Alcohol Research Group

Environment

ARG’s research on the environment and the individual drinker involves a number of contextual influences on a person’s drinking behavior and related problems. These influences are at all levels, from context of drinking, social situations surrounding the individual such as partners, social networks, and norms supporting more or less drinking, and harms from heavy drinkers (whether from strangers, acquaintances or family members), to neighborhood and community conditions such as neighborhood disadvantage and alcohol outlet density, to policies and regulations at all levels from local and state to federal alcohol and drug-related policies.

Scientists
Current Projects
Completed Projects
Selected Publications
  • Sarah E. Zemore, Libo Li, Kara Bensley, Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe, Cheryl Cherpitel (2022). Alcohol- and Drug-Related Mortality Among Adults Within and Outside the U.S.-Mexico Border Region. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 83 (2) 175-184 Abstract or Full Text
  • Lui, C. K., Mulia, N., Ye, Y., Patterson, D., & Trieu, S. L. (2022). School and Community Factors Associated With the Adoption of 100% Smoke-free Policy by California Community Colleges, 2003-2019. American journal of health promotion, Abstract or Full Text
  • Bensley, K. M. K., Kerr, W. C., Barnett, S. B., & Mulia, N.  (2022). Postmortem screening of opioids, benzodiazepines, and alcohol among rural and urban suicide decedents. The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association, 38 (1) 77-86 Abstract or Full Text
  • Drabble, L. A., Munroe, C., Mericle, A. A., Zollweg, S., Trocki, K. F., & Karriker-Jaffe, K. J. (2022). Corrigendum to ‘Impact of the policy environment on substance use among sexual minority women’. Drug and alcohol dependence reports, 4 100080
  • Sadler, R. C., Wojciechowski, T. W., Trangenstein, P., Harris, A., Buchalski, Z., & Furr-Holden, D. (2022). Linking Historical Discriminatory Housing Patterns to the Contemporary Alcohol Environment. Applied spatial analysis and policy, Online ahead of print Abstract or Full Text
  • Trangenstein, P. J., Tiongson, P. J. D., Lu, Y., Lipson, S. K., Xuan, Z., Naimi, T. S., & Jernigan, D. H. (2022). Gender and sexual identity and harms from others’ drinking among U.S. college students: Results from a multi-campus survey. Journal of American college health, Online ahead of print Abstract or Full Text
  • Greenfield, T.K., Cook, W.K., Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Li, L., Room, R. (2021). Are countries’ drink-driving policies associated with harms involving another driver’s impairment?. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 45 (2) 429-435 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cory L. Cobb, Seth J. Schwartz, Christopher P. Salas-Wright, Miguel Pinedo, Priscilla Martinez, Alan Meca, Alejandra G. Isaza, Elma I. Lorenzo-Blanco, Heather McClure, Flavio F. Marsiglia, Charles R. Martínez, Miguel Ángel Cano (2021). Alcohol use severity, depressive symptoms, and optimism among Hispanics: Examining the immigrant paradox in a serial mediation model. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76 (12) 2329-2344 Abstract or Full Text
  • Milam, A. J., Furr-Holden, C., Nesoff, E. D., & Trangenstein, P. J.  (2021). Evaluation of a Local Ordinance to Prevent Any Underage Purchases in Liquor Stores: The Need for Enforcement. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 82 (2) 219-227 Abstract or Full Text
  • Jacobs, L.A., Skeem, J.L., (2021). Neighborhood Risk Factors for Recidivism: For Whom do they Matter?. American Journal of Community Psychology, 67 1-2 Abstract or Full Text
  • Jacobs, L.A., Gottlieb, A., (2021). The effect of housing circumstances on recidivism: evidence from a sample of people on probation in San Francisco. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47 (9) 1097-1115 Abstract or Full Text
  • Tam, C.C., Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Greenfield, T.K. (2021). Drinking and neighborhood contexts of alcohol’s harms from others. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 56 (6) 695-701 Abstract or Full Text
  • Tam, C. C., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., & Greenfield, T. K. (2021). Drinking and neighborhood contexts of alcohol’s harms from others. Alcohol and Alcoholism, Abstract or Full Text
  • Tam, C. C., Lui, C. K., & Karriker-Jaffe, K. J. (2021). Intersections of neighborhood co-ethnic density and nativity status on heavy drinking in a general population sample of US Latinos and Asians. Alcohol and Alcoholism , 56 (1) 74-81 Abstract or Full Text
  • Subbaraman, M. S., & Kerr, W. C. (2021). Cannabis use frequency, route of administration, and co-use with alcohol among older adults in Washington State. Journal of Cannabis Research, 3 (1) Abstract or Full Text
