Key Findings
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract.
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November 2021
Social norms as a predictor of smoking uptake among youth: a systematic review, meta‐analysis and meta‐regression of prospective cohort studies
Perceived smoking behaviour of parents and close friends appears to be a consistent predictor of youth smoking initiation.
A meta-analysis of problem gambling risk factors in the general adult population
Problem gambling risk factors with the highest effect sizes are associated with continuous play format gambling products.
Associations between social media usage and alcohol use among youths and young adults: findings from Understanding Society
Heavier social media use appears to be associated with more frequent drinking among young people in the UK.
Supporting smoking cessation and preventing relapse following a stay in a smoke‐free setting: a meta‐analysis and investigation of effective behaviour change techniques
Behavioural and pharmacological support may maintain smoking abstinence following a stay in a smokefree institution.
A longitudinal study of the moderating effects of romantic relationships on the associations between alcohol use and trauma in college students
For US college students, being in a romantic relationship may reduce the effects of interpersonal trauma exposure on alcohol use.
Acute effect of alcohol on working memory updating
Acute effects of alcohol on Working Memory Updating appears to reduce expected performance improvement upon repeated testing.
The correlates and extent of prescribing of medications for alcohol relapse prevention in England
In England, medications for alcohol relapse prevention are rarely prescribed (7.8% in 2015/16).
The validity of the state–trait anxiety inventory and the brief scale for anxiety in an inpatient sample with alcohol use disorder
Brief Scale for Anxiety and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y-2 are not reliable substitutes for clinical diagnoses of anxiety disorder among inpatients with alcohol use disorder.
The impact of removing former drinkers from genome‐wide association studies of AUDIT‐C
Differentiating between former drinkers and life-long abstainers can improve AUDIT-C genome-wide association results.
The associations between prenatal cannabis use disorder and neonatal outcomes
Prenatal cannabis use disorder appears to be associated with higher odds of adverse neonatal outcomes.
Trends in MDMA‐related mortality across four countries
MDMA-related deaths increased in Australia, Finland, Portugal and Turkey between 2011 and 2017.
Did paying drugs misuse treatment providers for outcomes lead to unintended consequences for hospital admissions? Difference‐in‐differences analysis of a pay‐for‐performance scheme in England
A P4P programme in England that ran from 2012-2014 appeared to increase emergency hospital admissions.
Does the preparation for intravenous administration affect the composition of heroin injections? A controlled laboratory study
Preparation of heroin for intravenous injection can contribute to unintentional variations in the potency of the final injected solution.
The effect of needle and syringe program and opioid agonist therapy on the risk of HIV, hepatitis B and C virus infection for people who inject drugs in Amsterdam, the Netherlands: findings from an emulated target trial
Complete participation in harm reduction programs may decrease HIV and hepatitis C and B virus acquisition risk among people who inject drugs in the Netherlands.
The effect of person, treatment and prescriber characteristics on retention in opioid agonist treatment: a 15‐year retrospective cohort study
In New South Wales, Australia, retention of patients in buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence is higher for prescribers of longer tenure than for those of shorter tenure.
All‐cause and suicide mortality among people with methamphetamine use disorder: a nation‐wide cohort study in Taiwan
People in Taiwan with methamphetamine use disorder have higher all-cause mortality rate than the general population, with suicide having the highest contribution.
Maternal and child genetic liability for smoking and caffeine consumption and child mental health: an intergenerational genetic risk score analysis in the ALSPAC cohort
Evidence is not strong that maternal smoking and caffeine GRS have a causal effect on offspring mental health outcomes.
Evaluating four motivation-phase intervention components for use with primary care patients unwilling to quit smoking: a randomized factorial experiment
Nicotine mini-lozenges may increase smoking abstinence in people initially unwilling to quit smoking.
Who, me? Optimism bias about US teenagers’ ability to quit vaping
US teens who smoke and vape have less optimism bias about their ability to quit vaping than teens who do not smoke or vape.
Community-based smoking cessation treatment for adults with high anxiety sensitivity: a randomized clinical trial
A high intensity exercise program increased smoking abstinence in people with high anxiety sensitivity.
Moderators and mediators of outcomes of parents with substance use problems: further evaluation of the Parents under Pressure programme
Parents in a family-focused SUD intervention with poorer parental emotional regulation and higher child age and family risk may be associated with greater reductions in child abuse potential at 6-mo follow-up.
Attributable fractions for substance use in relation to crime
More than 42% of Canadian crime would likely not have occurred if the perpetrator had not been under the influence of or seeking alcohol or other drugs.
The shape of gambling risk‐curves for frequency, expenditure and proportion of income in Australia
Gambling risk-curves in Tasmania appear to be linear and r-shaped, not J-shaped.
The relationship between cannabis and schizophrenia: a genetically informed perspective
Genetic liability for cannabis use disorder appears to be robustly associated with schizophrenia.
Raising the bar: improving methodological rigour in cognitive alcohol research
Methodological shortcomings weaken the robustness of cognitive alcohol research.