally, food/housing insecurity was predictive in the AMER group (ß.295, p < .05), and greater increases in substance use were associated with AUD symptoms for EA (ß:.459, p < .001) and AMER groups (ß:.468, p < .001). Conclusions: Greater food/housing instability and increases in substance use, as well higher scores on PRS are associated with more AUD symptoms for some ancestral groups within this college sample.

Neuroscience-informed classification of prevention interventions in substance use disorders: An RDoC-based approach.

Neuroscience has contributed to uncover the mechanisms underpinning substance use disorders (SUD). The next frontier is to leverage these mechanisms as active targets to create more effective interventions for SUD treatment and prevention. Recent large-scale cohort studies from early childhood are generating multiple levels of neuroscience-based information with the potential to inform the development and refinement of future preventive strategies. However, there are still no available well-recognized frameworks to guide the integration of these multi-level datasets into prevention interventions. The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) provides a neuroscience-based multi-system framework that is well suited to facilitate translation of neurobiological mechanisms into behavioral domains amenable to preventative interventions. We propose a novel RDoC-based framework for prevention science and adapted the framework for the existing preventive interventions. From a systematic review of randomized controlled trials using a person-centered drug/alcohol preventive approach for adolescents, we identified 22 unique preventive interventions. By teasing apart these 22 interventions into the RDoC domains, we proposed distinct neurocognitive trajectories which have been recognized as precursors or risk factors for SUDs, to be targeted, engaged and modified for effective addiction prevention.

Interactions between COVID-19 family home disruptions and relationships predicting college students' mental health over time.

The present study tested whether family home disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring 2020 (Time 1; T1) informed mental health (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depressive, and anxiety symptoms) 7 months later in Fall 2020 at T2 and whether family relationship quality moderated relations. Multigroup path analysis models were used to test whether there were significant differences in relations by emerging adults' ethnic-racial backgrounds. Participants were 811 Black, Asian American, Latine, and White emerging adult college students (Mage = 19.95, SD = .33), and the majority (79.6%) who reported their gender identified as cisgender women. Results indicated that across all individuals, T1 family relationship quality moderated relations between T1 family home disruptions and T2 anxiety and depressive symptoms. At lower levels of T1 family relationship quality, family home disruptions predicted greater T2 depressive and anxiety symptoms. At higher levels of T1 family relationship quality, these relations were not significant. Findings highlight that family relationship quality is an important protective factor for diverse emerging adult college students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Identifying distinct profiles of impulsivity for the four facets of psychopathy.

Psychopathy comprises antagonistic personality traits and antisocial behaviors that are associated with critical outcomes for the individual and society (e.g., violent behavior). Since its inception, impulsivity has been theorized as a core feature of psychopathy. Research supports this assertion, yet psychopathy and impulsivity are both multifaceted constructs. As such, the associations commonly observed between psychopathy and impulsivity may obscure more nuanced profiles of impulsivity that are only observable at the facet-level. To address this gap in the literature, we collected data from a community sample using a clinical psychopathy interview along with dispositional and neurobehavioral measures of impulsivity. We regressed each of the four facets of psychopathy onto eight impulsivity variables. We followed these analyses with bootstrapped dominance analyses in order to determine which of the impulsivity variables shared the most variance with each psychopathy facet. Our analyses revealed that positive urgency was the most important aspect of impulsivity to all four facets of psychopathy. We further identified distinct profiles of impulsivity linked to each psychopathy facet-the interpersonal facet was typified by sensation seeking and temporal impulsivity. The affective and lifestyle facets were both typified by general trait impulsivity and affective impulsivity. The antisocial facet was typified by affective impulsivity and sensation seeking. Such distinct profiles of impulsivity suggest that specific behaviors linked with each facet (e.g., manipulativeness and the interpersonal facet) may be explained in part by the distinct forms of impulsivity aligned with them.