  • Trangenstein, P. J., Greenfield, T. K., & Karriker-Jaffe, K. J. (2021). Interested constituents: identifying groups to mobilize in community organizing efforts to strengthen alcohol control policies. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 1-9 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel, C. J., Witbrodt, J., Ye, Y., Monteiro, M. G., Málaga, H., Báez, J., & Valdés, M. (2021). Road traffic injuries and substance use among emergency department patients in the Dominican Republic and Peru. Pan American Journal of Public Health (Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública), 45 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Drabble, L., Trocki, K. F., Hughes, T. L., & Greenfield, T. K. (2021). Harm from others’ drinking among sexual minority adults in the United States. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33337273/, 8 (1) 50-59 Abstract or Full Text
  • Bensley, K., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Cherpitel, C., Li, L., Wallisch, L. S., & Zemore, S. E. (2021). Limited treatment accessibility: Implications for alcohol treatment disparities among Mexican Americans living in the U.S.-Mexico border region. , 121 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Chartier, K. G., Bares, C. B., Kendler, K. S., & Greenfield, T. K. (2021). Intersection of familial risk and environmental social control on high-risk drinking and alcohol dependence in a US national sample of adults. Addictive Behaviors, 113 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cook, W.K., Li, L., Greenfield, T.K., Patterson, D., Naimi, T., Xuan, Z., Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., (2020). State alcohol policies, binge drinking prevalence, socioeconomic environments and alcohol’s harms to others: a mediation analysis. Alcohol and Alcohol , 73 Abstract or Full Text
  • Trangenstein, P.J., Subbaraman, M.S., Greenfield, T.K., Mulia, N., Kerr, W.C., Karriker-Jaffe, K.J. (2020). Association between state-level alcohol availability and taxation policies on the prevalence of alcohol-related harms to persons other than the drinker in the USA, 2000-2015. Drug and Alcohol Review, 39 (3) 255-266 Abstract or Full Text
  • Zemore, S. E., Lui, C., & Mulia, N.  (2020). The downward spiral: Socioeconomic causes and consequences of alcohol dependence among men in late young adulthood, and relations to racial/ethnic disparities. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44 (3) 669-678 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cook, W. K., Kerr, W. C., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Li, L., Lui, C. K., & Greenfield, T. K. (2020). Racial/ethnic variations in clustered risk behaviors in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 58 (1) e21-e29 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel, C. J., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Li, L., & Zemore, S. E.  (2020). Neighborhood context and drug use among Mexican Americans on and off the U.S.-Mexico border. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 81 (6) 770-779 Abstract or Full Text
  • Tam, C.C.  (2020). Ethnic enclaves and ethnoburbs: Are there differences in associations with juvenile offense type among Asian Americans?. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., Tam, C. C., Cook, W. K., Greenfield, T. K., & Roberts, S. (2020). Gender equality, drinking cultures and second-hand harms from alcohol in the 50 US states. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (23) Abstract or Full Text
  • Borges, G., Lown, E.A., Orozco, R., Cherpitel, C.J., (2019). The relationship between social inequalities, substance use and violence in border and non-border cities of northern Mexico. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 200 1-5 Abstract or Full Text
  • Rossheim, M.E., Thombs, D.L., Treffers, R.D., Trangenstein, P.J., Siklo, S.S., Ahmad, R., McDonald, K.K., Gonzalez-Pons, K.M., Suzuki, S., Jernigan, D.H., (2019). Price of Four Loko in large U.S. cities, 2018. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research , 8 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cook, W. K., & Tseng, W. (2019). Associations of Asian ethnicity and parental education with overweight in Asian American children and adolescents: An analysis of 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 23 (4) 504-511 Abstract or Full Text
  • Martinez, P., Zemore, S. E., Pinedo, M., Borges, G., Orozco, R., & Cherpitel, C. (2019). Understanding differences in prescription drug misuse between two Texas border communities. Ethnicity & Health, 1-17 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel CJ, Ye Y, Monteiro MG. (2019). Dose-response relative risk of injury from acute alcohol consumption in 22 countries: Are women at higher risk than men?. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 54 (4) 396-401 Abstract or Full Text
  • Ehlers CL, Phillips E, Kim C, Wills DN, Karriker-Jaffe KJ, Gilder DA. (2019). CR-19-0950: Event-related responses to alcohol-related stimuli in Mexican-American young adults: Relation to age, gender, comorbidity and “dark side” symptoms.. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 202 76-86 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Tam, C.C., Cook, W.K., Greenfield, T., Roberts, S.C.M. (2019). Gender equality, drinking cultures and second-hand harms from alcohol in the 50 US states. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (23) Abstract or Full Text
