Drinking in despair: Unintended consequences of automation in China.

The side effects of technological progress on the economy have been discussed frequently, but little is known regarding its health consequences. By combining the national individual-level panel data of alcohol drinking with the prefecture-level robot exposure rate in China, we find that one more robot exposure rate could induce up to 2.2% points increase in the probability of problem drinking. Such a pattern of problem drinking is explained by negative emotions, which can be ascribed to job loss due to substitution, higher income vulnerability, and reduced organization participation. Further, we provide evidence that automation can incur health costs, particularly for easily substituted workers, which would exacerbate health inequality in China. This paper sheds light on the impact of automation and the social incentives of problem drinking, emphasizing the possibly heterogeneous health cost accompanied by the automation process.

Prevalence of problem drinking in the Swedish workforce: differences between labour market industries based on gender composition and main job activity.

BACKGROUND: Identifying problem drinking patterns across industries is essential for addressing drinking problems in the workforce. Still, it is not well understood how problem drinking differs across industries and whether it is associated with industry gender composition. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of problem drinking (PPD) across Swedish industries and investigate possible associations between gender-typed industries and problem drinking. METHODS: 9,155 current workers were selected from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) data collected in 2020. Participants' work industries were identified through the Swedish Standard Industrial Classification (SNI) codes. Seven gender-typed industry categories were created based on gender composition and main job activity in each industry. Self-reported problem drinking was measured using a slightly modified Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener (CAGE) questionnaire and a cut-off score 2 was used to determine problem drinking. Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to investigate the association between gender-typed industries and problem drinking. RESULTS: PPD in the workforce was 6.6%. Men (8.5%) had a higher prevalence than women (5.3%). Across industries, PPD varied from 2.3% in Water supply and waste management to 15.4% in Mining and quarrying. The highest prevalence for men was in Mining and quarrying (18.2%), whereas for women it was in Construction (11.1%). Within gender-typed industries, the highest PPD was in male-dominated Goods and Energy Production (7.7%), and the lowest was in female-dominated Health and Social Care (4.7%). In the regression analysis, both Education (aPR: 1.39, p = 0.03) and Labour-intensive Services (aPR: 1.39, p = 0.02) had higher adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) compared with Health and Social Care. However, there was no significant difference in aPR among gender-typed industries when considering the gender composition of industries only. CONCLUSIONS: PPD in the Swedish workforce varied significantly across industries, with differences observed between men and women. Problem drinking differed between industries when categorized by gender composition and main job activity, but not when categorized by gender composition only. Future research should investigate how industry-specific psychosocial factors influence individual alcohol consumption.

Motivation to Abstain from Drinking as a Moderator of Associations Between Parent and Offspring Problem Drinking.

OBJECTIVE: Motivational processes are key factors in the development and maintenance of problem drinking and include motivation to drink as well as motivation to abstain from drinking. Although motivation to drink has been widely studied, little research has considered motivation to abstain from drinking. The current study addresses this gap in research by exploring the role of motivation to abstain from drinking based on dispositional risk, fear of negative consequences, religious and family constraints, and indifference to alcohol in associations between mother and father problem drinking and the problem drinking of college students. METHOD: Data were collected from 337 U.S. college students (77.2% female, 86% White) who reported on their exposure to mother and father problem drinking, their own problem drinking, and their motivation to abstain from drinking for several reasons. RESULTS: Findings supported the protective role of motivation to abstain from drinking based on fear of negative consequences of drinking. Persons exposed to parental problem drinking who had low motivation to abstain from alcohol based on dispositional risk were vulnerable to the intergenerational transmission of problem drinking. In addition, motivation to abstain from drinking based religious or family constraints was associated with lower problem drinking regardless of exposure to parental problem drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Conviction-related motivation may be a powerful motivation to abstain from drinking, including among persons at risk due to parental problem drinking.

The effects of age on the severity of problem drinking: Mediating effects of positive alcohol expectancy and neural correlates.