Neurocognitive Impulsivity in Opiate Users at Different Lengths of Abstinence.

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of length of abstinence on decision making (impulsive choice) and response inhibition (impulsive action) in former opiate users (OU). Participants included 45 OU in early remission [0−12 months of abstinence], 68 OU in sustained remission [>12 months of abstinence], and 68 control participants. Decision making was assessed with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT), and the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ). Response inhibition was examined with the Stop Signal Task (SST), and the Go/No-Go Task (GNG). Results revealed group differences in decision making under risk (CGT) and ambiguity (IGT), where control participants displayed better decision making compared to OU in early remission. Both groups of former OU were also characterized by higher discounting of delayed rewards (MCQ). Regression analyses revealed minimal effects of length of abstinence on performance on decision-making tasks and no effects on delay discounting. In addition, both OU groups showed reduced action inhibition (GNG) relative to controls and there were no group differences in action cancellation (SST). Length of abstinence had no effect on response inhibition. Overall, our findings suggest that neurocognitive function may not fully recover even with protracted abstinence, which should be addressed by relapse prevention and cognitive remediation programs for OU.

Comparing psychopathy across measurement modalities.

Psychopathy is a collection of personality traits and behaviors that are associated with costly personal, interpersonal, and societal outcomes. The nature of this construct has been widely debated across decades of literature, and such debates have produced a multitude of instruments for the measurement of psychopathy. These measures include self-reports and clinical interviews, yet little work has examined the degree to which measurements of psychopathy may differ across these modalities and whether such potential differences may impact the associations commonly found with psychopathy (e.g., impulsivity). To this end, we applied psychometric network and item response theory analyses to data obtained from the interview-based Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version and the Levenson Self-Report of Psychopathy in the same sample. Our results revealed similarities and differences across measurement modalities. Regarding the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, Factor 2 items were more important to the psychopathy construct (i.e., the most central and contributed more information than Factor 1 items), whereas Factor 1 items were more important to the Levenson Self-Report of Psychopathy. Factor 1 items were positively linked with Positive Urgency and were either negatively associated or not associated with Negative Urgency. In contrast, Factor 2 items were positively linked with Negative Urgency in both networks. Our analyses also revealed that dishonesty and irresponsibility served as the primary bridges connecting the factors of psychopathy in both networks. We make suggestions for improving the assessment of psychopathy by implementing self-report and interview measures that allow scores to be compared directly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

COVID-19-Induced Inequalities and Mental Health: Testing the Moderating Roles of Self-rated Health and Race/Ethnicity.

This study examines the relationship among COVID-19-induced social, economic, and educational inequalities on mental health (i.e., anxiety and depression). This study also examines if levels of self-rated health (SRH) moderate the relationship (i.e., COVID-induced inequalities [CII] and mental health), as well as examines the racial/ethnic group differences among 567 young adults in the mid-Atlantic region. Using a moderation model, results indicate that CII were significantly related to depression (b = .221, t(554) = 4.59, p = .000) and anxiety (b = .140, t(555) = 3.23, p = .001). SRH and race/ethnicity also moderated both relationships. At above-average SRH (i.e., moderator), higher CII were also significantly related to lower anxiety (Asian young adults only) and lower depression (Asian and White young adults only). Overall, SRH and race/ethnicity are important factors in the mental health impact of COVID-19 on young adults.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Resilience as a Protective Factor During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 is a global stressor that has been shown to impact mental health outcomes. Given that COVID-19 is a unique stressor that has been shown to have mental health consequences, identifying protective factors is imperative. The protective influences of resilience are demonstrated through the extant literature, though less is known about resilience and COVID-19 impact. The current study seeks to expand the existing literature on resilience, and on mental health outcomes influenced by COVID-19, by longitudinally investigating relative resilience as a buffer against posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol consumption, in the wake of a global pandemic. Participants included 549 undergraduates with a history of lifetime trauma exposure. Using a longitudinal path model, we tested the interaction between relative resilience (i.e., an individual's deviation from distress levels predicted by prior trauma exposure relative to other individuals in the same cohort) and COVID-19 impact domains (i.e., social media use, worry, exposure, change in substance use, and housing/food insecurity) on PTSD symptoms and alcohol consumption. Findings demonstrate a significant interaction between the COVID-19 worry impact domain and baseline resilience on later PTSD symptoms, whereby COVID-19 worry impacts PTSD symptoms at low levels of resilience (ß = .26, p < .001), marginally impacts PTSD symptoms at mean levels of resilience (ß = .09, p = .05), and does not impact PTSD symptoms at high levels of resilience (ß = -.08, p = .16). There were no significant main effects nor interaction effects of resilience on alcohol consumption. This article adds to the literature on resilience and COVID-19 through examining both internalizing (i.e., PTSD) and substance use outcomes, using longitudinal data, and using a quantitative measure of resilience.

