Jack Darkes

Up Close and Personal: Temporal Variability in the Drinking of Individual College Students During Their First Year.

Surveys have documented excessive drinking among college students and tracked annual changes in consumption over time. This study extended previous work by examining drinking changes during the freshman year, using latent growth curve (LGC) analysis to model individual change, and relating risk factors for heavy drinking to growth factors in the model. Retrospective monthly assessments of daily drinking were used to generate weekly estimates. Drinking varied considerably by week, apparently as a function of academic requirements and holidays. A 4-factor LGC model adequately fit the data. In univariate analyses, gender, race/ethnicity, alcohol expectancies, sensation seeking, residence, and data completeness predicted growth factors (ps <.05); gender, expectancies, residence, and data completeness remained significant when covariates were tested simultaneously. Substantive, methodological, and policy implications are discussed.

Variation in the drinking trajectories of freshmen college students

F. K. Del Boca, J. Darkes, P. E. Greenbaum, and M. S. Goldman (2004) examined temporal variations in drinking during the freshmen college year and the relationship of several risk factors to these variations. Here, using the same data, the authors investigate whether a single growth curve adequately characterizes the variability in individual drinking trajectories. Latent growth mixture modeling identified 5 drinking trajectory classes: light-stable, light-stable plus high holiday, medium-increasing, highdecreasing, and heavy-stable. In multivariate predictor analyses, gender (i.e., more women) and lower alcohol expectancies distinguished the light-stable class from other trajectories; only expectancies differentiated the high-decreasing from the heavy-stable and medium-increasing classes. These findings allow for improved identification of individuals at risk for developing problematic trajectories and for development of interventions tailored to specific drinker classes.

Alcohol Expectancy Multiaxial Assessment: A Memory Network-Based Approach.

Despite several decades of activity, alcohol expectancy research has yet to merge measurement approaches with developing memory theory. This article offers an expectancy assessment approach built on a conceptualization of expectancy as an information processing network. The authors began with multidimensional scaling models of expectancy space, which served as heuristics to suggest confirmatory factor analytic dimensional models for entry into covariance structure predictive models. It is argued that this approach permits a relatively thorough assessment of the broad range of potential expectancy dimensions in a format that is very flexible in terms of instrument length and specificity versus breadth of focus.

Binge Drinking and Alcohol-Related Problems Among Community College Students: Implications for Prevention Policy

Binge drinking and alcohol-related problems among students at traditional 4-year universities have been well documented. However, little is known about the frequency of their such behaviors and its consequences among community college students, who comprise roughly 44% of all undergraduate students in the United States. The present study examined binge drinking and alcohol-related problems in 762 (61% female) ethnically diverse (65% Caucasian, 20% Hispanic, 9% African American) community college students (mean age = 26.23, SD = 7.81). Based on gender-specific criteria, 25% engaged in binge drinking. As compared to nonbingers and current abstainers, bingers had higher rates of drinking-related problems. The implications of these findings for research and for prevention/intervention programs are discussed.

College Students’ Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption

Abstract Objective: This study investigates college students’ behaviors in response to the calories ingested by drinking alcohol. Participants and Methods: A sample of 274 nonclinical undergraduate alcohol drinkers completed an online survey asking about behaviors that students employed to make up for calories in alcohol or to get drunk more effectively. Drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and belief in a just world were also assessed to evaluate scale validity. Results: Participants reported engaging in exercise and dietary restriction as calorie control strategies both proactively and reactively and tended toward calorie restriction activities during drinking episodes. Relatively few reported engaging in more drastic strategies such as purging or laxative use. Women scored higher than men, and students living with friends scored higher than other students. Conclusions: These findings have implications for health initiatives aimed at college students and suggest the importance of considering both social and cognitive factors.

Development and validation of the Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption Scale (CEBRACS)

The goal of the current investigation was to develop and validate a measure to assess an individuals eating-related behaviors related to alcohol consumption, specifically behaviors intended to compensate for calories so that more alcohol could be consumed or restrict calories to enhance the psychoactive effects of alcohol consumption. Two hundred and seventy four undergraduate students (n=51 males; 75.2% Caucasian) completed a newly developed scale, the Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption Scale (CEBRACS), along with measures of eating restriction, bulimia, and body dissatisfaction. An exploratory factor analysis on the CEBRACS revealed the existence of 4 clear-cut factors: alcohol effects, bulimia, dieting and exercise, and restriction. Internal consistency statistics for all subscales ranged from .79 to .95. Pearson product-moment correlations between the CEBRACS and measures of bulimia, restriction, and body dissatisfaction ranged from .04 to .44. T-tests revealed no gender differences in compensatory eating behaviors. Future research directions and limitations of the current study are discussed.

Items as context: Effects of item order and ambiguity on factor structure

Based on previous work (Darkes, Greenbaum, & Goldman, 1998), we evaluated the effects of item order and ambiguity on factor structure using items from the Disinhibition subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scales Form V (Zuckerman, 1979). Participants completed the items with order of item-group (alcohol, sex, ambiguous) presentation manipulated between respondents. The factor structure varied as a function of item-group order. In addition, factor covariances varied across the 3 item orders as a function of item-group order. Apparently, ambiguous items were interpreted differently (as related either to alcohol use or to sexual behavior) depending on the content of items that preceded them. Results suggest that item order and ambiguity are important considerations in assessment.

A case report demonstrating the efficacy of a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral therapy approach for treating anxiety, depression, and problematic eating in polycystic ovarian syndrome

Despite elevated prevalence of anxiety and depression among women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), there is a dearth of evidence-based psychotherapies to treat mood-related symptoms among this population. This case report describes the efficacy of The PCOS Workbook in treating symptoms of anxiety, depression, and problematic eating in a 19-year-old female previously diagnosed with PCOS. Using the cognitive-behavioral framework presented in the workbook, the participant experienced a significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety, depression, problematic eating, and general psychosocial dysfunction while simultaneously losing a significant amount of weight during treatment. Six months after the termination of treatment, the participant maintained several improvements in psychological functioning, although she did report a resumption of problematic eating and experience weight regain. These findings provide initial empirical support for the efficacy of this manualized psychotherapy at improving psychosocial functioning in women with PCOS. Recommendations on ways to best utilize this resource and enhance its long-term efficacy, particularly when intervening for problematic eating, are also discussed.

Conversion Disorder (Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder) in Primary Care Mental Health

This case report describes the application of a dialectical behavioral therapy–informed psychotherapy approach to treating conversion disorder (functional neurological symptom disorder) with motor dysfunction in a Veterans Administration Health System Primary Care–Mental Health Integration Clinic. “Jane,” a 30-year-old veteran, was diagnosed with conversion disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She completed 25 sessions of treatment focused on improving emotion regulation and interpersonal skills over an 8-month period. At the end of treatment, Jane demonstrated improved motor ability and clinically significant improvements in her reported symptoms of MDD (per the Patient Health Questionnaire–9) and PTSD (per the PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version). This case report supports the conceptualization of conversion disorder as a function of emotion dysregulation and the application of a dialectical behavior therapy–informed treatment approach.

A league of their own, too: motivational and age of onset comparisons between American male and female AAS users

Background Non-medical anabolic-androgenic steroid (NMAAS) use among athletes and risk-taking adolescents has monopolized media attention in recent years. Conversely, our large-scale study of almost 2000 American male NMAAS users revealed that the majority of adult were non-athletes who initiated use as adults and were not motivated by athletics. Notably, a small proportion of the sample that completed our Internet-based survey was females and it would be informative to describe differences in age of onset and motivations between male and female users.