Beliefs about riding a bicycle when mildly alcohol intoxicated

Alcohol intoxication appears to be a contributing factor to many bicycle crashes with serious consequences. Despite this, there is no specific limit on the blood alcohol concentration permissible when cycling in Sweden, and there is very little knowledge of the perception of sobriety associated with cycling. The aim of this study is therefore to identify the behavioural, normative, and control beliefs underpinning cyclists’ attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control associated with riding a bicycle when mildly alcohol intoxicated. A total of 34 participants answered questions based on the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). The results indicate that the participants saw great advantages (practical, free, safe, nice, and better than taking the car), but also disadvantages (impaired ability, danger to oneself, and danger to others) from cycling when mildly alcohol intoxicated. Furthermore, they identified both factors making it easier (small amounts of alcohol, bicycle-friendly infrastructure/conditions, poor alternatives, group pressure, and emergency situations) and more difficult (large amounts of alcohol, aggravating circumstances, bicycle-unfriendly infrastructure/conditions, good alternatives, social censure, group resistance, parenthood, and experience) to opt to cycle when mildly alcohol intoxicated. Finally, some participants believed that certain people (e.g. students, people with poor finances, and nearly everyone) think that it is acceptable to cycle when mildly alcohol intoxicated, while others (e.g. parents, responsible people, and nearly no group) think that it is unacceptable. These results support the use of information dissemination/campaigns to reduce the incidence of cycling when alcohol intoxicated and/or the amount of alcohol consumed in connection with cycling. At the same time, they do not support the introduction of a specific limit on the blood alcohol concentration permissible when cycling, and the potential of improved public transport to reduce the number of inebriated cyclists is uncertain.     

Religiousness and College Student Alcohol Use: Examining the Role of Social Support

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of social support in the relationship between religiousness and alcohol use in a sample of college students. Two dimensions of religiousness: religious commitment and religious coping were examined as predictors of alcohol use. Participants were male and female college students (N = 221); the majority of the sample was Christian (73.8%). Emotional social support was tested as a mediator. Both religiousness dimensions and emotional social support were related to less frequent alcohol use; however, mediation was not supported. These findings indicate that religious commitment and dispositional religious coping are protective against alcohol use, yet social support does not account for this relationship.

Exercise based interventions for alcohol use disorder: A comment on motivational aspects of participation

Exercise based treatment for alcohol use disorders have shown an impact on mental health (e.g., depression or anxiety), and alcohol outcomes (e.g., craving or abstinence). However, there is a lack of information on the role of motivational aspects of participation in the process of designing exercise interventions for alcohol use disorder. This study aims to examine: (1) whether motivational aspects are taken into account when the type and delivery method of exercise interventions are chosen; (2) whether motivational aspects are taken into account post intervention; and (3) whether there are different traditions regarding payment for participants. A systematic search was conducted to identify eligible studies in order to investigate the impact of motivational aspects including payment for participation. Twelve samples including ten to 620 participants were investigated. Participants were predominantly male and in their 40s, ranging from 20 to 69 years. Aerobic exercise (running, walking, fitness) either in a group or individual condition is the most frequently used exercise form. Two studies included ball games or cycling, while only one study offered the opportunity to choose between a wide range of sports. Motivational aspects are mentioned explicitly in half of the studies, mostly with regard to adherence to participation and social integration as the reason for using a group condition. Achievement is mentioned in two studies but not explicitly with regard to planning the intervention design. Five studies include payment for participation in exercise. Findings of the present study identify that motivational aspects for participation are rarely involved in the planning of an exercise intervention. With regard to the specific psychosocial vulnerability of an alcohol use disorder population, this should be an important aspect of further research studies.     

Changes in alcohol intake in response to transdiagnostic cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine how alcohol intake changes during and after transdiagnostic cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E). Additionally, the paper considers the relationship between alcohol consumption, eating disorder diagnosis and current major depressive episode at the time of first assessment.

Method

One hundred and forty nine outpatients with an eating disorder (body mass index over 17.5) were divided into high or low alcohol intake groups (HIG and LIG) according to their intake at pre-treatment assessment. Their alcohol intake and eating disorder psychopathology were examined over the course of treatment and follow-up.