Aging is associated with reduction in the severity of alcohol misuse. However, the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying the age-related changes remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that age-related diminution of positive alcohol expectancy (AE) mediated the effects of age on problem drinking and investigated the neural correlates of the mediating effects. Ninety-six drinkers 21-85 years of age, including social drinkers and those with mild/moderate alcohol use disorder (AUD), were assessed for global positive (GP) AE and problem drinking, each with the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and with brain imaging during alcohol cue exposure. We processed imaging data with published routines; identified the correlates shared between whole-brain regression against age, GP and AUDIT scores; and performed mediation and path analyses to explore the interrelationships between the clinical and neural variables. The results showed that age was negatively correlated with both GP and AUDIT scores, with GP score completely mediating the correlation between age and AUDIT score. Lower age and higher GP correlated with shared cue responses in bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and left middle occipital cortex (PHG/OC). Further, higher GP and AUDIT scores were associated with shared cue responses in bilateral rostral anterior cingulate cortex and caudate head (ACC/caudate). Path analyses demonstrated models with significant statistical fit and PHG/OC and ACC/caudate each interrelating age to GP and GP to AUDIT scores. These findings confirmed change in positive AE as a psychological mechanism mitigating alcohol misuse as individuals age and highlighted the neural processes of cue-reactivity interrelating age and alcohol use severity.

Paternal and Maternal Problem Drinking and Lifetime Problem Drinking of Their Adult Children.

Parents' alcohol use is associated with alcohol use of their adolescent offspring, but does this association extend to the adulthood of the offspring? We examined associations of paternal and maternal problem drinking with lifetime problem drinking of their adult offspring prospectively assessed in a population-based Finnish twin-family cohort (FinnTwin16). Problem drinking (Malmö-modified Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test) was self-reported separately by mothers and fathers when their children were 16. The children reported on an extended lifetime version of the same measure during their mid-twenties (21-28 years) and mid-thirties (31-37 years). 1235 sons and 1461 daughters in mid-twenties and 991 sons and 1278 daughters in mid-thirties had complete data. Correlations between fathers' and their adult children's problem drinking ranged from .12 to .18. For mothers and their adult children, these correlations ranged from .09 to .14. In multivariate models, adjustment for potential confounders had little effect on the observed associations. In this study, parental problem drinking was modestly associated with lifetime problem drinking of their adult children. This association could be detected even when the children had reached the fourth decade of life.

Problem drinking recognition among UK military personnel: prevalence and associations.

PURPOSE: Despite the higher prevalence of problem drinking in the UK military compared to the general population, problem recognition appears to be low, and little is known about which groups are more likely to recognise a problem. This study examined prevalence of problem drinking recognition and its associations. METHODS: We analysed data from 6400 regular serving and ex-serving personnel, collected in phase 3 (2014-2016) of the King's Centre for Military Health Research cohort study. MEASUREMENTS: Participants provided sociodemographic, military, health and impairment, life experiences, problem drinking, and problem recognition information. Problem drinking was categorised as scores ≥ 16 in the AUDIT questionnaire. Associations with problem recognition were examined with weighted logistic regressions. FINDINGS: Among personnel meeting criteria for problem drinking, 49% recognised the problem. Recognition was most strongly associated (ORs ≥ 2.50) with experiencing probable PTSD (AOR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.64-5.07), social impairment due to physical or mental health problems (AOR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.51-4.79), adverse life events (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.70-4.75), ever being arrested (AOR = 2.99, CI = 1.43-6.25) and reporting symptoms of alcohol dependence (AOR = 3.68, 95% CI = 2.33-5.82). To a lesser extent, recognition was also statistically significantly associated with experiencing psychosomatic symptoms, feeling less healthy, probable common mental health disorders, and increased scores on the AUDIT. CONCLUSION: Half of UK military personnel experiencing problem drinking does not self-report their drinking behaviour as problematic. Greater problem drinking severity, poorer mental or physical health, and negative life experiences facilitate problem recognition.

Age of Smoking Initiation in Relation to Multiple Health Risk Factors among US Adult Smokers: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Data (2006-2018).

