The Fall Advanced Alcohol Research Seminar, offered from September to December 2015, operates through UC Berkeley and presents research and lectures on epidemiology, prevention and intervention, and theory and methodology related to alcohol and potentially other drugs. This seminar, taught and facilitated by Sarah Zemore, PhD, and co-led by Drs. Lee Kaskutas and Cheryl Cherpitel, features presentations by renowned scientists in the field of alcohol research both internal and external to ARG. The … [Read more...]
Researchers
Focus on Center Pilot Studies
As a core component of the National Alcohol Research Center, the pilot studies program provides early-stage investigators with the opportunity to explore new areas of research that often leads to independently funded projects. The most recent studies include the development of a kiosk-based prenatal screening intervention, improvement of alcohol dependent measures, associations between immune function, alcohol use disorders and psychological distress, and the relationship between experiences of … [Read more...]
Alcohol & Pregnancy Grant Funded
William C. Kerr heads up the ARG team on a new study in collaboration with Sarah Roberts, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Sarah is also a public health social scientist at the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health and former postdoctoral fellow at ARG. The study will look at the associations between state-level punitive and supportive policies targeting alcohol use during pregnancy … [Read more...]
Results of Liquor Privatization in Washington State
Results of a recent study that looked at the effects of privatization on the sale and distribution of liquor in Washington State found spirit prices increased significantly, while prices in the bordering states of Idaho and Oregon only showed small increases. Averaging across all of the stores selected, Washington liquor prices rose by an average of 15.5% for the 750ml size and by 4.7% for the 1.75L size. However, price changes varied greatly by store type with no increases found for liquor … [Read more...]
Study Provides No-Cost Alcohol Treatment
For over 20 years Senior Scientist Douglas Polcin, EdD, has been studying addiction and treatment options, including recovery housing. His latest project, one that focuses on outpatient treatment for women with alcohol problems, is designed to assess the efficacy of intensive motivational interviewing (IMI). Over the next two years, the study will recruit 220 adult women, each randomized to one of two treatment types with services provided by licensed therapists and practitioners at New Leaf … [Read more...]
Environmental Effects on AUD
Scientist Katherine Karriker-Jaffe received a subaward for a project that seeks to clarify how environmental adversity at the individual, family and community level and genetic risk jointly contribute to the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Kate will be working with Multiple PIs Kenneth Kendler from Virginia Commonwealth University and Kristina Sundquist of Lund University in Sweden. While the study will use Swedish data, the findings will be highly relevant to the US and other … [Read more...]
New Recovery Study Funded
Associate Scientist, Amy Mericle, recently received NIDA funding (R21 DA 039027) for a project that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) adults who face unique health disparities. Within this community, men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and other adverse health conditions. Addiction recovery residences are a promising mechanism to enhance outcomes among individuals who abuse substances, but the experiences of … [Read more...]
Men’s Hazardous Drinking Risks
A new study found that men who have sex with men (MSM)—defined as gay and bisexually identified men as well as heterosexually identified men who had same-sex partners--reported equal or lower levels of hazardous drinking than exclusively heterosexual men. This finding dispels the popular assumption that men who have sex with men are more likely to consume alcohol above recommended amounts. The study results also suggest that the protective effect is enhanced for some racial/ethnic groups. Black … [Read more...]
Study Looks at How Living at the US-Mexico Border Affects Drinking Behavior
For many of us our experience of the US-Mexico border is one of seemingly endless custom lines, traffic noise and congestion, and the long wait for an agent to review our documents. That's because most of us are just passing through, on our way to beaches in the south and back to our homes in the north. But what about the people who live on either side - how does the border that divides two countries, and all too often families as well, impact the people and communities that live within its … [Read more...]
How much can you safely drink before driving?
Black and Hispanic drinkers are more likely to overestimate how much they can safely drink two hours before driving, a new and innovative study examining impairment limits found. The study, to be published on line ahead of print in the American Journal of Public Health, determined that, on average and controlling for other factors such as weight, education and drinking history, self-reported impairment thresholds (number of standard drinks one could drink in 2 hours before driving without being … [Read more...]