Acculturative stress, collectivistic coping, and drinking in a predominantly Latino college sample.

OBJECTIVES: The present study explored the association of acculturative stress with alcohol consumption and problems, and whether these associations varied by collectivistic coping style in a predominantly Latino college sample. METHOD: Participants were 192 (58.9% female; Mage = 23.4 years, SD = 6.6; 89.6% Hispanic or Latino) undergraduate students from the University of Texas at El Paso that participated in a survey that assessed their acculturative stress, collectivistic coping styles, alcohol use, and associated problems. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine the potential moderating effect of collectivistic coping styles on the relationship between acculturative stress and drinking variables. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant two-way interaction between acculturative stress and seeking social support in predicting monthly drinking frequency, heavy drinking frequency, peak number of drinks, and alcohol problems. They also revealed a significant two-way interaction between acculturative stress and forbearance in predicting heavy drinking frequency and peak number of drinks. The associations between acculturative stress and each of the outcomes were positive at low levels of collectivistic coping style. However, these relationships became increasingly negative as the collectivistic coping style increased. CONCLUSIONS: The present study extends the literature on collectivistic coping by exploring the protective effects of collectivistic coping styles against drinking among Latino college students. Based on current findings, it appears that among Latino students, seeking social support may serve as a protective factor against the effects of acculturative stress on alcohol use and problems and that forbearance may serve as a protective factor against the effects of acculturative stress on alcohol use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The indirect effects of self-regulation on the association of social support with increased protective drinking behavior and decreased alcohol problems in a predominantly Hispanic college student sample.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that self-regulation, which refers to one's ability to manage a behavior, and social support are related to alcohol use. Other research suggests that social support may serve as a precursor to self-regulation and health-promoting behaviors. We examined whether self-regulation has an indirect effect on the association between social support and both protective drinking behaviors and alcohol problems. METHODS: A random sample of students at a Hispanic Serving Institution completed an online survey, which included sociodemographic questions, the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire, the Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS) Scale, and the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. Undergraduate students (n = 192) who reported drinking in the last month were included in the analysis. A path analysis using Mplus8 was conducted to investigate the relationships among social support, self-regulation, PBS, and alcohol-related problems. RESULTS: The sample was mostly female (58.9) and of Hispanic ethnicity (89.6). Analyses showed that social support had a significant positive association with PBS and a significant negative association with alcohol-related problems. When self-regulation was added to the models, these associations were no longer significant, and self-regulation had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between social support and both PBS and alcohol-related problems. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current cross-sectional study suggest that a viable hypothesis in future longitudinal studies is that self-regulation is a mechanism by which social support increases PBS and reduces alcohol problems. Future research should assess longitudinally both the mediating effects of self-regulation between social support and drinking outcomes and potential moderators, such as ethnicity.

The association of allostasis with alcohol use: A case-control study in males with and without alcohol use disorder.

BACKGROUND: Allostatic load (AL) is associated with a heightened predisposition to disease due to prolonged activation of biological stress-response systems. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is known to activate these systems. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between AL and AUD. METHODS: Participants were males (100%) with DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence (n = 48) and healthy participants with no history of substance use disorder (n = 17). Participants with AUD were 4-6 weeks abstinent. The AL index used cortisol, interleukin-6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), C-reactive protein (CRP), glucose, insulin, leptin, pulse, systolic blood pressure readings, diastolic blood pressure readings, and body mass index (BMI). Physiological dysregulation for each biological measure was determined based on values within the 25th or 75th percentiles; AL was calculated as the total number of physiologically dysregulated biological measures. RESULTS: No differences in mean AL scores between the cases and controls [t(63) = .48, p = .633] were observed. Among cases, AL was not associated with lifetime drinks per drinking day (F(2,42) = .42, p = .662), lifetime total drinks (F(2,42) = 0.48, p = .620), total drinks 6 months prior to participating in the study (F(2,43) = 0.58, p = .563), or drinks per drinking day at 3-month follow-up (F(2,35) = 1.93, p = .161). AL was negatively associated with drinks per drinking day 6 months prior to study participation (F(2,42) = 3.71, p = .033). CONCLUSIONS: The hypotheses were not supported. Given that alcohol is likely to lead to physiological dysregulation, the apparent absence of a relationship between biomarkers of cumulative stress as indicated by AL and drinking status was both unanticipated and remarkable. Based on the results, AL in the context of drinking status or drinking among males with AUD may not be applicable.