Impulsivity and reduced quality of life in persons with paraplegia.

BACKGROUND: Low Quality of Life (QoL) in persons with paraplegia may stem from impulsive behaviors. Impulsivity in persons with paraplegia and persistently low QoL has seldom been probed but could be targeted with cognitive behavioral therapies. OBJECTIVE: Determine how task-assessed and self-report impulsivity relate to quality of life (QoL) in adults with paraplegia. METHODS: In a preliminary study, 33 adults with paraplegia after traumatic SCI were administered verbal interviews on QoL from the PROMIS item bank at baseline and at six-month follow-up, along with several computerized metrics of impulsivity at baseline. RESULTS: A cluster of (n = 10) participants characterized by high levels of negative affect and low levels of resilience and life satisfaction across both baseline and follow-up showed significantly greater negative urgency impulsivity (p = 0.007) as well as significantly lower mindfulness and self-care in some domains (all p < 0.05), compared to the cluster of participants (n = 23) who showed higher life satisfaction and resilience. Behavioral metrics of delay discounting and rapid-response (motoric) impulsivity did not significantly differ (all p > 0.05) between the two clusters of participants. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that novel interventions that reduce trait impulsivity in other disorders could be applied to potentially reduce risk for reduced self-care and QoL in individuals with paraplegia.

Attentional function and inhibitory control in different substance use disorders.

Attentional function in substance use disorder (SUD) is not well understood. To probe attentional function in SUD as a function of primary substance of abuse, we administered the attentional network task (ANT) to 44 individuals with Cocaine Use Disorder (CoUD), 49 individuals with Cannabis Use Disorder (CaUD), 86 individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and 107 controls with no SUD, along with the stop-signal task (SST). The ANT quantifies the effects of (temporal) alerting cues and (spatial) orienting cues to reduce reaction time (RT) to targets, as well as probing how conflicting (target-incongruent) stimuli slow RT. The SST quantifies individuals' ability to inhibit already-initiated motor responses. After controlling for sex representation and age, OUD and CaUD participants showed blunted alerting effects compared to controls, whereas CaUD and CoUD participants showed greater stimulus conflict (flanker) effects. Finally, CoUD participants showed a trend toward increased orienting ability. In SST performance, no SUD group showed a prolonged stop-signal reaction compared to controls. However, the OUD group (and CoUD group at trend level) showed prolonged "go" RT to targets and reduced hit rates. These data indicate differences in attentional function in persons with SUD as a function of the primary substance use.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacts psychiatric outcomes and alcohol use among college students.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed fundamental challenges on nearly every area of life. Objective: The purpose of the current study was to expand on the literature on the impact of the pandemic on college students by a) examining domains of impact of the pandemic on psychiatric and alcohol outcomes and b) controlling for pre-pandemic outcomes. Method: Participants included 897 college students (78.6% female) from a larger longitudinal study on college student mental health. Structural equation models were fit to examine how COVID-19 impact (exposure, worry, food/housing insecurity, change in social media use, change in substance use) were associated with PTSD, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and alcohol phenotypes. Models were fit to adjust for pre-pandemic symptoms. Results: No effects of COVID-19 exposure remained after adjusting for earlier outcomes. COVID-19 worry predicted PTSD, depression, and anxiety, even after adjusting for earlier levels of outcomes (ß's: .091-.180, p's < .05). Housing/food concerns predicted PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms as well as suicidal ideation (ß's: .085-.551, p's < .05) after adjusting for earlier levels of symptoms. Change in media use predicted alcohol consumption (ß's: ± .116-.197, p's < .05). Change in substance use affected all outcomes except suicidality (ß's: .112-.591, p's < .05). Conclusions: Domains of COVID-19 impact had differential effects on mental health and substance outcomes in college students during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Future studies should examine the trajectory of these factors on college student mental health across waves of the pandemic.