  • Tam, C.C. (2019). Beyond the immigrant enclave: Differentiating between coethnic neighborhoods for the study of health and social problems. GeoJournal , 84 (4) 983-999 Abstract or Full Text
  • Ramos, R., Cherpitel, C.J., Alvarez, J., Beltran, O., Woolard, R., Villalobos, S., Bernstein, J., Bernstein, E., (2018). Preparing Mexican-origin community health advocates. Pedagogy in Health Promotion , 4 247-253 Abstract or Full Text
  • Tam, C.C., (2018). Beyond the immigrant enclave: Differentiating between coethnic neighborhoods for the study of health and social problems. GeoJournal , Abstract or Full Text
  • Pinedo, M., Zemore, S., Rogers, S., (2018). Understanding barriers to specialty substance abuse treatment among Latinos. , 94 1-8 Abstract or Full Text
  • Amy A. Mericle, Lee A. Kaskutas, Doug L. Polcin, and Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe (2018). Independent and interactive effects of neighborhood disadvantage and social network characteristics on problem drinking after treatment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37 (1) 1-21 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel, C.J., Ye, Y., Monteiro, M. (2018). Risk of violence-related injury from alcohol consumption and burden to society in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Pan American Journal of Public Health, 42 (7) Abstract or Full Text
  • Wallisch, L. & Zemore, S.E., Borges, G., Cherpitel, C.J., & Maxwell, J.C. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of arrests or stops for drunk driving on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 17 478-500 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Lönn, S.L., Cook, W.K., Kendler, K.S., Sundquist, K (2018). Chains of risk for alcohol use disorder: Mediators of exposure to neighborhood deprivation in early and middle childhood. Health and Place, 50 16-26 Abstract or Full Text
  • Tedor, M.F., Quinn, L.M., Wilsnack, S.C., Wilsnack, R.W., Greenfield, T.K., (2018). Gender and country differences in alcohol-aggression expectancy and alcohol-related intimate partner violence. Deviant Behavior, 39 (5) 554-575 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel, C.J., Ye, Y., Monteiro, M., (2018). Risk of violence-related injury from alcohol consumption and its burden to society in Latin American and the Caribbean. PAHO Pan American Journal of Public Health, 42 (7)
  • Greenfield, T.K., Ye, Y., Lown, E.A., Cherpitel, C.J., Zemore, S., Borges, G., (2017). Alcohol use patterns and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41 (4) 769-778 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Au, V., Frendo, M., Mericle, A.A. (2017). Offsetting the effects of neighborhood disadvantage on problem drinking. Journal of Community Psychology, 45 (5) 678-684 Abstract or Full Text
  • Greenfield, T.K., Ye, Y., Lown, E.A., Cherpitel, C.J., Zemore, S., Borges, G. (2017). Alcohol use patterns and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 41 (4) 769-778 Abstract or Full Text
  • Pinedo, M., Zemore, S.E., Cherpitel, C.J., Caetano, R., (2017). Acculturation and alcohol use: the role of environmental contexts. Acculturation and alcohol use: the role of environmental contexts, 239-262 Abstract or Full Text
  • (2017). Economic recession, alcohol, and suicide rates: comparative effects of poverty, foreclosure, and job loss. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 52 469-475 Abstract or Full Text
  • Lown, E.A., Cherpitel, C.J., Zemore, S.E., Borges, G., Greenfield, T.K., (2017). Hazardous drinking and exposure to interpersonal. , 39 528-545 Abstract or Full Text
  • Zemore, SE, Cherpitel, CJ, Ye, Y, Borgas, G, Li, L, Wallisch, LS. (2016). Factors explaining variation in alcohol use disorder prevalence across border and nonborder communities in Texas. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental , 40 (8) 1707-1716 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel C.J., Ye Y., Bond J. (2016). Brief Intervention in the Emergency Department Among Mexican-Origin Young Adults at the US-Mexico Border: Outcomes of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Using Promotores. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 51 (2) 154-63 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, KJ, Liu, H & Kaplan, LM. (2016). Understanding associations between neighborhood socioeconomic status and negative consequences of drinking: A moderated mediation analysis. Prevention Science, 1-12 Abstract or Full Text
  • Jones-Webb, R., Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Zemore, S.E., Mulia, N. (2016). Effects of economic disruptions on alcohol use and problems: why do African Americans fare worse?. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 77 (2) 261-71 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel, C.J., (2016). Alcohol and drug use at the U.S.-Mexico border – Does cross-border mobility make a difference?. Drug Abuse Journals, 2 (1) 13 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel, C.J., Ye, Y., Zemore, S., Bond, J., Borges, G. (2015). The effect of cross-border mobility on alcohol and drug use among Mexican-American residents living at the U.S.-Mexico border. Addictive Behaviors, 50: 28-33 Abstract or Full Text