Use of an Automated Bilingual Digital Health Tool to Reduce Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among Latino Emergency Department Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Alcohol use disorders have a high disease burden among US Latino groups. In this population, health disparities persist, and high-risk drinking has been increasing. Effective bilingual and culturally adapted brief interventions are needed to identify and reduce disease burden. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of an automated bilingual computerized alcohol screening and intervention (AB-CASI) digital health tool with standard care for the reduction of alcohol consumption among US adult Latino emergency department (ED) patients with unhealthy drinking. Design, Setting, and Participants: This bilingual unblinded parallel-group randomized clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of AB-CASI vs standard care among 840 self-identified adult Latino ED patients with unhealthy drinking (representing the full spectrum of unhealthy drinking). The study was conducted from October 29, 2014, to May 1, 2020, at the ED of a large urban community tertiary care center in the northeastern US that was verified as a level II trauma center by the American College of Surgeons. Data were analyzed from May 14, 2020, to November 24, 2020. Intervention: Patients randomized to the intervention group received AB-CASI, which included alcohol screening and a structured interactive brief negotiated interview in their preferred language (English or Spanish) while in the ED. Patients randomized to the standard care group received standard emergency medical care, including an informational sheet with recommended primary care follow-up. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the self-reported number of binge drinking episodes within the last 28 days, assessed by the timeline followback method at 12 months after randomization. Results: Among 840 self-identified adult Latino ED patients (mean [SD] age, 36.2 [11.2] years; 433 [51.5%] male; and 697 [83.0%] of Puerto Rican descent), 418 were randomized to the AB-CASI group and 422 to the standard care group. A total of 443 patients (52.7%) chose Spanish as their preferred language at enrollment. At 12 months, the number of binge drinking episodes within the last 28 days was significantly lower in those receiving AB-CASI (3.2; 95% CI, 2.7-3.8) vs standard care (4.0; 95% CI, 3.4-4.7; relative difference [RD], 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64-0.99). Alcohol-related adverse health behaviors and consequences were similar between groups. The effect of AB-CASI was modified by age; at 12 months, the relative reduction in the number of binge drinking episodes within the last 28 days in the AB-CASI vs standard care group was 30% in participants older than 25 years (RD, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.54-0.89) compared with an increase of 40% in participants 25 years or younger (RD, 1.40; 95% CI, 0.85-2.31; P = .01 for interaction). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, US adult Latino ED patients who received AB-CASI had a significant reduction in the number of binge drinking episodes within the last 28 days at 12 months after randomization. These findings suggest that AB-CASI is a viable brief intervention that overcomes known procedural barriers to ED screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment and directly addresses alcohol-related health disparities. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02247388.

The influence of cognitive and affective components of the sentinel event on alcohol use following a brief intervention with trauma patients.

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol-related injury is a sentinel event, an unanticipated medical event that may prompt a re-evaluation of health behaviors, such as alcohol use. Few studies have examined the psychological components of the sentinel event that motivate behavior change. In the present study, we examined the influence of cognitive and affective components of an alcohol-related injury on changes in alcohol use following a brief intervention. METHOD: Injured patients (n = 411) who were drinking prior to their injury admission were recruited from three urban Level I trauma centers and randomized to receive brief advice or brief motivational intervention with or without a 1-month booster session. Assessments were completed at baseline and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Three groups were created based on endorsement (yes/no) of items assessing cognitive and affective components of the injury event: neither component, the cognitive component only, and both the cognitive and affective components. RESULTS: Mixed-effects models indicated that participants who endorsed both the cognitive and affective components had greater reductions in peak alcohol use from baseline to 3-month follow-up than those who did endorsed neither component. By contrast, participants who endorsed the cognitive component, but not the affective component, had greater increases in average drinks per week and percentage of days of heavy drinking from 3- to 12-month follow-ups than those who endorsed neither component. CONCLUSION: These results provide preliminary support for further consideration of an affective component of alcohol-related injuries that may motivate subsequent reductions in drinking following a sentinel event.