The adverse effects of multiple health risk factors have been well-documented; however, still understudied are the effects of early smoking in the context of multiple health risk factors. This study aimed to examine the role of early smoking initiation in relation to several health risk factors, including heavy drinking, physical inactivity, and obesity in later life among ever smokers in the USA. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2006 through 2018 were analyzed. The primary dependent variables were presence of three other risk factors: heavy drinking, physical inactivity, and obesity. The independent variable was the age of smoking initiation. Logit regression models were constructed to evaluate the association between smoking initiation and multiple health risk factors. All analyses were done in 2022. Among US adult smokers, 18.2% started smoking before age 15 (early initiators), 55.9% at ages 15-18 (middle initiators), and 25.9% at age 20 or later (late initiators). Compared to late smoking initiators, the odds of engaging in additional health risk factors increased by 37.3% among early initiators (OR = 1.373, 95% CI = 1.316, 1.432) and 7.7% among middle initiators (OR = 1.077, 95% CI= 1.041, 1.116). Additionally, current smoking was associated with higher odds (OR = 1.369, 95% CI = 1.322, 1.417) of having additional health risk factors compared to former smoking, with one exception: current smokers had lower odds of obesity (OR = 0.566, 95% CI = 0.537, 0.597). Tobacco control programs to prevent adolescents from initiating smoking may have the potential to prevent other health risk factors in adulthood.

Parental Problem Drinking and Maladaptive Personality Features in Children: The Role of Marital Conflict.

The personality characteristics of children of exposed to parental problem drinking have been of interest to clinicians and researchers for several decades, but personality research on this population often focuses on identifying a unique cluster of adult personality traits. The current study adopts a cutting-edge dimensional approach to understanding personality pathology as extreme variants of the five factor model, and examines pathways of risk to personality pathology through marital conflict and emotional insecurity. Participants were 199 two-parent families with a child between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Parents completed questionnaire measures of their problem drinking, marital conflict, child emotional insecurity (i.e., emotional reactivity to conflict), and child maladaptive personality traits. Structural equation models found an indirect pathway from mother and father problem drinking to pathological child disagreeableness, introversion, emotional instability, and compulsivity via greater mother destructive marital conflict behavior and child emotional reactivity to conflict. There was also some evidence that this pathway of effects was stronger for girls than for boys. Findings support the use of a dimensional approach to understanding maladaptive personality among individuals exposed to parental problem drinking.

Familial Predictors of Alcohol and Drug Use-Related Problems Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

This study evaluated whether recent family member alcohol and substance use problems (ASP) and density of family ASP (i.e., number of members with ASP) predict alcohol-related problems and drug use-related problems among middle-aged and older adults. Data were drawn from participants (age 42-93 years, n=2,168) in the longitudinal Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS). Poisson regression models revealed that adults' alcohol- and drug use-related problems were predicted by similar problems among family members. In particular, parent and partner ASP, but not child ASP, predicted alcohol-related problems in the middle-aged and combined samples, while only partner ASP predicted participants' drug use-related problems. In addition, density of family ASP predicted alcohol-related problems, but not drug use-related problems. There were no gender interactions. Study findings highlight that understanding how adult children, spouses, and aging parents impact each other's substance use should be a priority of future aging and family research.

Long-Term, Community-based Approach for Affected People Having Problems With Mental Health and Lifestyle Issues After the 2011 Fukushima Disaster: the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

A Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey (MHLS) has been conducted yearly as part of the Fukushima Health Management Survey since 2012, in order to monitor different health issues related to long-term evacuation of affected people after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. This survey is a mail-based one of nearly 210,000 affected people living in the evacuation zone at the time of the disaster. Another purpose of the MHLS is to provide efficient interventions by telephone based on the results of the survey. Significant findings contributing to understanding of non-radiological health effects caused by long-term evacuation were obtained from the MHLS, directly connecting to telephone-based interventions for over 3,000 respondents per year. In this article, the mental health outcomes of the MHLS, including depressive symptoms and posttraumatic responses, are reviewed, and the usefulness of telephone-based interventions is discussed. The evidence showed that, despite improvement of core mental health outcomes, the prevalence of respondents at high risk of some psychiatric problems remained high compared to that among the general population in Japan. In particular, several mental health consequences of respondents staying outside of Fukushima Prefecture were higher than those staying inside Fukushima. Along with further efforts to increase the response rate, we need to continue and modify the MHLS to meet the requirements of the affected people and communities.

A life span developmental investigation of marriage and problem-drinking reduction.

