Being a non-drinking student: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Recent research suggests that safer student alcohol consumption might be assisted by understanding how social occasions are managed by non-drinkers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with five 19 – 22 year old non-drinking English undergraduates were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. We present five inter-linked themes: ‘living with challenges to non-drinking’; ‘seeing what goes on in drinking environments’; ‘dealing with conversations about non-drinking (making excuses vs. coming out)’; ‘knowing which friends care about you’; and ‘the importance of minimising “legroom” for peer pressure’. Participants felt under persistent peer scrutiny (as a form of peer pressure) and could feel alienated in drinking environments. Talking about non-drinking was characterised by whether to ‘come out’ (as a non-drinker) or ‘fake it’ (e.g. ‘I’m on antibiotics’). Loyal friendships were reported as particularly important in this context. The decision not to drink was experienced as providing a successful buffer to peer pressure for former drinkers. Our findings unsettle traditional health promotion campaigns which advocate moderate drinking among students without always suggesting how it might be most successfully accomplished and offer tentative guidance on how non-drinking during specific social occasions might be managed more successfully. Findings are discussed in relation to extant literature and future research directions are suggested.     

Effectiveness of online word of mouth on exposure to an Internet-delivered intervention

The use of online word of mouth (WOM) seems a promising strategy to motivate young people to visit Internet-delivered interventions. An Internet-delivered intervention aimed at changing implicit attitudes related to alcohol was used in two experiments to test effectiveness of e-mail invitations on a first visit to the intervention. The results of the first experiment (N = 196) showed that an invitation by e-mail from a friend was more effective to attract young adults (aged 18–24 years) to the intervention website than an invitation from an institution. A 2 × 2 design was used in the second experiment (N = 236) to test manipulations of argument strength and the use of peripheral cues in invitations. Results showed that weak arguments were more effective to attract young adults to the intervention website when an incentive was withheld. These results need to be taken into account when using online WOM as a strategy to improve exposure to Internet-delivered interventions.     

Stages of change for health-related behaviours in 18 year-old Australians

Abstract

This study investigated the validity of a Stages of Change algorithm with respect to independent measures of physical activity and fitness. dietary intake and alcohol consumption in 18 year-old Ausmlian men (n = 301) and women (n = 282). Stage of Change categories were related to fat and fibre intakes in men and fibre intake in women as well as hit and vegetable intakes in men and women. Physical activity and fitness for men and women also showed significant linear associations with Stage of Change categories. Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with Stage of Change categories for men but not for women although recorded alcohol consumption was very variable for women. However, the algorithm was valid for both men and women when drinking alcohol consistent with national guidelines on safe drinking was used. In summary, with reference to actual health behaviours, the Stages of Change algorithm was valid for young men and women for diet. physical activity and alcohol drinking. Independent behavioural data were not available for smoking behaviours. Using the algorithm, there were significant associations in men between prccontemplation status for diet and drinking and diet and physical activity, in women between diet and smoking and in both men and women between drinking and smoking. Covariance between precontemplation status for different health behaviours therefore suggests the need for multimodal interventions.     

A young person's game: Immersion and distancing in bar work

Previous research indicates that bar workers report high levels of alcohol consumption, but the bar work experience itself has been little studied as a means to understand health threats associated with this job role. The subjective experience and meaning of bar work was explored in this study by interviewing current and ex-bar workers from a district in an Irish city that had a high density of bars and busy tourism industry. A total of 12 participants took part in focus groups (FGs) and seven in individual interviews. Four themes were identified in a thematic analysis. The central depiction of bar work was of an initial immersion in an intensive lifestyle characterised by heavy drinking, with subsequent distancing from the extremes of the lifestyle. The participants affiliated strongly with the bar work occupational identity, which included alcohol use in group scenarios for drinking during work, after work and on time off. The bar work lifestyle was most intense in the ‘superpub’ environment, characterised by permissive staff drinking norms and reported stress. Although an important identity, bar work was ultimately a transient role. The findings are considered in relation to research on occupation-specific stress and alcohol use, social identity and developmental needs in young adulthood.     

Review of Interventions Designed to Address Drinking Among Soldiers

Heavy and abusive alcohol use is a major health problem facing military service members. We reviewed literature on alcohol intervention programs targeting military personnel to assess the methodological quality and effectiveness of the programs. Although the search yielded more than 42,000 citations, only 150 met initial screening criteria. Eighteen studies had sufficient evidence to meet secondary screening and of these only 10 studies were included in the review. These studies employed several types of interventions, but only 1 used a randomized controlled trial. Our findings indicate that there is greater need to assess intervention strategies, and there is a particular need for high-quality studies using randomized controlled trials with standardized assessment tools to improve the generalizability of the findings. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research in this area.     