The Associations of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Need Frustration with Cannabis-Related Outcomes in a Multi-Site Sample of College Students.

Psychological need satisfaction and need frustration, proposed by self-determination theory, may serve as conditions that foster health-promoting and health-impairing behaviors related to cannabis use. In the present study, we examined the measurement model of psychological need satisfaction and need frustration and their associations with cannabis protective behavioral strategies use, negative cannabis-related consequences, and cannabis use severity. Data were from 1394 college students from 10 universities across the U.S. who reported past-month cannabis use. A higher-order factor model representing general psychological need satisfaction and need frustration provided a good fit to the data. Regressing the three observed cannabis outcome variables onto these higher-order latent factors, we found that greater need satisfaction was associated with more frequent cannabis protective behavioral strategies use and fewer negative cannabis-related consequences. Greater need frustration was associated with greater negative cannabis-related consequences and cannabis use severity. Further, an interaction effect between need satisfaction and need frustration emerged for each cannabis outcome such that greater need satisfaction attenuated the associations between need frustration and cannabis outcomes and greater need frustration strengthened the associations between need satisfaction and cannabis outcomes. Implications for the roles of need satisfaction and need frustration in cannabis use and future intervention development are discussed.

Alcohol Use Severity among Hispanic Emerging Adults: Examining Intragroup Marginalization, Bicultural Self-Efficacy, and the Role of Gender within a Stress and Coping Framework.

Most research on cultural stressors and alcohol has focused on intercultural stressors. Continuing to exclude intracultural stressors (e.g., intragroup marginalization) from alcohol research will yield a biased understanding of the experiences of Hispanics living in a bicultural society. As we amass more studies on intracultural stressors, research will be needed to identify mutable sociocultural factors that may mitigate the association between intracultural stressors and alcohol. To address these limitations, we examined the association between intragroup marginalization and alcohol use severity and the extent to which gender and bicultural self-efficacy may moderate this association. A convenience sample of 200 Hispanic emerging adults ages 18-25 (men = 101, women = 99) from Arizona (n = 99) and Florida (n = 101) completed a cross-sectional survey. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression and moderation analyses. Higher intragroup marginalization was associated with higher alcohol use severity. Gender functioned as a moderator whereby intragroup marginalization was associated with higher alcohol use severity among men, but not women. Also, higher social groundedness functioned as a moderator that weakened the association between intragroup marginalization and alcohol use severity. Role repertoire did not function as a moderator. Our findings are significant because they enhance the reliability of the association between intragroup marginalization and alcohol use severity, and the moderating effect of gender in this respective association. This emerging line of research suggests that alcohol interventions targeting Hispanics may have a significant limitation by not accounting for intracultural stressors.

Perceived discrimination and alcohol-related problems among Hispanic college students: The protective role of serious harm reduction behaviors.

The present study investigated the use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) as moderators of the association between perceived discrimination and alcohol-related problems among Hispanic college students. Participants who were between 18 and 24 years of age (n = 379) completed self-report measures. The results showed that greater perceived discrimination was associated with less frequent PBS use, more problematic alcohol use, and more alcohol-related problems, while greater use of PBS types was associated with fewer alcohol-related problems. Furthermore, serious harm-reduction behaviors moderated the association between perceived discrimination and alcohol-related problems. The findings suggest that serious harm-reduction behaviors may protect against the negative effects of perceived discrimination on alcohol-related problems among Hispanic college students.

A comprehensive examination of alcohol-related motivations among college students: Unique relations of drinking motives and motivations for drinking responsibly.