  • Cook W.K., Karriker-Jaffe K.J., Bond J., Lui C. (2015). Asian American problem drinking trajectories during the transition to adulthood: ethnic drinking cultures and neighborhood contexts. American Journal of Public Health, 105 :1020-1027. Abstract or Full Text
  • Cherpitel C.J., Ye Y., Bond J., Zemore S.E., Borges G., Greenfield T.K. (2015). Border effects on DSM-5 alcohol use disorders on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Jan. 19 Abstract or Full Text
  • Borges G., Zamora B., Garcia J., Orozco R., Cherpitel C.J., Zemore S., Breslau J. (2015). Symptoms of anxiety on both sides of the US-Mexico border: the role of immigration. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 61 46-51 Abstract or Full Text
  • Mulia N., Zemore S., Murphy R., Liu H., Catalano R. (2014). Economic loss and alcohol consumption and problems during the 2008-9 U.S. recession. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38 (4) 1026-1034 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J. & Greenfield, T.K. (2014). Gender differences in alcohol’s harms to others in disadvantaged U.S. neighborhoods. Drug & Alcohol Review, 33 (3) 296-303 Abstract or Full Text
  • Gilbert P.A., Perreira K., Eng E, Rhodes S.D. (2014). Social Stressors and Alcohol Use among Immigrant Sexual and Gender Minority Latinos in a Non-Traditional Settlement State. Substance Use & Misuse, 49 (11) 1365-75 Abstract or Full Text
  • Greenfield T.K., Karriker-Jaffe K.J., Giesbrecht N., Kerr W.C., Ye Y., Bond J. (2014). Second-hand drinking may increase support for alcohol policies: new results from the 2010 National Alcohol Survey. Drug & Alcohol Review, 33 (3) 259-267 Abstract or Full Text
  • Polcin D.L., Mericle A., Howell J., Sheridan D., Christensen J. (2014). Maximizing social model principles in residential recovery settings. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 46 (5) 436-43 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Roberts, S.C.M., & Bond, J. (2013). Understanding the contribution of income inequality to alcohol use patterns and associated problems. American Journal of Public Health, 103 (4) 649-656 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J. (2013). Neighborhood socioeconomic status and substance use by US adults. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcep.2013.04.033 [Epub: 31 May 2013].. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, Abstract or Full Text
  • Cook, W. K., Bond, J., Karriker-Jaffe, K. J., & Zemore, S. E. (2013). Who’s At Risk? Ethnic Drinking Cultures, Foreign Nativity, and Asian American Young Adult Drinking. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 74 (4) 532-541 Abstract or Full Text
  • Jones-Webb, R. & Karriker-Jaffe, K.J. (2013). Neighborhood disadvantage, high alcohol content beverage consumption, drinking norms, and drinking consequences: A mediation analysis. Journal of Urban Health, 90 (4) 667-684 Abstract or Full Text
  • Mulia, N. & Karriker-Jaffe, K.J. (2012). Interactive influences of neighborhood and individual socioeconomic status on alcohol consumption and problems. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 47 (2) 178-186 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J., Zemore, S.E., Mulia, N., Jones-Webb, R., Bond, J., & Greenfield, T.K. (2012). Neighborhood disadvantage and adult alcohol outcomes: Differential risk by race and sex. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73 (6) 856-873 Abstract or Full Text
  • Greenfield, T.K., Ye, Y., Nayak, M.B., Bond, J., Kerr, W.C, & Trocki, K. (2011). Heaviest drinking locations and the most drunk there predict the likelihood of fighting and being assaulted: results from the 2000 US National Alcohol Survey. Contemporary Drug Problems, 38 (Summer) 213-236 Abstract or Full Text
  • Karriker-Jaffe, K.J. (2011). Areas of disadvantage: A systematic review of effects of area-level socioeconomic status on substance use. Drug and Alcohol Review, 30 84-95 Abstract or Full Text
  • Kerr, W.C. (2010). Categorizing US State Drinking Practices and Consumption Trends. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 7 (1) 269-283 Abstract or Full Text
  • Nyaronga, D., Greenfield, T. K., & McDaniel, P. A (2009). Drinking context and drinking problems among black, white and Hispanic men and women in the 1984, 1995 and 2005 U.S. National Alcohol Surveys. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 70 (1) 16-26 Abstract or Full Text
  • Greenfield, T.K., Yu, Y., Kerr, W.C., Bond, J., Rehm, J., and Giesbrecht, N. (2009). Externalities from alcohol consumption in the 2005 US National Alcohol Survey: Implications for policy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 6 (12) 3205-3224 Abstract or Full Text
  • Mulia, N., Schmidt, L., Bond, J., Jacobs, L., & Korcha, R. (2008). Stress, social support and problem drinking among women in poverty. Addiction, 103 (8) 1283-93 Abstract or Full Text
  • Kairouz, S, Greenfield, T. K. (2007). A comparative multilevel analysis of contextual drinking in American and Canadian adults. Addiction, 102 (1) 71-80 Abstract or Full Text
  • Mulia, N., & Schmidt, L. (2003). Conflicts and trade-offs due to alcohol and drugs: clients’ accounts of leaving welfare. Social Service Review, 77 (4) 499-522

