The Interaction Between Genetic Variant ZNF804A rs1344706 and Alcohol Withdrawal on Impulsivity: Evidence for the Diathesis-Stress Model

Objective: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the most common substance use disorder, which may relate to increased impulsivity. A more detailed understanding of the potential moderating factor on association between AUD and impulsivity is likely to have far-reaching effects. This study aims to examine whether the interaction between a genetic variant ZNF804A rs1344706 and alcohol use is related to impulsivity in Chinese Han adult males diagnosed with AUD.Methods: A total of 455 Chinese Han adult males diagnosed with AUD were included in this study. Impulsivity was assessed using Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Alcohol dependence was measured by Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of participants and genotyped.Results: Hierarchical multiple regression yielded a significant interaction between ZNF804A rs1344706 and alcohol use (β = 0.20, p = 0.0237). Then, A region of significance (RoS) test was performed to interpret the interaction effect. Re-parameterized regression models revealed that the interaction between ZNF804A rs1344706 and alcohol problem severity fit to the weak diathesis-stress model (R2 = 0.15, p < 0.0010), indicating that the T allele carriers are more susceptible to alcohol problem severity, jointly contributing to impulsivity.Conclusions: This study, which analyzed a specific gene-environment interaction, demonstrated that carriers of the T allele of ZNF804A rs1344706 may be more susceptible to alcohol problem severity, correlated with higher levels of impulsivity during withdrawal.

Psychometric Evaluation of the NORC Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS) for the Assessment of DSM-5 Gambling Disorder

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS) is one of the most used outcome measures in gambling intervention trials. However, a screen based on DSM-5 gambling disorder criteria has yet to be developed or validated since the DSM-5 release in 2013. This omission is possibly because the criteria for gambling disorder only underwent minor changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5: the diagnostic threshold was reduced from 5 to 4 criteria, and the illegal activity criterion was removed. Validation of a measure that captures these changes is still warranted. The current study examined the psychometric properties of an online self-report past-year adaptation of the NODS based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for gambling disorder. Additionally, the new NODS was evaluated for how well it identifies ICD-10 pathological gambling. A diverse sample of participants (N = 959) was crowdsourced via Amazon’s TurkPrime. Internal consistency and one-week test-retest reliability were good. High correlations (r = .74–.77) with other measures of gambling problem severity were observed in addition to moderate correlations (r = .21–.36) with related but distinct constructs (e.g., gambling expenditures, time spent gambling, other addictive behaviours). All nine of the DSM-5 criteria loaded positively on one principal component, which accounted for 40% of the variance. Classification accuracy (i.e., sensitivity, specificity, predictive power) was generally very good with respect to the PGSI and ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Future validation studies are encouraged to establish a gold standard measurement of gambling problem severity.

Comparing styles of parent-child conversation: The influence on children's conduct problems and emotion knowledge

<p>This preliminary study conducted across Canberra and Wellington was the first to compare the effectiveness of two styles of maternal-reminiscing as an adjunct to Parent Management Training (PMT) for mothers of children ranging from four to eight-years-old (M = 63.1, SD = 14.4 months) with conduct problems. This was a manualised six session intervention. Parents in both conditions received PMT. Parents were asked to reminisce with their child about shared events using their allocated style of maternal reminiscing. The W-D-E condition drew on research by Van Bergen, Salmon, Dadds, and Allen (2009) which encouraged mothers to use 'wh' questions and detailed descriptive information about the even. The R-U-S style extended on the research by Ensor and Hughes (2008) in which mothers were encouraged to be responsive and allow their child to lead the conversation. Both conditions placed a direct focus on discussing emotion, including labels, behaviours, causes and consequences of emotion. As expected, both condition showed a significant decrease in conduct problem severity and a significant increase in aspects of children‟s emotion knowledge between pre- and immediately post-intervention. However, there were no significant differences between conditions with respect to children‟s conduct problems severity and emotion knowledge. Given that the literature supports a link between deficits in emotion knowledge and children‟s conduct problems, and that parental discussion of emotion supports children‟s developing socioemotional development, the current preliminary study extends on the work by Salmon, Dadds, Allen, and Hawes (2009) in which efforts are being made to integrate emotion components with PMT.</p>

