bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The use of benzodiazepines among regular amphetamine users
Authors: DARKE SHANE , ROSS JOANNE , COHEN JULIA 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThe relationship between benzodiazepine and regular amphetamine use was examined in a sample of 301 regular amphetamine users. Benzodiazepine use was widespread, with 37% of subjects having used them in the month preceding interview, and 55% in the preceding 6 months. Injectors of amphetamines were more likely to have ever used, and to be currently using, benzodiazepines. Comparisons of benzodiazepine users with other subjects indicated that benzodiazepine users had higher levels of polydrug use and psychopathology, as well as poorer health and social functioning than non‐users. The odds of benzodiazepine using injectors having injected with a borrowed used needle in the preceding month were 3.8 times those of non‐benzodiazepme‐using injectors. These results are consistent with studies of other groups of illicit drug users, such as heroin users, in indicating that benzodiazepine use is associated with greater levels of risk and psycho‐social dysfunction.
Book Reviews
Authors: GOSSOP MICHAEL 
Published: January 2006

Books reviewed in this article: Coca and Cocaine: An Andean Perspective FELIPE E. MACGREGOR (Ed.) Developing School‐based Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Programs STEVE SUSSMAN, CLYDE W. DENT, DEE BURTON, ALAN W. STACY & BRIAN R. FLAY (Eds) Methodological Issues in AIDS Behavioural Research D. G. OSTROW & R. C. KESSLER (Eds) Handbook on Risk of AIDS: Injection Drug Users and Sexual Partners BARRY S. BROWN & GEORGE M. BESCHNER (with the National AIDS Research Consortium) Therapy of the Substance Abuse Syndromes HENRY JAY RICHARDS The Return of the Dangerous Classes. Drug Prohibition and Policy Politics DIANA R. GORDON
The life‐time rates of three major mood disorders and four major anxiety disorders in alcoholics and controls
Authors: SCHUCKIT MARC A. , TIPP JAYSON E. , BUCHOLZ KATHLEEN K. , NURNBERGER JOHN I. , HESSELBROCK VICTOR M. , CROWE RAYMOND R. , KRAMER JOHN 
Published: January 2006

Abstract Aims. While psychiatric symptoms are common in the general population and even more prevalent in alcoholics, their clinical implications are not clear. The goal of this study was to establish the life‐time rates of several independent and concurrent mood and anxiety disorders in alcoholics, controls and their relatives. Design. Structured interviews were administered to alcoholics entering treatment, their relatives, and controls. Setting. The study was carried out in six different centers in the United States as pan of the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Participants. Data were gathered from 2713 alcohol dependent subjects (probands and their alcoholic relatives) and 919 controls. Measurements. The timeline‐based Semi‐Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA) interview teas administered face to face by trained, closely supervised interviewers. The life‐time rates for concurrent and independent disorders were determined for three DSM‐HI‐R major mood and four major anxiety disorders. Findings. Some form of independent mood disorder was seen during the life‐time in slightly fewer alcoholics than controls (14.0% and 17.1%), but alcoholics did show higher rates of independent bipolar disorder (2.3% vs. 1.0%). The life‐time rate for independent anxiety disorders was significantly higher in alcoholics than controls (9.4% vs. 3.7%), with most of the differential related to panic disorder (4.2% vs. 1.0%) and social phobia (3.2% vs. 1.4%), but no significant group differences for agoraphobia or obsessive‐compulsive disorder. In general, these findings regarding mood and anxiety disorders were reflected in close relatives. Conclusions. The large majority of alcohol‐dependent men and women in this sample did not have any of the independent mood or anxiety disorders evaluated here. However, there was evidence of enhanced risks among alcoholics for independent bipolar panic and social phobic disorders. Studies which do not distinguish carefully between independent and concurrent mood and anxiety disorders in alcoholics are likely to report much higher rates of co‐morbid psychiatric disorders than those that distinguish between the two types of syndromes.
Is crack cheaper than (powder) cocaine?
Authors: CAULKINS JONATHAN P. 
Published: January 2006

