Renske Spijkerman

Compulsive Internet Use Among Adolescents: Bidirectional Parent–Child Relationships

Although parents experience growing concerns about their children’s excessive internet use, little is known about the role parents can play to prevent their children from developing Compulsive Internet Use (CIU). The present study addresses associations between internet-specific parenting practices and CIU among adolescents, as well as the bidirectionality of these associations. Two studies were conducted: a cross-sectional study using a representative sample of 4,483 Dutch students and a longitudinal study using a self-selected sample of 510 Dutch adolescents. Results suggest that qualitatively good communication regarding internet use is a promising tool for parents to prevent their teenage children from developing CIU. Besides, parental reactions to excessive internet use and parental rules regarding the content of internet use may help prevent CIU. Strict rules about time of internet use, however, may promote compulsive tendencies. Finally, one opposite link was found whereby CIU predicted a decrease in frequency of parental communication regarding internet use.

Socioeconomic Differences in Alcohol-Specific Parenting Practices and Adolescents’ Drinking Patterns

The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent alcohol-specific parenting practices relate to adolescents’ alcohol use, binge drinking, and alcohol-related problems, and whether these associations are moderated by socioeconomic status (SES), i.e. parents’ education level and family income. The present data were collected within the framework of a representative study on alcohol use among Dutch students. The present findings are based on data from respondents who had been drinking in the past year (81.5%), and of whom one of the parents had filled out a short questionnaire including SES characteristics (52%). The sample consisted of 1,344 adolescents. Adolescents were approached in a school setting; parents received a short questionnaire at the home address. The results show that applying strict rules about alcohol use and having qualitative good conversations about drinking alcohol seem to prevent adolescents from heavy drinking patterns, whereas parental alcohol use seems to promote adolescents’ drinking. A positive association was found between frequency of alcohol communication and availability of alcohol at home on the one hand and adolescents’ drinking on the other. Some moderating effects of SES were found.

The impact of peer and parental norms and behavior on adolescent drinking: The role of drinker prototypes

Research on determinants of adolescents’ images or prototypes of drinking peers has demonstrated that parents and peers can influence the formation of drinker prototypes. It has also been shown that drinker prototypes mediate relations between peer and parental drinking behaviors and norms, and adolescent alcohol use. The current study examined this issue by taking into account the reciprocal relationship between drinker prototypes and alcohol consumption. Furthermore, these issues were studied for adolescents with and without drinking experience. For this purpose, longitudinal data were gathered among 1956 Dutch adolescents (12–16 years). Structural modeling analyses revealed significant effects of drinker prototypes on future alcohol use among both abstaining and drinking adolescents. Among drinking adolescents, the impact of peer and parental norms on adolescents’ alcohol use was mediated by drinker prototypes. Among adolescents with no drinking experience, drinker prototypes also affected future alcohol use. However, these effects were less important than the direct impact of peer and parental drinking. In sum, the present study revealed that prototypes mediate the influence of peer and parental norms on adolescents’ alcohol use, but only in adolescents who already have drinking experience. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Effectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention and added value of normative feedback in reducing underage drinking: a randomized controlled trial.