Results

There was no difference between the groups on response of the eating disorder to treatment. The HIG significantly reduced their alcohol intake following treatment whilst the intake of the LIG remained stable over the course of treatment and follow-up. There were no group differences in major depression and overall severity of eating disorder at baseline.

Conclusions

The response to CBT-E was not influenced by baseline level of alcohol use. The mean alcohol intake of the heavy drinking subjects decreased without being specifically addressed by the treatment.     

Analysis of an Alcohol Use Prevention Program for Undergraduate Students

The authors analyzed data from an online alcohol abuse prevention test. Results showed no statistically significant difference between students charged with university alcohol‐related offenses and those who had not been charged. Implications for counselors and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

A study identifying the origins of different types of drink driving events through the lens of deterrence: Is it alcohol abuse or avoiding detection?

BackgroundWhile attempts to identify the mechanisms to effectively deter drink driving remains a central focus for road safety researchers, scant scientific enquiry has simultaneously examined perceptions of apprehension risk in combination with substance abuse. This may be considered a significant oversight given that such constructs may create opposing forces, or alternatively, alcohol abuse and punishment avoidance may create cumulative effects and promote offending behaviours.MethodThis paper reports on an investigation of 718 Queensland motorists' self-reported perceptions of classical and reconceptualised deterrence constructs (as well as alcohol consumption) in order to determine what factors have the greatest effect on promoting drink driving, particularly alcohol consumption or punishment avoidance. The sample completed an online or paper version of the questionnaire.Results“Possible” drink driving events were slightly more common (25.5%) than “acknowledged” drink driving events (16.6%). Future intentions to drink and drive (23.4%) were more common among those who reported an “acknowledged” drink driving event (63.5% reported future intentions to drink drive) than a “possible” drink driving event (47.5%). Sequential binary logistic regression models conducted for each drink driving category revealed that having “risky” drinking behaviour and both direct personal and indirect experience of punishment for a drink driving offence were predictors of “possible” drink driving events. Similarly, “acknowledged” drink driving had the same significant predictors with the addition of increases in age and punishment severity reducing the likelihood of drink driving and direct punishment avoidance having a positive effect. However, and importantly, only direct punishment avoidance and past “possible” and “acknowledged” drink driving events predicted future intentions to offend in the final model, which further reinforces that drink driving is a deliberate decision (rather than stemming primarily from impairment).Practical applications: The findings provide support for increased policing efforts to identify drink drivers.     

Witnesses’ memory for events and faces under elevated levels of intoxication

Research on alcohol and witness memory has burgeoned over the last decade. However, most studies have tested participants at relatively low breath alcohol concentration (BAC) levels, unrepresentative of those encountered by officers in the field. To examine how higher intoxication levels might impair witness memory for events and faces, the current research tested participants’ ability to recall a mock crime at elevated BAC levels (>.08%). The BAC levels of bar patrons (N?=?138) were recorded before witnessing a video-taped mock crime. Participants were then interviewed using free recall and cued questions and shown a six-person target-present or target-absent lineup. Results show that alcohol negatively affected both the quantity and quality of recall. Regardless of question format, alcohol also reduced the percentage of accurate information elicited from witnesses; however, only cued questions increased the percentage of inaccurate information reported. Intoxication had no effect on identification accuracy. These findings suggest that the encoding and storage systems for faces and events may be impacted differently by alcohol. Our results also highlight the importance of including higher BAC levels when examining the effects of alcohol on witness memory.     

L’impact du burnout scolaire sur les comportements d’alcoolisation des adolescents

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of school-related burnout symptoms. on alcohol consumption habits among adolescents. Alcohol consumption is rather common among adolescents. Indeed, recent French research (Spilka et al., 2015) has shown that in a sample of 17-year-old adolescents up to 89.3% declared at least one alcohol consumption experience over lifetime, 58.9% experienced drunkenness over the last year, and 48.8% declared binge drinking experiences over last month. In the meantime, high-school students are exposed to a high level of school-related stress, which could lead to school-related burnout (Salmela-Aro et al., 2009). Previous studies have shown that school-related burnout is associated with several addictive behaviors, such as tobacco use (Moncla, Walburg, Milhaes, 2014) cannabis consumption (Walburg, Moncla, Milhaes, 2015) or problematic Facebook use (Walburg, Milhaes, Moncla, 2016). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore weather school-related burnout could influence alcohol use behaviors among high-school students.