Antecedentes: La pandemia de COVID-19 ha impuesto desafíos fundamentales en prácticamente todas las áreas de la vida.Objetivo: El propósito del presente estudio fue ampliar la literatura sobre el impacto de la pandemia en estudiantes universitarios, a) examinando dominios de impacto de la pandemia sobre resultados psiquiátricos y de alcohol, y b) controlando por resultados pre-pandemia.Método: Los participantes incluyeron 897 estudiantes universitarios (78,6% mujeres) de un estudio longitudinal más grande sobre salud mental de estudiantes universitarios. Se ajustaron modelos de ecuaciones estructurales para examinar cómo se asociaba el impacto del COVID-19 (exposición, preocupación, inseguridad de alimentos/habitación, cambio en el uso de medios sociales, cambio en uso de sustancias) con los fenotipos TEPT, ansiedad, depresión, ideación suicida y alcohol. Los modelos se ajustaron por síntomas pre-pandémicos.Resultados: No permanecieron efectos de la exposición al COVID-19 luego de ajustar por resultados previos. La preocupación por el COVID-19 predijo TEPT, depresión y ansiedad incluso luego de ajustar por niveles previos de resultados (ß's: .091­.180, p's < .05). Los problemas de habitación/alimentación predijeron síntomas de TEPT, ansiedad y depresión así como también ideación suicida (ß's: .085­.551, p's < .05) después de ajustar por niveles sintomáticos previos. El cambio en el uso de medios predijo el consumo de alcohol (ß's: ±.116­.197, p's < .05). El cambio en el uso de sustancias afectó a todos los resultados excepto suicidalidad (ß's: .112­.591, p's < .05).Conclusiones: Los dominios de impacto del COVID-19 tuvieron diferentes efectos sobre los resultados de salud mental y uso de sustancias en estudiantes universitarios durante la primera ola de la pandemia de coronavirus. Futuros estudios deberían examinar la trayectoria de esos factores en la salud mental de estudiantes universitarios a través de las olas de la pandemia.

Divergent changes: abstinence and higher-frequency substance use increase among racial/ethnic minority young adults during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Identifying factors influencing substance use among racial/ethnic minorities (REM) is important given the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this population. OBJECTIVES: We examined factors in four domains and hypothesized that poor mental health, negative coping behaviors, negative environmental aspects, and belonging to more vulnerable social groups would be associated with increased substance use during the pandemic. METHODS: Multiple regression was applied to longitudinal data from a college sample assessed prior (fall 2017 to spring 2019) and during (spring 2020) the pandemic (n= 323; 81.5% cisgender women; 34.5% African-American, 36.1% Asian-American, 15.5% Hispanic/Latinx, 11.8% multi-racial) to identify factors predicting current alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use frequency (spring 2020) and change in frequency of use between springs 2019 and 2020. RESULTS: While infrequent substance use (monthly or less) decreased during the pandemic, abstinence rates increased (alcohol 39%; cannabis 18%; nicotine 18%) and higher-frequency alcohol use increased (207%-1600% 2-3 times+/week) compared to spring 2019. The strongest protective factor was change in living situation during the pandemic, associated with lower current alcohol and cannabis use. Risk factors included a history of trouble with police and impulsivity since the pandemic, both associated with higher current and increased alcohol and cannabis use. REM did not differ on most factors and the outcomes. However, a higher percentage of Asian-Americans than other REM reported living situation changes. CONCLUSION: Substance use rates diverged during the pandemic, with both increased abstinence and higher-frequency use, attributed mostly to mental health and environmental domain factors with few REM differences.