Comparing styles of parent-child conversation: The influence on children's conduct problems and emotion knowledge

<p>This preliminary study conducted across Canberra and Wellington was the first to compare the effectiveness of two styles of maternal-reminiscing as an adjunct to Parent Management Training (PMT) for mothers of children ranging from four to eight-years-old (M = 63.1, SD = 14.4 months) with conduct problems. This was a manualised six session intervention. Parents in both conditions received PMT. Parents were asked to reminisce with their child about shared events using their allocated style of maternal reminiscing. The W-D-E condition drew on research by Van Bergen, Salmon, Dadds, and Allen (2009) which encouraged mothers to use 'wh' questions and detailed descriptive information about the even. The R-U-S style extended on the research by Ensor and Hughes (2008) in which mothers were encouraged to be responsive and allow their child to lead the conversation. Both conditions placed a direct focus on discussing emotion, including labels, behaviours, causes and consequences of emotion. As expected, both condition showed a significant decrease in conduct problem severity and a significant increase in aspects of children‟s emotion knowledge between pre- and immediately post-intervention. However, there were no significant differences between conditions with respect to children‟s conduct problems severity and emotion knowledge. Given that the literature supports a link between deficits in emotion knowledge and children‟s conduct problems, and that parental discussion of emotion supports children‟s developing socioemotional development, the current preliminary study extends on the work by Salmon, Dadds, Allen, and Hawes (2009) in which efforts are being made to integrate emotion components with PMT.</p>

Risk versus Resilience in Parents’ Health and Family Functioning Across the Pandemic

Are parents and families struggling with the ongoing demands of the pandemic, or are parents resilient and adjusted to the ‘new normal’? Assessing average risk versus resilience requires examining how parents and families have fared across the pandemic, beyond the initial months examined in prior investigations. The current research examines average levels of risk versus resilience in parents’ health and functioning over the first 1.5 years of the pandemic. Parents (N = 272) who had completed general assessments prior to the pandemic completed reassessments of psychological and physical health, couple and family functioning, and parenting within two lockdowns involving mandatory home confinement: at the beginning of the pandemic (26 March–28 April 2020) and 17 months later (18 August–21 September 2021). On average, parents exhibited declines in psychological and physical health (greater depressive symptoms; reduced well-being, energy and physical health) and in couple and family functioning (reduced commitment and family cohesion; greater problem severity and family chaos). By contrast, parent-child relationship quality and parenting practices were resilient with no average differences across the lockdowns. Declines in health and couple/family functioning generally occurred irrespective of pre-existing vulnerabilities (poor health and functioning prior to the pandemic) and external stress (reported impact of the pandemic). Partner support, however, tended to buffer declines in couple/family functioning. The results emphasize that attending to the challenges parents and couples face in the home will be important targets to mitigate the ongoing risks of the pandemic to parents’ and children’s well-being.

Policy Diffusion in a Redistributive Policy: Affordable Housing and State Housing Trust Funds

Diffusion models explore the reasons policies transfer across governments. In this study, we focus on U.S. state level efforts in affordable housing. Drawing predominately from policy diffusion literature, our research examines the determinants of the creation of state Housing Trust Funds (HTFs). We utilize event history analysis with logit regressions and survival modeling to examine how problem severity, neighbor adoption, economic standing, elected leadership, housing investment, and demographics predict state HTF adoption. Results indicate that both problem severity and elected leadership predict the adoption of HTFs. This work improves our understanding of state policy diffusion and efforts in housing affordability.

