The U.S.-Mexico Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions (UMSARC), which ran from 2009-2015 and concluded last month, produced an extensive range of results that supports the development of culturally appropriate alcohol policies and strategies to increase accessibility to prevention and treatment services for people living at the border. One of the most surprising findings was the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUD) among residents who lived at the border compared to people who lived in … [Read more...]
Policymakers
Over 40 Years & Still Going Strong
When the National Alcohol Survey (NAS) first began in the mid-1960s, over 2500 people across the US were interviewed. Since then, the NAS has grown to include almost 8,000 US adults enabling both understanding the mechanisms underlying drinking behaviors and the long-term monitoring of our nation’s drinking patterns and its associated problems. While our drinking habits and relationship to alcohol have changed, measuring such changes provides a greater understanding of how alcohol impacts our … [Read more...]
Digital Tool to Prevent Prenatal Drinking
A new clinical trial that will launch in September is an example of an innovative tool that can help educate and inform women of the risks of drinking during pregnancy. To find out more about this project and how it will impact women’s health, we caught up with Principal Investigator and ARG Scientist Madhabika Nayak. Tell me about your project and how it will support women’s health. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) continues to be a problem despite all the preventative measures … [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...]
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...]
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...]
What is Recovery?
The term ‘recovery’ is widely used in the research literature. Recovery is a goal of alcohol treatment, and recovery-oriented systems of care are being developed to support that goal. Alcoholics who no longer drink and are trying to pursue an improved way of living/being say that they are ‘in recovery.’ Yet for all its use, and seeming centrality, there is no agreed upon definition of the term within the alcohol literature. Lacking a definition, recovery usually is equated with abstinence or … [Read more...]
Study Looks at Impact of Privatization on Drinking Patterns in Washington State
Senior Scientist William C. Kerr (PI)'s project tracks implementation of regulations, revenues and prices and uses state-representative cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys of Washington drinkers and residents to evaluate changes in drinking, purchasing, problems, attitudes and experiences following privatization. The longitudinal survey follows drinkers who consume spirits to assess individual changes in purchasing practices and consumption behaviors. Kerr hopes that analyses will … [Read more...]
Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen (RAPS) Helps Clinicians Assess Patients
The Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen (RAPS) is a five-item instrument designed by Senior Scientist, Cheryl Cherpitel, to maximize sensitivity while maintaining strong specificity. Derived from other screens, and with no weighting, adding or scoring of responses, the RAPS provides a quick way for clinicians to determine who may have a drinking problem. This infographic provides some background information on its development, testing and the research involved. The test itself is available as … [Read more...]