Fluid Intelligence Moderates the Link Between Psychopathy and Aggression Differently for Men and Women.

Research on sex differences in the association of psychopathy with fluid intelligence is limited, and it remains unknown if fluid intelligence plays a meaningful role in explaining the psychopathy-aggression link for men and women. The present study aimed to test for sex differences in the relation between the four-facet model of psychopathy and intelligence, and to assess whether fluid intelligence moderates the link between psychopathy and aggression. In a community sample of men (n = 356) and women (n = 196), we assessed psychopathy using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV), fluid intelligence using the Raven's Progressive Matrices, and types of aggression using the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). Hierarchical regressions showed that the psychopathy lifestyle facet was negatively associated with intelligence and there were no sex differences. Our analyses for types of aggression revealed sex differences and similarities. For both men and women, total AQ scores were predicted by higher antisocial facet scores. Lower intelligence moderated the link between higher antisocial facet scores and aggression in men, but not for women. Physical aggression in women was associated with higher interpersonal, affective, and antisocial facet scores, whereas for men, it was only associated with higher antisocial facet scores. Verbal and indirect aggression were associated with higher intelligence in both men and women. For men only, higher antisocial facet scores were associated with verbal and indirect aggression. Higher intelligence moderated the link between the lifestyle facet and indirect aggression for women, whereas for men, it moderated the link between the affective facet and indirect aggression. This study further highlights sex differences in mechanisms of psychopathy-related aggression, which need to be considered in the development of violence interventions and risk assessment.

Genetically influenced externalizing and internalizing risk pathways as novel prevention targets.

Objective: Risky substance use among college students is widespread, and associated with numerous adverse consequences. Current interventions focus primarily on students' current substance use; we hypothesize that shifting focus from current use to underlying risk factors is a complementary approach that may improve effectiveness of prevention/intervention programming. This approach aligns with the personalized medicine movement, which aims to harness knowledge about underlying etiological factors to provide individuals with specific information about their unique risk profiles and personalized recommendations, to motivate and enable individuals to better self-regulate their health. Method: Our group is building and evaluating an online Personalized Feedback Program (PFP) for college students that provides feedback about the individual's underlying genetically influenced externalizing and internalizing risk factors for substance use, along with personalized recommendations/resources. The project capitalizes on work from a university-wide research project (Spit for Science; S4S), in which > 12,000 students (˜70% of 5 years of incoming freshmen) are being followed longitudinally to assess substance use and related factors across the college years. In this article, we describe our foundational work to develop the PFP. Results: From the S4S data, we have identified risk factors across four domains (Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity, Extraversion, and Neuroticism) that are correlated with college students' substance use. We developed an online self-guided PFP, in collaboration with professionals from student affairs, and using feedback from students, with the ultimate goal of conducting a randomized clinical trial. Conclusion: The provision of personalized risk information represents a novel approach to complement and extend existing college substance use programming. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

ADHD and Mental Health Symptoms in the Identification of Young Adults with Increased Risk of Alcohol Dependency in the General Population-The HUNT4 Population Study.