Facial memory deficits in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Prenatal exposure to alcohol may lead to a range of neurobehavioral effects, including impaired learning and memory. Although children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) exhibit both verbal and nonverbal memory impairments, their memory for faces has not been as thoroughly investigated and the extent literature provides inconsistent results. The aim of the current study was to determine whether difficulties in face memory exist in children with FASD and whether the difficulties are mediated by task demands. To address this, we used two measures of immediate and delayed facial recognition memory, the Children's Memory Scale (CMS) and Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Compared to typically developing controls, children with FASD showed memory deficits on all tests and were more likely to perform in a clinically significant range. As well, children performed more poorly on the CMS compared to TOMAL, a finding consistent with the greater difficulty of the CMS task. Our results are consistent with our hypothesis that children with FASD show impairment in facial memory, particularly on demanding memory tasks.     

Alcohol-specific parenting,adolescent alcohol use and the mediating effect of adolescent alcohol-related cognitions

Objectives : Previous research indicated that alcohol-specific parenting is an important precursor of adolescent alcohol use, but failed to define the underlying mechanism. Based on social cognitive theory, alcohol-related cognitions such as alcohol refusal self-efficacy and alcohol-related expectancies were hypothesised to mediate this link.

Design : A cross-sectional survey included 1349 mothers and their sixth grade (11–12?years old) adolescent offspring. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the association between alcohol-specific parenting and adolescent alcohol use, mediated by adolescent alcohol-related cognitions.

Main outcome measures : Adolescent alcohol use, drinking refusal self-efficacy and alcohol expectancies.

Results : The associations between frequency of communication, maternal alcohol use and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by negative alcohol-related expectancies. The associations between quality of communication, rules and disclosure and adolescent alcohol use were mediated by self-efficacy.

Conclusions : The present study provides a first indication that the underlying mechanism of the association between the most important alcohol-specific parenting practices and adolescent alcohol use can be contributed to the mediating effect of alcohol-refusal self-efficacy.     

College Students With Military Experience Report Greater Alcohol-Related Consequences

This study examined associations among military experience, alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences among a large national sample of 27,249 students pursuing postsecondary education. Because of the uniqueness of the developmental period of emerging adulthood, we stratified all analyses by age groups of 18–24 and 25 and older. There were no differences between students with and without military service history in terms of 3 indicators of alcohol use: alcohol consumption in the last 30 days, binge drinking in the last 2 weeks, and drinking and driving in the last 30 days. There were, however, several differences in self-reported consequences of drinking. Among individuals ages 18–24, students with military service history had nearly twofold increased odds of police encounters as a consequence of drinking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.02, 3.57]) and increased odds greater than twofold of experiencing nonconsensual sex (aOR = 2.68, 95% CI [1.17, 6.19]). Among both age groups, students with military service history reported greater odds of having unprotected sex as a consequence of drinking when compared to students without military service history. Research is needed to identify the reasons why alcohol use results in these particular negative consequences for students with military service history, which can inform prevention and intervention efforts.     

Work Stressors,Depressive Symptoms,and Hazardous Drinking Among Navy Members Across Deployment

Few studies have attempted to examine how changes in work stressors from predeployment to postdeployment and reintegration may be associated with changes in mental health symptoms and hazardous drinking. The present study examined associations between work stressors, depressive symptoms, and hazardous drinking, and whether depressive symptoms mediated the association between work stressors and hazardous alcohol use or vice versa across deployment (predeployment, postdeployment, and 6-month reintegration). Participants were 101 U.S. Navy members (72 men; mean age = 28.34 years; SD = 5.99 years) assigned to an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that experienced an 8-month deployment after recent wars in the Middle East. They completed measures that assessed work stressors, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use at each time point (i.e., predeployment, postdeployment, and 6-month reintegration). Using a parallel process latent growth modeling approach, we found a significant indirect effect at postdeployment such that an increase in work stressors contributed to increases in hazardous drinking via increases in depressive symptoms. Specifically, increases in work stressors significantly predicted increases in depressive symptoms, which in turn significantly predicted increases in hazardous drinking from pre- to postdeployment. Our findings garner support for affect regulation models and indicate that work stressors and changes in work stressors and depressive symptoms may be key to hazardous alcohol use among U.S. Navy members experiencing high pace of deployment. Taken together, our results help identify targets for alcohol prevention efforts among current military members.