While prior literature has largely focused on marriage effects during young adulthood, it is less clear whether these effects are as strong in middle adulthood. Thus, we investigated age differences in marriage effects on problem-drinking reduction. We employed parallel analyses with two independent samples (analytic-sample Ns of 577 and 441, respectively). Both are high-risk samples by design, with about 50% of participants having a parent with lifetime alcohol use disorder. Both samples have been assessed longitudinally from early young adulthood to the mid-to-late 30s. Separate parallel analyses with these two samples allowed evaluation of the reproducibility of results. Growth models of problem drinking tested marriage as a time-varying predictor and thereby assessed age differences in marriage effects. For both samples, results consistently showed marriage effects to be strongest in early young adulthood and to decrease somewhat monotonically thereafter with age, reaching very small (and nonsignificant) magnitudes by the 30s. Results may reflect that role transitions like marriage have more impact on problem drinking in earlier versus later adulthood, thereby highlighting the importance of life span developmental research for understanding problem-drinking desistance. Our findings can inform intervention strategies aimed at reducing problem drinking by jumpstarting or amplifying natural processes of adult role adaptation.

Personality traits, alcohol use and problem drinking among undergraduates in southwest Nigeria.

Problem drinking, which may be more prominent among young adults, is associated with mental and physical complications. The onset, use, and abuse of alcohol may be related to personality traits such as agreeableness, neuroticism and extraversion. This study aimed to examine the relationship between personality traits and alcohol use among undergraduates in southwest Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study carried out among undergraduates in southwestern Nigeria. Four hundred and twelve (412) students were recruited using multi-stage random sampling from the total full-time student population. Each participant completed Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10). The result showed that the lifetime prevalence of alcohol use was 31.8% while 10.8% were involved in problem drinking. Also, there was an association between alcohol use, male gender and parental history of psychoactive substance use. Out of the 5 personality traits, the extraversion trait was higher among drinkers (P = 0.001) while agreeableness was significantly lower among drinkers (P = 0.033). Extraversion trait was significantly higher in respondents involved in problem drinking (P < 0.001). The predictors of problem drinking in this study were extraversion trait and male gender. The study suggests there are intervening factors mediating personality traits and problem drinking among undergraduates.

The Neural Processes Interlinking Social Isolation, Social Support, and Problem Alcohol Use.

BACKGROUND: Subjective feeling of social isolation, as can be measured by perceived burdensomeness (PB), is a major risk factor for alcohol misuse. Heightened PB is associated with elevated stress response and diminished cognitive control, both of which contribute to problem drinking. Here, we sought to identify the neural substrates underlying the relationship between PB and alcohol misuse. METHODS: We employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected from 61 problem drinkers to characterize the functional connectivity of the hypothalamus and ventral striatum (VS) in relation to PB. We specifically examined whether the connectivities of the hypothalamus and VS were differentially influenced by PB to produce contrasting effects on alcohol use. Finally, we evaluated how individual differences in social support modulate the inter-relationships of social isolation, neural connectivity, and the severity of problem drinking. RESULTS: Whole-brain multiple regressions show a positive relationship between PB and hypothalamic connectivity with the hippocampus and an inverse pattern for VS connectivity with the middle frontal gyrus. Difference in strength between the 2 connectivities predicted the severity of problem drinking, suggesting an imbalance involving elevated hypothalamic and diminished prefrontal cortical modulation in socially isolated problem drinkers. A path analysis further revealed that the lack of social support was associated with a bias toward low prefrontal connectivity, which in turn increased PB and facilitated problem drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Altered hypothalamus and VS connectivity may underlie problem drinking induced by social isolation. The current findings also highlight the important role of social support as a potential protective factor against alcohol misuse.

The "Why" of Drinking Matters: A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Drinking Motives and Drinking Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of how drinking motives are differentially associated with alcohol use (e.g., frequency, quantity) and drinking problems is critical in understanding risky drinking and the development of alcohol use disorder. The purpose of this paper was to use meta-analytic techniques to answer 2 overarching questions: (a) Which types of drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, coping, social, conformity) are most strongly associated with alcohol use and drinking problems? and (b) What are the most likely mechanisms (alcohol use or drinking problems) through which motives may be indirectly associated with outcomes? METHOD: A comprehensive literature search identified 229 studies that met inclusion criteria (254 samples; N = 130,705) with a subset containing longitudinal data (k = 5; N = 6283). Data were analyzed using 2-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Results showed that both enhancement and coping motives were the strongest predictors of drinking problems, but only enhancement motives were the strongest predictor of alcohol use. Enhancement and social motives were indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems and with drinking problems through alcohol use, whereas coping motives were only indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems, although the results differed for cross-sectional and longitudinal data. CONCLUSION: Overall, findings from this meta-analysis provide evidence that drinking motives differentially predict alcohol use outcomes through unique direct and indirect pathways.