Symptoms of ADHD are strongly associated with alcohol use disorders, and mental health symptoms attenuate this relationship. There is limited knowledge about how specific symptoms of inattentiveness and hyperactivity/impulsivity can explain this association. We aimed to identify self-reported executive cognitive functioning and mental health and variables that may help identify subjects with an elevated risk of alcohol dependence in the general population. Data included 3917 subjects between 19 and 30 years old in the 4th Trøndelag Health Study. The Adult ADHD Self report Scale-Screener, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and demographic variables were used as input variables. The alcohol screening instrument CAGE was used as the response variable for binary alcohol dependence risk. We used logistic regression and automated model selection to arrive at our final model that identified sex, age, inattentiveness, hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms, and anxiety as predictors of having a CAGE score ≥2, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.692. A balanced accuracy approach indicated an optimal cut-off of 0.153 with sensitivity 0.55 and specificity 0.74. Despite attrition in the data, our findings may be important in the assessment of individual risk for alcohol dependency and when developing algorithms for risk triage in public health.

Unpacking the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: identifying structural domains.

Background: The novel coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a collective crisis that imposed an abrupt and unprecedented impact on college students, as universities were closed with little warning. Paired with the challenges associated with physical distancing (e.g. economic stress, job loss, food insecurity, housing challenges) and the simultaneous need to balance continued and new academic demands, impact will be wide-ranging. It is critical to determine the structure of the impact of this heterogeneous stressor (e.g. health concerns, pandemic worry, financial concerns) for prevention and intervention planning. Objective: Through an existing recruitment pipeline we were in a unique position to study the wide-ranging reach of this pandemic in a cohort of students for whom their university experiences were like no other cohort in history. Method: Data were collected from students who were in their third year of college during the onset of the pandemic; of the N = 1,899 in the cohort who were invited to participate in this COVID-related survey, 897 (47.2%) completed measures of impact between May and July of 2020. Results: A series of confirmatory and exploratory models were fit to examine the structure of the pandemic-related domains. Following estimation of a single-factor model, a correlated five factors model, as well as two second-order factor structures, the five correlated factors (exposure, worry, housing/food instability, social media, substance use) model was found to represent the data most appropriately, while producing an interpretable solution. Conclusions: These measurement model analyses set the stage for future research to examine how these correlated factors impact psychiatric, substance, and academic outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Antecedentes: La nueva pandemia de coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) es una crisis colectiva que impuso un impacto abrupto y sin precedentes en los estudiantes universitarios, ya que las universidades se cerraron con poco aviso. Junto con los desafíos asociados al distanciamiento físico (por ejemplo, el estrés económico, la pérdida de empleo, la inseguridad alimentaria, los problemas de vivienda) y la necesidad simultánea de equilibrar las demandas académicas continuas y nuevas, el impacto será de gran alcance. Es fundamental determinar la estructura del impacto de estos estresores heterogéneos (por ejemplo, las preocupaciones de salud, la preocupación por la pandemia, las preocupaciones financieras) para la planificación de la prevención y la intervención.Objetivo: A través de una línea de reclutamiento existente, nos encontramos en una posición única para estudiar el amplio alcance de esta pandemia en una cohorte de estudiantes para quienes sus experiencias universitarias fueron como ninguna otra cohorte en la historia.Método: Se recogieron datos de estudiantes que estaban en su tercer año de universidad durante el inicio de la pandemia; de los N = 1.899 de la cohorte que fueron invitados a participar en esta encuesta relacionada con la COVID, 897 (47,2%) completaron las medidas de impacto entre mayo y julio de 2020.Resultados: Se ajustaron una serie de modelos confirmatorios y exploratorios para examinar la estructura de los dominios relacionados con la pandemia. Tras la estimación de un modelo de un solo factor, un modelo correlacionado de cinco factores, así como dos estructuras factoriales de segundo orden, se encontró que el modelo de cinco factores correlacionados (exposición, preocupación, inestabilidad de la vivienda/alimentación, medios sociales, uso de sustancias) representaba los datos de forma más adecuada, a la vez que producía una solución interpretable.Conclusiones: Estos análisis del modelo de medición sientan las bases para futuras investigaciones que examinen cómo estos factores correlacionados impactan en los resultados psiquiátricos, de sustancias y académicos en esta población vulnerable.