Abstract Aims. To compare the prices of cocaine powder and crack cocaine in the United Stales, Design. Retail prices for crack and powder cocaine are compared for 14 US cities between 1986 and 1991 using regression analysis and t‐tests. Measurements. Prices are estimated from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration's System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE) database. Findings. On average, crack is neither more nor less expensive per pure unit than powder cocaine. Prices are not equal in every city in every year, but crack is equally likely to be more or less expensive, and the differences are not large relative to ‐variation in prices of both forms of cocaine between cities and over time. Conclusions. Crack has been widely believed to be cheaper than powder cocaine, and this “fact” has been used to help explain why US drug problems worsened in the 1980s. However, crack is not, in fact, cheaper per pure unit than powder cocaine. Other explanations must be sought for why crack spread so rapidly relative to powder cocaine.
Planned duration of residential drug abuse treatment: efficacy versus effectiveness
Authors: McCUSKER JANE , BIGELOW CAROL , VICKERS‐LAHTI MAUREEN , SPOTTS DIANE , GARFIELD FRANCES , FROST RAY 
Published: January 2006

AbstractAims.Two randomized controlled trials of residential drug abuse treatment programs found the programs to be equally effective, based on outcomes among those assigned to the treatments. This study aimed to compare the relative efficacy of the programs, based on outcomes among those who received the specific treatment program as planned.Design.Secondary analyses of data from two concurrent randomized controlled trials, with stratification by actual length of stay.Setting.Two residential drug abuse treatment facilities in the United States.Participants.Six hundred and twenty‐eight clients were enrolled over a 2–year period, representing 85% of all clients admitted, 91% of all eligible clients, and 95% of those asked to participate.Interventions.At one facility, clients were randomized to 3‐month or 6‐month versions of a traditional therapeutic community program. At the second facility, clients were randomized to 3‐month or 6‐month versions of a modified therapeutic community program that emphasized relapse prevention and health education. Measurements. Time from admission to first drug use (except alcohol); and Addiction Severity Index (ASI) composite scores for severity of drug, alcohol, legal, and employment problems. Findings. Five hundred and thirty‐nine clients (86%) completed a follow‐up interview at least 16.5 months after admission. In the relapse prevention trial, benefits of the 6‐month program were generally limited to those who stayed at least 40 days. In the therapeutic community trial, among those who stayed at least 171 days, the 12‐month program had a beneficial effect on employment. Otherwise, there were inconsistent differences between the 6‐ and 12‐month programs.Conclusions.On average, clients who stayed in treatment at least 80 days benefited from continuing in treatment for up to 6 months, but not beyond. Conversely, those admitted to programs of longer planned duration who dropped out of treatment early had worse outcomes than those who dropped out of shorter programs. Thus, although longer planned duration of treatment may be efficacious, it is not effective.
Toward a stepped care approach to treating problem drinkers: the predictive utility of within‐treatment variables and therapist prognostic ratings
Authors: BRESLIN F. CURTIS , SOBELL MARK B. , SOBELL LINDA C. , BUCHAN GIAO , CUNNINGHAM JOHN A. 
Published: January 2006

Abstract Aims. Cost containment, a central issue in current health planning, encourages the use of brief interventions. Although brief interventions for problem drinkers have proved successful, a portion of such individuals do not change their alcohol use during treatment. Design. Repeated measures design (pre‐treatment, within‐treatment and 6 months post‐treatment). Setting and participants. To identify individuals at risk for continued problem drinking, predictors of post‐treatment drinking were examined for 212 problem drinkers who presented for treatment in an outpatient treatment clinic. Intervention. All participants completed a brief cognitive behavioral motivational intervention. Measurements. At the pre‐treatment assessment demographic, drinking pattern, severity of dependence and other cognitive variables (e.g. self‐efficacy, goal choice) were collected. Within‐treatment, drinking pattern and cognitive variables such as self‐efficacy and goal choice were again measured. Findings. Regression analyses showed that therapist prognosis ratings contributed significantly to the prediction of outcome even when pre‐treatment variables were controlled. However, when within‐treatment variables were included in the prediction, variables such as within treatment drinking eliminated the predictive utility of therapist prognosis ratings. This pattern held for both percentage of days abstinent and drinks per drinking day at a 6‐month follow‐up. Conclusions. It is suggested that a stepped care approach based on prediction models that include clients' within‐treatment response can be applied to the treatment of problem drinkers who show little initial response to treatment.
Interpersonal factors and post‐treatment drinking and subjective wellbeing
Authors: BEATTIE MARTHA C. , LONGABAUGH RICHARD 
Published: January 2006

