Impulsivity traits associated with disordered eating and binge drinking among female college students.

Objective: Disordered eating and problematic alcohol use may negatively impact women's health, and the two issues frequently occur together. We assessed the interaction between negative urgency and disordered eating variables on binge drinking frequency. We also examined impulsivity facets in relation to binge eating, purging, and restrictive eating using multiple linear regression. Methods: Undergraduate women (M age 19.02; SD 1.51; n 262) from a mid-sized southeastern university, reported quantity and frequency of alcohol use over the past 90 days, disordered eating measured by the Multifactorial Assessment of Eating Disorder Symptoms (MAEDS), and impulsivity on the UPPS-P. Results: Negative urgency was the best impulsivity predictor of binge eating and restrictive eating. Negative urgency was a significant predictor of binge drinking frequency (negative binomial regression, p values < .01), but no interaction was found. Conclusions: To reduce these behaviors, college students may benefit from campus programs offering adaptive strategies to cope with negative affect.

Symptom reduction in DBT-informed partial hospital, intensive outpatient, and step-down programs: Mindfulness matters.

Preliminary evidence suggests the efficacy of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to reduce clinical symptoms in Partial Hospital (PH) programs. However, less is known about DBT in Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs, or in PH to IOP step-down models. The current study examined changes in depression, anxiety, stress, hopelessness, and mindfulness skills acquisition, from intake and discharge data of clients at a southeastern behavioral health clinic in the United States.The sample included 146 clients, 65.75% female (ages M = 33.88, SD = 12.34), who attended either a DBT-PH, -IOP, or -PH to IOP step-down program. Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form (FFMQ-SF).Depression, anxiety, and hopelessness decreased from intake to discharge in the PH program, while all symptoms decreased in the IOP and step-down programs. Mindfulness total scores, and most subscales, increased in each program. Mindfulness skills acquisition predicted decreases in depression and stress in the IOP group, and decreases in depression and hopelessness in the step-down group.Overall, clinical symptoms and mindfulness skills acquisition improved over the course of the DBT-PH and-IOP programs.

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

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