Background Current insights indicate that Web-based delivery may enhance the implementation of brief alcohol interventions. Previous research showed that electronically delivered brief alcohol interventions decreased alcohol use in college students and adult problem drinkers. To date, no study has investigated the effectiveness of Web-based brief alcohol interventions in reducing alcohol use in younger populations. Objective The present study tested 2 main hypotheses, that is, whether an online multicomponent brief alcohol intervention was effective in reducing alcohol use among 15- to 20-year-old binge drinkers and whether inclusion of normative feedback would increase the effectiveness of this intervention. In additional analyses, we examined possible moderation effects of participant’s sex, which we had not a priori hypothesized. Method A total of 575 online panel members (aged 15 to 20 years) who were screened as binge drinkers were randomly assigned to (1) a Web-based brief alcohol intervention without normative feedback, (2) a Web-based brief alcohol intervention with normative feedback, or (3) a control group (no intervention). Alcohol use and moderate drinking were assessed at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after the intervention. Separate analyses were conducted for participants in the original sample (n = 575) and those who completed both posttests (n = 278). Missing values in the original sample were imputed by using the multiple imputation procedure of PASW Statistics 18. Results Main effects of the intervention were found only in the multiple imputed dataset for the original sample suggesting that the intervention without normative feedback reduced weekly drinking in the total group both 1 and 3 months after the intervention (n =575, at the 1-month follow-up, beta = -.24, P = .05; at the 3-month follow-up, beta = -.25, P = .04). Furthermore, the intervention with normative feedback reduced weekly drinking only at 1 month after the intervention (n=575, beta = -.24, P = .008). There was also a marginally significant trend of the intervention without normative feedback on responsible drinking at the 3-month follow-up (n =575, beta = .40, P =.07) implying a small increase in moderate drinking at the 3-month follow-up. Additional analyses on both datasets testing our post hoc hypothesis about a possible differential intervention effect for males and females revealed that this was the case for the impact of the intervention without normative feedback on weekly drinking and moderate drinking at the 1-month follow-up (weekly drinking for n = 278, beta = -.80, P = .01, and for n = 575, beta = -.69, P = .009; moderate drinking for n = 278, odds ratio [OR] = 3.76, confidence interval [CI] 1.05 - 13.49, P = .04, and for n = 575, OR = 3.00, CI = 0.89 - 10.12, P = .08) and at the 3-month follow-up (weekly drinking for n = 278, beta = -.58, P = .05, and for n = 575, beta = -.75, P = .004; moderate drinking for n = 278, OR = 4.34, CI = 1.18 - 15.95, P = .04, and for n = 575, OR = 3.65, CI = 1.44 - 9.25, P = .006). Furthermore, both datasets showed an interaction effect between the intervention with normative feedback and participant’s sex on weekly alcohol use at the 1-month follow-up (for n = 278, beta = -.74, P =.02, and for n = 575, beta = -.64, P =.01) and for moderate drinking at the 3-month follow-up (for n = 278, OR = 3.10, CI = 0.81 - 11.85, P = .07, and for n = 575, OR = 3.00, CI = 1.23 - 7.27, P = .01). Post hoc probing indicated that males who received the intervention showed less weekly drinking and were more likely to drink moderately at 1 month and at 3 months following the intervention. For females, the interventions yielded no effects: the intervention without normative feedback even showed a small unfavorable effect at the 1-month follow-up. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that exposure to a Web-based brief alcohol intervention generated a decrease in weekly drinking among 15- to 20-year-old binge drinkers but did not encourage moderate drinking in the total sample. Additional analyses revealed that intervention effects were most prominent in males resulting in less weekly alcohol use and higher levels of moderate drinking among 15- to 20-year-old males over a period of 1 to 3 months. Trial Registration ISRCTN50512934; http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN50512934/ (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5usICa3Tx)

The Impact of Smoking and Drinking on Plasma Levels of Norharman

The hypothesized role of the beta-carboline norharman in processes of drug dependence forms the basis for several studies on plasma levels of norharman among substance-using populations, particularly among alcoholics and smokers. However, it is not clear whether norharman is implicated in processes of dependence to both substances, or only to tobacco smoke. In the present study plasma concentrations of norharman were measured among four groups of participants regarding heavy smokers who do or do not drink alcohol excessively and nonsmokers who do or do not drink alcohol excessively. All measurements were conducted on three different days with an interval of 2 months in between and at three times during the day to account for possible circadian or seasonal variations. Results showed that elevated plasma levels of norharman appear only in heavy smokers regardless of their drinking profile. The norharman plasma levels of nonsmoking excessive drinkers showed a similar pattern to that of the control group. The findings indicate that elevated plasma levels of norharman are due to heavy smoking and not to excessive drinking.

The utility of online panel surveys versus computer‐assisted interviews in obtaining substance‐use prevalence estimates in the Netherlands

AIMS Rather than using the traditional, costly method of personal interviews in a general population sample, substance-use prevalence rates can be derived more conveniently from data collected among members of an online access panel. To examine the utility of this method, we compared the outcomes of an online survey with those obtained with the computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) method. DESIGN Data were gathered from a large sample of online panellists and in a two-stage stratified sample of the Dutch population using the CAPI method. SETTING The Netherlands. Participants  The online sample comprised 57 125 Dutch online panellists (15-64 years) of Survey Sampling International LLC (SSI), and the CAPI cohort 7204 respondents (15-64 years). MEASUREMENTS All participants answered identical questions about their use of alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine and performance-enhancing drugs. The CAPI respondents were asked additionally about internet access and online panel membership. Both data sets were weighted statistically according to the distribution of demographic characteristics of the general Dutch population. FINDINGS Response rates were 35.5% (n = 20 282) for the online panel cohort and 62.7% (n = 4516) for the CAPI cohort. The data showed almost consistently lower substance-use prevalence rates for the CAPI respondents. Although the observed differences could be due to bias in both data sets, coverage and non-response bias were higher in the online panel survey. CONCLUSIONS Despite its economic advantage, the online panel survey showed stronger non-response and coverage bias than the CAPI survey, leading to less reliable estimates of substance use in the general population.