Social Information Processing in Substance Use Disorders: Insights From an Emotional Go-Nogo Task.

Positive social connections are crucial for recovery from Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Of interest is understanding potential social information processing (SIP) mediators of this effect. To explore whether persons with different SUD show idiosyncratic biases toward social signals, we administered an emotional go-nogo task (EGNG) to 31 individuals with Cocaine Use Disorder (CoUD), 31 with Cannabis Use Disorder (CaUD), 79 with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and 58 controls. Participants were instructed to respond to emotional faces (Fear/Happy) but withhold responses to expressionless faces in two task blocks, with the reverse instruction in the other two blocks. Emotional faces as non-targets elicited more "false alarm" (FA) commission errors as a main effect. Groups did not differ in overall rates of hits (correct responses to target faces), but participants with CaUD and CoUD showed reduced rates of hits (relative to controls) when expressionless faces were targets. OUD participants had worse hit rates [and slower reaction times (RT)] when fearful faces (but not happy faces) were targets. CaUD participants were most affected by instruction effects (respond/"go" vs withhold response/"no-go" to emotional face) on discriminability statistic A. Participants were faster to respond to happy face targets than to expressionless faces. However, this pattern was reversed in fearful face blocks in OUD and CoUD participants. This experiment replicated previous findings of the greater salience of expressive face images, and extends this finding to SUD, where persons with CaUD may show even greater bias toward emotional faces. Conversely, OUD participants showed idiosyncratic behavior in response to fearful faces suggestive of increased attentional disruption by fear. These data suggest a mechanism by which positive social signals may contribute to recovery.

Effects of Psychopathy on Neurocognitive Domains of Impulsivity in Abstinent Opiate and Stimulant Users.

Background: Psychopathy and substance use disorders (SUDs) are both characterized by neurocognitive impairments reflecting higher levels of impulsivity such as reward-driven decision-making and deficient inhibitory control. Previous studies suggest that psychopathy may exacerbate decision-making deficits, but it may be unrelated to other neurocognitive impairments among substance dependent individuals (SDIs). The aim of the present study was to examine the role of psychopathy and its interpersonal-affective and impulsive-antisocial dimensions in moderating the relationships between dependence on different classes of drugs and neurocognitive domains of impulsivity. Method: We tested 693 participants (112 heroin mono-dependent individuals, 71 heroin polysubstance dependent individuals, 115 amphetamine mono-dependent individuals, 76 amphetamine polysubstance dependent individuals, and 319 non-substance dependent control individuals). Participants were administered the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) and seven neurocognitive tasks measuring impulsive choice/decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task; Cambridge Gambling Task; Kirby Delay Discounting Task; Balloon Analog Risk Task), and impulsive action/response inhibition (Go/No-Go Task, Immediate Memory Task, and Stop Signal Task). Results: A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that the interpersonal-affective dimension of psychopathy moderated the association between decision-making, response inhibition and both amphetamine and heroin dependence, albeit differently. For amphetamine users, low levels of interpersonal-affective traits predicted poor decision-making on the Iowa Gambling Task and better response inhibition on the Stop Signal task. In contrast, in heroin users high interpersonal-affective psychopathy traits predicted lower risk taking on the Cambridge Gambling Task and better response inhibition on the Go/No-Go task. The impulsive-antisocial dimension of psychopathy predicted poor response inhibition in both amphetamine and heroin users. Conclusions: Our findings reveal that psychopathy and its dimensions had both common and unique effects on neurocognitive function in heroin and amphetamine dependent individuals. Our results suggest that the specific interactions between psychopathy dimensions and dependence on different classes of drugs may lead to either deficient or superior decision-making and response inhibition performance in SDIs, suggesting that psychopathy may paradoxically play a protective role for some neurocognitive functions in specific subtypes of substance users.