AbstractAims.A conceptual clarification of the domain of social relationships defines three aspects of social relationships (structure, function and quality), which have both alcohol‐specific and general components. We analyse the correlations among post‐treatment indicators of social relationships and the associations between these interpersonal variables and post‐treatment drinking and subjective wellbeing.Design.This is a secondary analysis of data from an alcohol treatment outcome study, in which subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions and followed for 18 months.Setting.The outpatient treatment program is located within a private psychiatric hospital in the north‐eastern United States.Participants.We analyzed the 140 subjects who completed a social network instrument 12 months following treatment assignment.Intervention.This secondary analysis combined clients from three treatment conditions, all of which were based upon social learning theory.Measurements.Interview and questionnaire self‐report data were collected by trained interviewers.Findings.Indicators of social relationships are found to be relatively independent of one another. Only alcohol‐specific social relationship indicators are significantly associated with drinking outcomes, and only general indicators are significantly associated with subjective wellbeing. Functional indicators, addressing social interaction content, have stronger effects on outcomes than structural or quality indicators. General and alcohol‐specific support from friends have more influence than support from family; both surpass the influence of co‐workers.ConclusionsA better understanding of the roles of social relationships during the course of treatment and recovery or relapse may help clarify how treatment personnel can utilize clients' interpersonal relationships more effectively to maximize treatment effectiveness.
The relationship between maternal use of heroin and methadone and infant birth weight
Authors: HULSE G. K. , MILNE E. , ENGLISH D. R. , HOLMAN C. D. J. 
Published: January 2006

Abstract Aims/design. Reduction in mean birth weight and increased incidence of low birth weight are both associated with exposure to illicit heroin in pregnancy. Many studies examining neonatal outcomes in pregnant heroin users treated with methadone report improvements in birth weight. As a consequence, methadone treatment has become the ‘gold standard’ for the management of the pregnant heroin user. However, not all studies report significant birth weight increases associated with methadone. We undertook a number of meta‐analyses on reduction in mean birth weight, and incidence of low birth weight to estimate more precisely the effect of illicit heroin and methadone. Findings. Results showed mean reductions in birth weight associated with heroin use: 489 g (95% CI 284‐693 g), compared with methadone: 279 g (229‐328 g). Similarly, the pooled relative risk estimate for low birth weight for maternal heroin use was 4.61 (95% CI 2.78‐7,65), compared with 1.36 (0.83‐2.22) for methadone. Analysis of data on combined heroin and methadone use produced a pooled mean reduction in birth weight of 557 g (403‐710 g), with a pooled relative risk estimate for low birth weight of 3.28 (2.47‐4.39). Pooling ‘any’ methadone data, regardless of heroin use, produced an estimated reduction in birth weight of 395 g (311‐478 g) and a relative risk estimate for low birth weight of 1.90 (1.29‐2.81). Combining all data in an ‘any’ opiate use analysis also produced a mean reduction in birth weight of 483 g (386‐583 g) and a relative risk estimate for low birth weight of 3.81 (2,57‐5.65). Conclusions. The current findings suggest that heroin use while receiving methadone may counteract the birth weight advantage gained from methadone alone. Whether this is due to fetal exposure to heroin plus methadone, to reduced antenatal care, other behavioural and environmental factors associated with concurrent use of heroin and methadone or a combination of these is unclear. Nevertheless, these results challenge the current belief that the pregnant user is always better off receiving methadone than not, and suggests that methadone may not be the appropriate treatment for the pregnant women who continue to use illicit heroin.
Where to publish? Some considerations among English‐language addiction journals
Authors: ARCINIEGA LISA T. , MILLER WILLIAM R. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractA search and survey of specialty periodicals in the addiction field identified 35 English‐language scientific journals that publish unsolicited research manuscripts. Among these, the typical addiction journal publishes a variety of types of articles in one of many different citation and referencing formats, releases four issues per year to about 100 subscribers, annually receives more than 100 manuscripts for scientific review, and accepts 53 of them to be published without payment of an author fee. Together these 35 addiction journals publish over 1700 new articles each year. Addiction journals vary widely in acceptance rates, ranging from 26% to 95%, and averaging 53%. For better or worse, these journals offer ample opportunity for the reporting of scientific data in the addiction field.
The influence of smoking on reward responsiveness and cognitive functions: a natural experiment
Authors: AL‐ADAWI SAMIR , POWELL JANE 
Published: January 2006