Preliminary study of alcohol problem severity and response to brief intervention

Background Findings have been mixed as to whether brief intervention (BI) is appropriate and effective for individuals with more severe alcohol use problems. Motivation to change drinking has been supported as a mechanism of behavior change for BI. This exploratory study examined aspects of motivation as mechanisms of clinical response to BI and alcohol problem severity as a moderator of treatment effects. Methods Non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers (average age = 35 years; 57% male) were randomized to receive BI (n = 27) or attention-matched control (n = 24). Three indices of motivation to change were assessed at baseline and post-intervention: importance, confidence, and readiness. Moderated mediation analyses were implemented with treatment condition as the focal predictor, changes in motivation as mediator, 1-month follow-up drinks per day as the outcome, and an alcohol severity factor as second-stage moderator. Results Analysis of importance displayed a significant effect of intervention condition on importance (p < 0.003) and yielded a significant index of moderated mediation (CI − 0.79, − 0.02), indicating that the conditional indirect effect of treatment condition on drinking through importance was stronger for those with higher alcohol severity. For all motivation indices, alcohol severity moderated the effect of post-intervention motivation levels on drinking (p’s < 0.05). The direct effect of treatment condition on drinking was not significant in any model. Conclusions Findings highlight the relevance of considering one’s degree of alcohol problem severity in BI and alcohol screening efforts among non-treatment seeking heavy drinkers. These nuanced effects elucidate both potential mechanisms and moderators of BI response. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04710095. Registered January 14, 2021—retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04710095.

Pushing or Pulling Your “Poison”: Clinical Correlates of Alcohol Approach and Avoidance Bias Among Inpatients Undergoing Alcohol Withdrawal Treatment

Introduction: Alcohol approach bias, the tendency to automatically move toward alcohol cues, has been observed in people who drink heavily. However, surprisingly, some alcohol-dependent patients demonstrate an alcohol avoidance bias. This inconsistency could be explained by the clinical or demographic profile of the population studied, yet this has not been examined in approach bias modification (ABM) trials to date. We aimed to determine the proportion of patients with an approach or avoidance bias, assess whether they differ on demographic and drinking measures, and to examine the clinical correlates of approach bias.Method: These research questions were addressed using baseline data from 268 alcohol-dependent patients undergoing inpatient withdrawal treatment who then went on to participate in a trial of ABM.Results: At trial entry (day 3 or 4 of inpatient withdrawal), 155 (57.8%) had an alcohol approach bias and 113 (42.2%) had an avoidance bias. These two groups did not differ on any demographic or relevant drinking measures. Approach bias was significantly and moderately associated with total standard drinks consumed in the past 30 days (r = 0.277, p = 0.001) but no other indices of alcohol consumption or problem severity.Conclusion: Whilst the majority of alcohol-dependent patients showed an alcohol approach bias, those with an avoidance bias did not differ in demographic or clinical characteristics, and the strength of approach bias related only to recent consumption. Further research is needed to develop more accurate and personally tailored measures of approach bias, as these findings likely reflect the poor reliability of standard approach bias measures.

Gender and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Undergraduate and Graduate Students’ Mental Health and Treatment Use amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: To investigate gender and racial/ethnic disparities in mental health and treatment use in college and graduate students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: Based on a large-scale online survey (N = 1,415) administered during the weeks following a pandemic-related university-wide campus closure in March 2020, we examined gender and racial disparities in current internalizing severity and treatment use with t-tests and logistic regression models.Results: Specifically, we found that students with marginalized gender (e.g., woman [p &lt; .001], non-binary gender [p &lt; .001]) or Hispanic/Latinx identity (p = .002) reported higher levels of internalizing problem severity compared to their privileged counterparts (e.g., man, non- Hispanic/Latinx White). Regarding treatment use, Asian (p &lt; .001) and multiracial students (p = .002) reported lower treatment use after controlling for internalizing problem severity. Internalizing severity was generally associated with higher treatment use (logit = 0.53, p = .001), indicating a match of objective needs with service use. However, this relationship was offset by a negative interaction between internalizing problem severity and Asian (logit = -0.49, p &lt; .001) or Black identity (logit = -0.57, p = .03) in predicting treatment use.Conclusion: The findings revealed unique mental health challenges faced by different demographic groups and served as a call that specific actions to enhance mental health equity, such as continued mental health support for students with marginalized gender identities, additional COVID-related mental and practical support for Hispanic/Latinx students, and promotion of mental health awareness and trust in Asian/Black students, are desperately needed.