Development of Chinese mental health first aid guidelines for problem drinking: a Delphi expert consensus study.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorders have become the second leading cause of death for mental and substance use disorders in China. However, with early diagnosis and timely treatment, the burden can be mitigated. Family and friends of a person with alcohol use problems are well placed to recognize the signs, encourage professional help-seeking and help the person until treatment is received. We aimed to use the Delphi consensus methodology to develop guidelines about how members of the public can provide this "mental health first aid" to someone with problem drinking in China. METHODS: A Chinese-language questionnaire was developed, comprising statements that were endorsed for inclusion in the English-language problem drinking first aid guidelines for high-income countries. Participants were also encouraged to suggest new statements. These statements were evaluated by two Chinese expert panels - a professional panel and a lived experience panel - on how important they believed each statement was for members of the public providing mental health first aid to a person with problem drinking in China. Three survey rounds were conducted. To be included in the final guidelines, statements had to receive a "very important" or "important" rating from at least 80% of participants from each of the panels. RESULTS: The majority of statements were rated in the first survey round by 30 mental health professionals and 25 lived experience panel members. One hundred and eighty-one statements met the inclusion criteria and were used to form the guidelines. Compared to the English-language guidelines, the importance of family involvement and mutual support were highlighted by both Chinese expert panels, while a number of statements relating to low-risk drinking were rejected by the lived experience panel. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese-language problem drinking first aid guidelines cover a variety of first aid strategies that members of the public can use when providing initial help to a person with problem drinking, such as how to communicate with the person and what to do if the person is intoxicated. These guidelines will be used as a stand-alone document will also inform the content of Mental Health First Aid training in China.

Shame's Associations with Depression and Problem Drinking: An Ecological Momentary Study.

INTRODUCTION: Depression and problem drinking are comorbid in emerging adulthood, yet the processes that link them are not well understood. Research has argued that shame has a unique influence on the experience of problematic drinking, but this has rarely been assessed at the state level. Using ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), we assessed whether shame, and not guilt, mediated the association between baseline depression and alcohol use and problems. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-four emerging adults (Mage= 19.27) completed a 12-day EMA study. Multilevel models were used to test hypotheses. RESULTS: In a model with alcohol use as the outcome, there were no significant associations between shame or guilt and alcohol use at the within- or between-subjects level. In a model with alcohol problems as the outcome, guilt was positively associated with alcohol problems but only at the daily level. At the between-subjects level and after controlling for guilt, there was a significant association between depression, shame, and alcohol problems; average levels of shame mediated the association between depression and alcohol problems. In post-hoc reverse directionality models, average alcohol problems mediated the relationship between depression and shame and guilt at the between-person level. No mediation was present for alcohol use. CONCLUSION: After controlling for guilt, shame is an emotion that helps explain risk for alcohol problems among depressed emerging adults, which has implications for targeted interventions. Reciprocal associations between shame, guilt, and alcohol problems emerged highlighting the need for more fulsome assessments of shame and guilt in future EMA research.

"I Still Don't Know What Happened, Complete Blackout": a Content Analysis of Tweets Referencing Alcohol-Induced Amnesia.

OBJECTIVE: We qualitatively examined the content of alcohol-related blackouts posts ("Tweets") on Twitter, focusing on reflections post-drinking that involved clear references to memory loss. METHODS: We examined publically available Tweets that referenced blackouts after an alcohol consumption event (n = 3,574). RESULTS: Twitter represents a relatively unfiltered glimpse at reflections on alcohol-induced amnesia. As hypothesized, most tweets referencing blackouts did not clearly describe amnesia. In the Tweets that clearly reference amnesia, we identified several themes. Tweeters referenced an 'AlterEgo' who was responsible for all the intoxicated behaviors that were inconsistent with the Tweeter's personality. Additionally, the Tweets discussed ways in which the drinker recovered memories (e.g. from friends, from social media), other events that occurred during the amnesia (e.g. loss of items, help from friends, sexual experiences), and regret about having lost memories. Some Tweeters requested assistance from their followers to reconstruct their drinking event. Tweets have the potential to set norms about acceptable behaviors or scripts following a blackout. CONCLUSIONS: Since most blackout Tweets are ambiguous with regards to alcohol-induced amnesia, these Tweets might be leading people to believe that blackouts are passing out or just periods of heavy intoxication. In addition, themes from these Tweets can inform future interventions by using the cognitions surrounding this high-risk behavior.