Drinking motives, or reasons people choose to drink, are well-established risk factors for alcohol use and related negative consequences. Recent research has shown utility in a self-determination theory (SDT) approach for describing motivation for engaging in behaviors that reduce the harms associated with alcohol use (i.e., drinking responsibly). In the present study, we examined the relationship between drinking motives and motivations for drinking responsibly as well as their unique and incremental associations with alcohol-related outcomes (protective behavioral strategies [PBS], consumption, and negative consequences) in two samples of college student drinkers: (a) a random sample (n = 507) recruited from a Hispanic-Serving Institution on the U.S. border with Mexico (Mage = 22.84, SD = 5.84; 67.3% female; 90.9% Hispanic) and (b) a convenience sample (n = 2,808) from Psychology Department research participation pools at 10 universities in 8 U.S. states (Mage = 20.59, SD = 4.18; 72.9% female; 58.2% non-Hispanic White). Autonomous motivations (experience of volition and choice) for drinking responsibly were negatively correlated with drinking motives, but these correlations were small-to-medium in magnitude suggesting nonredundancy between the constructs. Drinking motives were risk factors for alcohol-related outcomes, especially alcohol-related problems, and autonomous motivations for drinking responsibly were protective factors for alcohol-related outcomes, especially PBS. Both motivational constructs predicted alcohol-related outcomes beyond the other, but drinking motives generally accounted for more variance. These findings suggest that integrating motivation in relation to both drinking and drinking responsibly may lead to a better understanding of alcohol-related behaviors and the associated negative consequences among college students. Implications for college drinking interventions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Measurement Invariance of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire Among Injured Patients Who Received a Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use.

We tested measurement invariance of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCQ) to evaluate its utility in assessing the stages of change in the context of brief intervention for alcohol use in opportunistic settings. Participants (N = 596) were patients admitted from three Level I trauma centers who were randomly assigned to one of three brief alcohol interventions. The RCQ was administered at baseline and 3-month follow-up. The RCQ was scalar invariant across biological sex and partially scalar invariant across race/ethnicity and alcohol use severity. Hispanic participants were higher on contemplation and action and Black participants were higher on action than White participants. Hazardous drinkers were lower in precontemplation and higher in contemplation and action than nonhazardous drinkers. The RCQ was scalar invariant across intervention conditions and time. Brief motivational intervention with a booster increased action from baseline to 3 month. These findings provide further support for the use of the RCQ.

The role of resilience in alcohol use, drinking motives, and alcohol-related consequences among Hispanic college students.

Background: Hispanic college students experience minority stressors and are therefore at greater risk of experiencing alcohol-related consequences. Resilience may protect against problem drinking and related consequences, yet its relationship to drinking motives remains unexplored. Given that drinking motives precede both alcohol use and its consequences, investigating the role of resilience in such associations may inform interventions to reduce alcohol-related health disparities.Objectives: The current study investigated whether greater resilience predicted fewer drinking motives, lower alcohol consumption, and reduced the negative impact of drinking motives on alcohol consequences among Hispanic college students.Methods: Resilience, drinking motives and alcohol consequences were assessed among 443 students living on the U.S./Mexico border recruited via e-mail (68% female; Mage = 22.6 years, SD = 5.09). Linear regressions assessed whether drinking motives (i.e., coping, conformity, social, enhancement) and resilience predicted alcohol consumption. A linear regression also assessed resilience, drinking motives, and alcohol consumption as potential predictors of alcohol consequences. Lastly, linear regressions tested the moderating effects of resilience between each drinking motive and alcohol consumption as well as alcohol consequences.Results: Greater resilience predicted fewer alcohol-related consequences (ß = -.024, p = .028). Additionally, resilience moderated the relationships social (ß = -.095, p = .050) and enhancement drinking motives (ß = -.084, p = .050) had with alcohol consequences. Higher social and enhancement motives were not associated with alcohol consequences among resilient individuals.Conclusion: Strengthening resilience among Hispanic students whose drinking is motivated by a desire for socialization or mood enhancement may protect against alcohol-related consequences.