Abstract Aims. To investigate the effects of (a) nicotine abstinence and (b) cigarette smoking after abstinence, on reward responsiveness and cognitive functions which are putatively dependent on activity in the dopaminergic system implicated in smoking. Design. During Ramadhan, Muslim smokers elected to abstain from smoking either for the whole month (RAMQUIT) or during daylight hours (DAYQUIT). These groups, and non‐smokers (NOSMOKE), were assessed on two occasions 6 hours apart (TEST1 and TEST2). DAYQUIT participants had abstained for 6 hours at TEST1 and smoked a single cigarette immediately prior to TEST2. RAMQUIT participants had abstained for at least 10 days prior to TEST1 and remained abstinent at TEST2. NOSMOKE and RAMQUIT participants ate a small snack prior to TEST2 to control for non‐specific consummatory effects. Setting. TEST1 was conducted at the mosque and TEST2 in participants' homes. Participants. All were male; mean age was 26.7years. Modal cigarette consumption prior to Ramadhan by both the 13 DAYQUIT and the 11 RAMQUIT smokers was 21‐30 per day. DAYQUIT subjects rated themselves as more dependent. Measurements. The Card Arranging Reward Responsivity Objective Test (CARROT), testing behavioural responsiveness to small financial incentive; digit span, measuring attention; verbal fluency, indexing frontal lobe function; and the two‐choice guessing test (2CGT; at TEST1 only), measuring response stereotypy. Findings, At TEST1, compared with non‐smokers, both smoking groups showed greater stereotypy (2CG) and lower reward responsiveness (CARROT). DA YQUIT participants improved on all measures after smoking a single cigarette. No marked changes were seen in the other groups. Conclusion. These data suggest that (i) abstaining smokers have impaired dopaminergic function and (ii) nicotine consumption may boost their dopaminergic activity.
During Ramadhan, muslims do not eat, drink or smoke between dawn and dusk. This prohibition, however, does not apply to the hours of darkness, when the faithful, understandably peckish, tend to raid the larder … By day, however, inertia and lethargy rein … In the long hours of Nil By Mouth chain smokers gnaw their fingernails.(Steward, 1995)
Book Reviews
Authors: GOSSOP MICHAEL 
Published: January 2006

Books Reviewed in this Article: The Selfish Brain: learning from addiction ROBERT L. DUPONT America's Drug War Debacle LEIF RODERICK ROSENBERGER Drug Abuse and Social Policy in America—the War that must be Won BARRY STIMMEL Women and Alcohol: contemporary and historical perspectives MOIRA PLANT Drug Misuse: prevention, harm minimisation and treatment JAN KEENE Alcohol and Speech STEVEN B. CHIN & DAVID B. PISONI
Alcohol misuse prevention for young people: a systematic review reveals methodological concerns and lack of reliable evidence of effectiveness
Authors: FOXCROFT DAVID R. , LISTER‐SHARP DEBORAH , LOWE GEOFF 
Published: January 2006