Relative Contribution of Smoker Prototypes in Predicting Smoking among Adolescents: A Comparison with Factors from the Theory of Planned Behavior

Background:It has frequently been suggested that adolescents are more likely to start smoking when they hold favorable social images or prototypes of smoking peers. Although empirical evidence supports the role of smoker prototypes in predicting smoking, little is known about the relative contribution of smoker prototypes, in comparison to more well-established social cognitive factors. Therefore, the present study investigated the relative impact of smoker prototypes, in comparison to factors of the theory of planned behavior, in predicting smoking among adolescents. Methods: A three-wave prospective study was conducted among 612 Dutch 8th grade students (aged 12–13 years). Questionnaires were administered and adolescents were followed during one year. Results: The results indicate that smoker prototypes are predictive of adolescent smoking behavior. Adolescents who believe that smoking peers are sociable more frequently engage in smoking behavior. Moreover, adolescents who hold the image that smoking peers are rebellious are less inclined to engage in smoking. These prototype factors predict a significant proportion of variance in smoking status, over and above the components of the theory of planned behavior. Conclusion: The findings of the present study are interesting because they suggest that intervening on the level of smoker prototypes may contribute to the effectiveness of current programs aiming at the prevention of adolescents’ smoking behavior.

Craving for cigarettes among low and high dependent smokers: impact of norharman

Besides nicotine, other chemicals in tobacco smoke, such as norharman, may contribute to the addictive properties of cigarettes. More specifically, elevated blood plasma levels of norharman may reduce feelings of craving among tobacco‐dependent individuals. To test this hypothesis, plasma concentrations of norharman were measured in 38 male smokers (at least 15 cigarettes per day) at three time‐points on 3 different days spread over a 4‐month period. The first measurement (T0) was conducted in the morning at 8.30 a.m., after 12 hours of smoking abstinence. The T1 and T2 measurements were conducted at 13.00 p.m. and 16.30 p.m., during a period of ad libitum smoking (after the T0 measurement, participants were not restricted in their smoking behaviour). At each of the nine time‐points, craving was assessed by means of a shortened version of the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges. The Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence was used to obtain an indication of nicotine dependence. The results showed that, after a period of smoking abstinence, craving was stronger in those with a high tobacco dependence than in those with a low tobacco dependence. After resumption of smoking, craving declined to a similar low level in both low and high dependent smokers. Measurements during periods of ad libitum smoking indicate that plasma levels of norharman are related negatively to craving among low nicotine‐dependent smokers, but not among high dependent smokers.

Longitudinal associations between attitudes towards binge drinking and alcohol-free drinks, and binge drinking behavior in adolescence

Alcohol attitudes are often considered an important predecessor of drinking behavior, although the literature is equivocal. Lately, attention has turned to enhancing positive cognitions on alcoholic-free drinks to discourage heavy drinking. The current study was the first to longitudinally examine associations between attitudes towards binge drinking and alcohol-free drinks and binge drinking behavior in a cross-lagged path model in Mplus. Participants were 293 adolescents (131 boys, M(age)=16.1 years) who filled in two online questionnaires with a six-month interval. Binge drinking behavior and attitudes towards binge drinking and alcohol-free drinks were all significantly correlated at both waves. The multivariate model, however, showed that only higher levels of binge drinking at T1 were prospectively related to more positive binge drinking attitudes at T2, and not vice versa. Analyses were controlled for sex, educational level, and age. Findings discard the Theory of Planned Behavior, but rather seem consistent with the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, i.e., adolescents may adapt their cognitions to their behavior. More longitudinal research with several time points and over a longer period of time is needed to further examine the development of attitudes and drinking behavior.

The Effects of Music Genre on Young People's Alcohol Consumption: An Experimental Observational Study

The aim of this study was to test whether exposure to specific music genres in a social drinking setting leads to differences in drinking levels. An observational experimental design was used in which we invited peer groups of young adults into a bar lab, a lab which is furnished like an ordinary, small pub. Between two tasks, people had a break of 50 minutes in which they could order nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages. During the break, participants were exposed to a specific music genre: popular, hard rock, rap, or classical music. Those groups who were exposed to classical music drank significantly more alcohol than those who were exposed to other music genres. This pattern is quite robust and does not depend on participants’ sex or age, drinking habits, own music preference, and relative importance of music in participants lives. The studys limitations are mentioned.