Antecedente: Estudiantes universitarios Hispanos pueden presentar condiciones de estrés de minoría y por tanto corren un mayor riesgo de sufrir consecuencias relacionadas con el alcohol. Puede que la resiliencia proteja contra de beber en exceso y consecuencias relacionadas, aún su relación con motivos de beber permanece inexplorada. Dado que motivos para beber preceden el consumo de beber en exceso y sus consecuencias, investigar el rol de resiliencia en estas asocia-ciones puede informar intervenciones para reducir las disparidades de salud relacionadas con el consumo de alcohol. Objetivo: El estudio actual investigo si la resiliencia predecía menos motivos para beber, consumo del alcohol y rebajaba el impacto negativo de los motivos para beber en las consecuencias del alcohol entre los estudiantes universitarios Hispanos. Métodos: Se evaluó la resiliencia, los motivos para beber y las consecuencias del alcohol entre 443 estudiantes universitarios en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México reclutados por correo electrónico (68% mujeres; Medad = 22.6 años, SD = 5.09). Regresión lineales evaluaron si los motivos para beber (es decir, afrontamiento, aprobación, socialización, mejoramiento) y la resiliencia predecían consumo del alcohol. Una regresión lineal también evaluó la resiliencia, los motivos para beber y consumo del alcohol como posibles predictores de las consecuencias del alcohol. Por último, las regresiones lineales probaron los efectos moderadores de la resiliencia entre cada motivo de beber y el consumo del alcohol, así como las consecuencias del alcohol.

The psychometric properties of a version of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire for assessing motivations for responsible drinking.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present studies was to provide a psychometric evaluation of a version of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) for assessing motivations derived from self-determination theory for responsible drinking among college students. Methods: A convenience sample of 308 college student drinkers (71.7% female) were recruited for Study 1 and a random sample of 192 college student drinkers (58.9% female) were recruited for Study 2. Participants completed the TSRQ and other self-report measures in both studies. Results: In Study 1, confirmatory factor analyses supported a revised four-factor structure of the TSRQ. In Study 2, correlation analyses generally provided support for the concurrent validity of the TSRQ subscales. Conclusion: The present studies provide some initial support for the TSRQ for assessing motivations for responsible drinking. Directions for future research and implications of a measure for assessing motivations for responsible drinking among college students are discussed.

Social network heavy drinking moderates the effects of a brief motivational intervention for alcohol use among injured patients.

BACKGROUND: Limited research has focused on identifying the extent to which social networks impact the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions delivered in trauma care settings. OBJECTIVES: The research presented here examines the extent to which the percent of heavy drinkers and percent of abstainers in one's social network moderates the effectiveness of a brief motivational intervention with and without a telephone booster on alcohol use among trauma patients. METHOD: Secondary data analyses were conducted using data from 596 participants (456males) who were recruited from three urban Level I trauma centers. Patients were randomized to one of the three intervention conditions: brief advice (BA; n = 200), brief motivational intervention (BMI; n = 203), and BMI with a telephone booster (BMI + B; n = 193). For the purpose of the present study, measures of alcohol-specific social network characteristics at baseline and alcohol use at 3- and 6-month follow-up were used. RESULTS: At low percentages (0% to ~7%) of people in one's social network who are heavy drinkers, there was a negative, statistically significant effect of the BMI conditions versus the BA condition on alcohol use. However, percent of abstainers did not moderate the effects of the BMI conditions. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the BMI and BMI + B conditions may be most effective among patients with no heavy drinkers in their social networks. BMIs may benefit from including a component that addresses having one or more heavy drinkers in one's social network.

Further validation of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire for assessing motivations for responsible drinking: A test of self-determination theory.

Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are cognitive-behavioral strategies used before, during, and/or after drinking to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a potentially useful framework to understand motivations for responsible drinking, which is operationalized in the present study as PBS use. In the present study, we examined the relation of motivations for responsible drinking, as assessed by the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ), with other SDT constructs (psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy) and PBS use. A sample of 507 college students who reported consuming alcohol at least once in the past 3 months were recruited from a random sample of students enrolled at a Hispanic serving institution to complete an online survey. Consistent with SDT and previous studies of the TSRQ, we found support for a 4-factor structure of the TSRQ. The TSRQ demonstrated measurement invariance across several sociodemographic subgroups within the sample (e.g., biological sex, age, year in school), supporting the use of the TSRQ across these subgroups. Further, consistent with SDT-based hypotheses, greater psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy were related to more self-determined motivations for responsible drinking. Also consistent with SDT, more self-determined motivations for responsible drinking were related to more frequent PBS use. The present findings further support the utility of the TSRQ for assessing motivations for responsible drinking and support SDT as a framework for understanding responsible drinking. Future directions for research applying SDT to understand and promote responsible drinking among college students are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Mechanisms of change in drinking following an alcohol-related injury: A qualitative examination of the sentinel event effect.

Background: Sentinel events are negative health-related events that trigger change in risky health behaviors. Despite its presumed major role in behavior change, the sentinel event effect has received little empirical attention. Through analysis of qualitative interviews, we explored how sentinel events trigger behavior change. Methods: Thematic analysis and concept mapping were used to develop a preliminary model of the sentinel event effect among a sample of 24 adult heavy drinking Mexican-origin men previously admitted to a hospital due to injury. The model was checked against cases that did versus did not report change in alcohol use following an alcohol-related negative event. Results: Findings suggest that sentinel events may arouse negative emotional reactions, encourage reflection on the negative consequences of drinking, and cause reevaluation of the severity and significance of drinking. These processes may increase motivation to change. Conclusions: Findings support the concept of the sentinel event as a natural intervention, and identifies potential social-cognitive and motivational mechanisms through which it influences change. Findings stand to inform research on mechanisms underlying brief intervention effects, and research that seeks to identify treatment targets.

The Effects of a Brief Motivational Intervention for Alcohol Use through Stages of Change among Nontreatment Seeking Injured Patients.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the mechanisms of change underlying brief interventions and the patient characteristics that may affect them. The present study tested whether the stages of change mediate the effects of a BMI with and without a telephone booster relative to brief advice (i.e., multiple mediation). Further, the present study tested whether the effects of the BMI conditions on the stages of change were contingent on patients' alcohol use severity (i.e., moderated mediation). METHODS: The present study is a secondary analysis using data from injured adult patients at 3 trauma centers who were screened for inclusion in the study and randomly assigned to brief advice (n = 200), BMI (n = 203), or BMI with a telephone booster (n = 193) (Field et al., 2014). Participants completed a baseline assessment and 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up assessments that included self-report measures of the stages of change, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems, as well as other variables of interest. RESULTS: The results demonstrated significant and consistent mediation at p < 0.05 wherein BMI with a telephone booster increased action at 3-month follow-up leading to reduced likelihood of at-risk drinking, less alcohol use, and fewer alcohol problems at both 6- and 12-month follow-up. However, moderated mediation analyses suggested that the effects of the BMI conditions on the stages of change were not contingent on patients' alcohol use severity. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to the understanding of stages of change as potential mechanisms of change in BMI. Directions for future research are discussed.

Trial study design to test a bilingual digital health tool for alcohol use disorders among Latino emergency department patients.

We describe an emergency department (ED)-based, Latino patient focused, unblinded, randomized controlled trial to empirically test if automated bilingual computerized alcohol screening and brief intervention (AB-CASI), a digital health tool, is superior to standard care (SC) on measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related negative behaviors and consequences, and 30-day treatment engagement. The trial design addresses the full spectrum of unhealthy drinking from high-risk drinking to severe alcohol use disorder (AUD). In an effort to surmount known ED-based alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment process barriers, while addressing racial/ethnic alcohol-related health disparities among Latino groups, this trial will purposively use a digital health tool and seek enrollment of English and/or Spanish speaking self-identified adult Latino ED patients. Participants will be randomized (1:1) to AB-CASI or SC, stratified by AUD severity and preferred language (English vs. Spanish). The primary outcome will be the number of binge drinking days assessed using the 28-day timeline followback method at 12 months post-randomization. Secondary outcomes will include mean number of drinks/week and number of episodes of driving impaired, riding with an impaired driver, injuries, arrests, and tardiness and days absent from work/school. A sample size of 820 is necessary to provide 80% power to detect a 1.14 difference between AB-CASI and SC in the primary outcome. Showing efficacy of this promising bilingual ED-based brief intervention tool in Latino patients has the potential to widely and efficiently expand prevention efforts and facilitate meaningful contact with specialized treatment services.