Impacts

Living on the U.S.-Mexico Border Protects Against Substance Use Mortality

Emeryville, CA – People living in US counties on the US-Mexico border are less likely to die of alcohol- and drug-related consequences than people living in off-border counties, according to a new study by researchers at the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute. T…[Read more]

Connected Neighbors Experience far Fewer Harms from Someone Else’s Drinking

Neighbors Who Feel Connected to One Another Experience far Fewer Harms from Someone Else’s Alcohol Use Press Release People living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social cohesion experience fewer harms from a stranger's drinking, according to a new study from the Alcohol Researc…[Read more]

Violent Crime Linked to Liquor Stores

A 10% increase in access to alcohol outlets was significantly associated with a 4.2% rise in violent crime in Baltimore, MD, a new study from ARG postdoctoral fellow Pamela Trangenstein found. Trangenstein and her team from Johns Hopkins also assessed whether the type of outlet made a differ…[Read more]

AUD Risks & Poor Neighborhoods

In studying emerging adults who lived in deprived neighborhoods when they were children, Scientist Katherine Karriker-Jaffe and colleagues found indirect pathways that mediated the risk for developing alcohol use disorders (AUD).  Such pathways included success in school during adolescence,…[Read more]

Study Assesses Ethnoburbs and Risky Drinking Among Young Adults

Congratulations to ARG Associate Scientist and postdoctoral fellow Christina Tam who received a pilot study grant to identify and assess ethnic-dense neighborhoods and their impact on alcohol consumption among adolescents and young adults. Tam has always been interested in disparities res…[Read more]

Poorer People Get Medication Less Often

People with alcohol use disorders (AUD) who live in poorer neighborhoods in Sweden were less likely to pick up prescriptions to help treat their disease than those living in areas that are more affluent, a new study from ARG found. The study was published online in the journal Addiction. Several…[Read more]

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