AbstractIn a systematic review we assessed the methodological quality of evaluations of alcohol misuse prevention programmes for young people, and recorded evidence of effectiveness. Studies were identified through systematic searches of electronic databases; hand searches of all obtained papers, existing reviews and several journals; and mailshots to key organizations, conferences and individuals. Relevant papers were checked and cross‐checked by members of the review team, and only those studies with an experimental or quasi‐experimental design and positive attributes on a number of other quality criteria were included in the review. After pre‐screening over 500 papers which reported prevention programmes, information was systematically abstracted from 155 papers. Only 33 studies merited inclusion in the review, and most of these had some methodological shortcomings. Twenty‐one studies reported some significant short‐ and medium‐term reductions in drinking behaviour. Of two studies which carried out longer‐term evaluations, only one reported a significant longer‐term effect, with small effect sizes. No factors clearly distinguished partially effective from ineffective or harmful prevention programmes. In conclusion, the lack of reliable evidence means that no one type of prevention programme can be recommended. In particular there is a need to carry out well‐designed scientific evaluations of the effectiveness of current or new prevention efforts which target young people's alcohol misuse.
Alcohol and aviation
Authors: HOLLAND COOK CHRISTOPHER CHARLES 
Published: January 2006

AbstractAviation accidents due to alcohol consumption by aircrew appear to be rare, especially in commercial aviation. However, a small proportion of general aviation accidents are attributable to alcohol use by aircrew, and aircrew are not well informed about the metabolism of alcohol and its effects on performance. Furthermore, there is evidence that aircrew performance may be impaired by alcohol consumption even after their Blood Alcohol Concentration has returned to “zero” (i.e. < 5 mg/dl). Accidents caused by impairment of aircrew performance by alcohol may therefore not be attributed to alcohol use at all. Aviation safety relies upon faultless human performance and is thus highly sensitive to alcohol‐related impairment of performance. This paper provides a review of research regarding aircrew alcohol consumption, impairment of aircrew performance by Alcohol, incidence of aviation accidents attributable to Alcohol use by aircrew, and other related subjects.
Adulthood functioning: the joint effects of parental alcoholism, gender and childhood socio‐economic stress
Authors: HILL ELIZABETH M. , ROSS LISA THOMSON , MUDD SHARON A. , BLOW FREDERIC C. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThe popular literature has publicized the adjustment difficulties of adult children of an alcohol‐dependent parent (ACOAs); however, empirical studies do not provide consistent support. We examined the impact of parental alcoholism, degree of childhood socio‐economic stress and gender on three broad categories of adulthood functioning (psychopathology, socio‐economic attainment and marital stability). These effects were investigated with a heterogeneous sample of 400 men and 226 women participating in studies at the University of Michigan Alcohol Research Center. Parental alcoholism and childhood socio‐economic stress exerted significant independent effects on most adulthood functioning measures. Men and women differed substantially only on socio‐economic attainment measures, and effects of parental alcoholism and childhood economic stress on men and women were generally similar. For marital stability, parental alcoholism and childhood socio‐economic stress interacted. These results suggest that researchers who study the impact of family history for alcoholism on psychological functioning should consider other aspects of the family of origin that promote wellbeing. In addition, results of this study point to the need for more research on gender differences, protective factors that promote good adjustment and outcome measures reflecting general life adaptation.
The effects of physical attractiveness on gaining access to alcohol: when social policy meets social decision making
Authors: McCALL MICHAEL 
Published: January 2006

AbstractDespite numerous legal interventions, minors continue to purchase and consume alcohol. Prior research had suggested that the decision to request identification to prove legal age was susceptible to various judgement and decision heuristics. This research examined whether the physical attractiveness of the potential consumer and the presence or absence of others were significant predictors of alcohol accessibility. Bartenders (n = 130) rated a target individual who was either high or low in attractiveness. Results indicated that attractiveness was a significant predictor of “proofing likelihood”. High levels of attractiveness were associated with a decrease in the likelihood of being asked to provide proof of legal age for the purchase of alcohol. Individuals presented alone were seen as significantly older than when grouped with others. Implications of these findings for the restriction of alcohol availability among minors are considered.