Profiles of motivations for responsible drinking among college students: A self-determination theory perspective.

The present study sought to identify motivational profiles for responsible drinking from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective among college students. We used data from 507 students who reported drinking alcohol at least once in the past 3 months that were recruited from a random sample of undergraduate students at a Southwestern university. Participants completed an online survey that included measures assessing amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, and autonomous motivation for responsible drinking as well as other SDT constructs, alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS), and alcohol use/problems. A latent profile analysis suggested that a 3-class solution was optimal: a "High Quality" class (i.e., relatively high on introjected regulation and autonomous motivation but relatively low on all other types of motivation), a "High Quantity" class (i.e., relatively high on all types of motivation), and a "Low Quantity" class (i.e., relatively low on all types of motivation). The High Quality class reported the highest level of psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy, followed by the High Quantity class, with the Low Quantity class reporting the lowest levels. The High Quality class reported more frequent use of serious harm reduction PBS than the High Quantity class. Generally, both the High Quality and High Quantity classes reported more frequent use of all types of PBS and less alcohol use/problems than the Low Quantity class. These results provide initial support for different profiles of motivations based on SDT for responsible drinking. Potential implications for alcohol interventions among college students are discussed.

Trial study design to test a bilingual digital health tool for alcohol use disorders among Latino emergency department patients.

We describe an emergency department (ED)-based, Latino patient focused, unblinded, randomized controlled trial to empirically test if automated bilingual computerized alcohol screening and brief intervention (AB-CASI), a digital health tool, is superior to standard care (SC) on measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related negative behaviors and consequences, and 30-day treatment engagement. The trial design addresses the full spectrum of unhealthy drinking from high-risk drinking to severe alcohol use disorder (AUD). In an effort to surmount known ED-based alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment process barriers, while addressing racial/ethnic alcohol-related health disparities among Latino groups, this trial will purposively use a digital health tool and seek enrollment of English and/or Spanish speaking self-identified adult Latino ED patients. Participants will be randomized (1:1) to AB-CASI or SC, stratified by AUD severity and preferred language (English vs. Spanish). The primary outcome will be the number of binge drinking days assessed using the 28-day timeline followback method at 12 months post-randomization. Secondary outcomes will include mean number of drinks/week and number of episodes of driving impaired, riding with an impaired driver, injuries, arrests, and tardiness and days absent from work/school. A sample size of 820 is necessary to provide 80% power to detect a 1.14 difference between AB-CASI and SC in the primary outcome. Showing efficacy of this promising bilingual ED-based brief intervention tool in Latino patients has the potential to widely and efficiently expand prevention efforts and facilitate meaningful contact with specialized treatment services.

Factor, Concurrent and Predictive Validity of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire [Treatment Version] Among Non-Treatment-Seeking Individuals.

AIMS: This study assessed the factor, concurrent and predictive validity of the revised Readiness to Change Questionnaire [Treatment Version] (RCQ[TV]) among non-treatment-seeking individuals. METHODS: Non-treatment-seeking patients (Mage = 34.8, SD = 12.4) who screened positive for alcohol misuse were recruited from three urban Level I Trauma Centers and completed the RCQ[TV] (Heather et al. [(1999) Development of a treatment version of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire. Addict Res7, 63-83]). RESULTS: A confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of the RCQ[TV]. Observed scores for precontemplation, contemplation and action demonstrated concurrent validity, as they were correlated with drinking and alcohol-related problems prior to baseline assessment. Finally, RCQ[TV] scores at baseline added to the predictability of an alcohol consumption composite score at a 3-month follow-up after controlling for baseline alcohol consumption and randomization to treatment arm. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that the RCQ[TV] has desirable psychometric properties and supports the use of the RCQ[TV] among non-treatment-seeking patients with alcohol misuse.