Posterior Cingulate Cortical Response to Active Avoidance Mediates the Relationship between Punishment Sensitivity and Problem Drinking.

Many people drink to alleviate negative affect, reflecting an avoidance strategy which can lead to alcohol misuse. Individuals with heightened sensitivity to punishment (SP) are especially susceptible to problem drinking via this maladaptive coping mechanism. As imaging studies have largely focused on sensation-seeking traits and approach behavior, the neural substrates underlying behavioral avoidance as well as their relationship with punishment sensitivity and alcohol use remain unclear. Here, we examined in humans the cerebral correlates of response inhibition to avoid a penalty in relation to both problem drinking and SP, as evaluated by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire, respectively. Seventy nondependent female and male drinkers performed a reward go/no-go task with approximately two-thirds go and one-third no-go trials. Correct go and no-go responses were rewarded, and incorrect responses were punished. The results showed that SP and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores were both positively correlated with brain activations during response inhibition, and these activations overlapped in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Thus, the PCC may represent a shared neural substrate for avoidance, punishment sensitivity, and problem drinking. Mediation analyses further suggested that PCC response to avoidance completely and bidirectionally mediated the relationship between SP and hazardous alcohol use. These findings substantiated the role of the PCC in behavioral avoidance and its link to problem drinking in punishment-sensitive nondependent drinkers.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Many people drink to alleviate negative affect, reflecting an avoidance strategy that can lead to alcohol misuse. Individuals with heightened punishment sensitivity (SP) trait are particularly vulnerable to this maladaptive coping mechanism. The current study examined the neural substrates underlying behavioral avoidance and their relationship with SP and problem drinking. Using a reward go/no-go task, we showed both SP and drinking severity were positively correlated with the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) activation during action inhibition. Thus, the PCC may represent a shared neural substrate for avoidance behavior, punishment sensitivity, and problem drinking. Further, PCC response to avoidance mediated the relationship between SP and alcohol use. These findings substantiated the neural processes linking avoidance tendency to alcohol misuse in punishment-sensitive drinkers.

Childhood maltreatment and problematic alcohol use in young adulthood: the roles of cognitive vulnerability to depression and depressive symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) has been repeatedly linked to future problem drinking. Depression has been identified as a potential factor contributing to problematic alcohol use in maltreated individuals. However, depression has been operationalized as the presence or number of depression symptoms in the majority of previous studies. The role of other relevant measures of depression, such as depressive implicit associations, is not well understood. OBJECTIVES: The present study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the mediating role of both depression symptoms and depressive implicit associations. METHODS: A community sample of young adults (N = 208, mean age = 19.7, 78.4% females) completed self-report measures of CM, depression symptoms, and problem drinking. Depressive implicit associations were assessed by a computer-based implicit association test (IAT). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the direct link between CM and problem drinking as well as indirect links through depression symptoms and depressive implicit associations. RESULTS: CM was significantly associated with both depression symptoms (ß = 0.35, p < .001) and depressive implicit associations (ß = 0.36, p < .001). Additionally, CM was associated with problem drinking indirectly via depression symptoms during young adulthood (ß = .06, p = .019). CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence for the role of depression symptoms, but not for depressive implicit associations, in linking CM and problem drinking. Treating depression in individuals with a history of CM may help to prevent problem drinking in this vulnerable population.

The Effectiveness of Mobile Phone-Based Text Messaging to Intervene with Problem Drinking in Youth and Younger Adult Population: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Mobile phone-based text messages have been used to address alcohol use disorder in younger populations by promoting abstinence, decreased alcohol intake, and moderation. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the effectiveness of mobile phone text messaging to address problem drinking by youth and younger adults. Results: Authors systematically searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, APA PsycNET, and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials for literature published in the past 8 years (2010-2018). Randomized control trials and pre-post studies of younger people that used the problem drinking criteria of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) were included in the meta-analysis. Conclusions: The meta-analysis suggests that text message-based interventions might not be effective in decreasing alcohol intake in the younger populations.