Recent investigations of recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD) have distinguished subgroups of high and low functioning recovery in data from randomized controlled trials of behavioral treatments for AUD. Analyses considered various indicators of alcohol use, life satisfaction, and psychosocial functioning, and identified four recovery profiles from AUD three years following treatment.

E-cigarettes vary widely in product characteristics (e.g., device type, nicotine concentration, and flavor). Little is known about how people who use e-cigarettes switch between products with different characteristics. We tracked the stability/variability in characteristics of products used by individuals who vaped e-cigarettes daily over one year.

Gambling disorder is a behavioral addiction characterized by impulsivity and problem gambling, and it often cooccurs with ADHD. This study investigated the associations between ADHD symptoms and problem gambling, focusing on the roles of various forms of gambling engagement. Based on data from the JASTIS 2024 survey, which included 29,268 valid respondents, this cross-sectional study explored how ADHD symptoms are related to the prevalence of problem gambling and specific forms of gambling engagement. Problem gambling was assessed using the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and ADHD symptoms were measured with the Japanese version of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale. The results revealed that 22.2 % of the participants with ADHD symptoms exhibited problem gambling, this proportion was significantly higher than that reported in the general population. Causal mediation analysis revealed that all types of gambling engagement, except for lottery, mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and problem gambling. Among them, bicycle racing and online casinos exhibited the strongest effects. Multiple regression analysis revealed that online casino use was the strongest predictor of problem gambling both in the general population and among individuals with ADHD symptoms. These findings suggest that individuals with ADHD characteristics increase the risk of engaging in gambling activities, particularly casino and online gambling, which have a high potential for addiction. Given the association between problem gambling and casino-related experiences, this study underscores the need for stringent regulatory measures and targeted prevention strategies, particularly as Japan considers expanding casino operations.

Severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) is characterized by social interaction difficulties that play a key role in the persistence of this addictive state. Biased social decision-making might underpin such interpersonal problems. Previous studies exploring social decision-making in SAUD used the ultimatum game - an economic game evaluating sensitivity to unfairness (for the responder) and equity (for the proposer) - and showed increased unfairness sensitivity in SAUD. However, these studies used one-shot designs that are not representative of real-life interactions and focused only on responders, letting much of the phenomenon unexplored.

Little research exists on simultaneous use of multiple substances that pose additive risk for negative health outcomes. We examine rates and sociodemographic and state cannabis legalization status correlates of simultaneous use (i.e., use > 1 substance on the same occasion) and mixing (e.g., co-administration of substances) of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis among a U.S sample of adults who currently use alcohol and combustible tobacco products.

Prior research has established associations among screen time, depressive symptoms, and sleep. However, the nuances of these associations, particularly regarding directionality and sex-specific differences among early adolescents, remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to investigate sex differences in the longitudinal associations among screen time, depressive symptoms, and sleep at the symptom level during early adolescence.

Antisocial behavior is a known risk factor for substance use in adolescence, but the combined effects of antisocial and prosocial behaviors are unknown. This study examined whether five types of anti- and prosocial behaviors are associated with subsequent alcohol and substance use.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGPT have rapidly gained popularity in many daily life spheres, even sparking scholarly debate about a potential "ChatGPT addiction." Throughout history, new technologies have repeatedly been associated with widespread concerns and "moral panics," especially when their adoption is sudden and involves significant changes in daily functioning. It is thus no surprise that researchers have examined whether intensive use of ChatGPT can be considered an addictive behavior. At least four scales measuring ChatGPT addiction have been developed so far, all framed after substance use disorder criteria. Drawing parallels with previous cases of pathologizing everyday behaviors, we caution against labeling and defining intensive or habitual chatbot use as addictive behavior. To label a behavior as addictive, there must be convincing evidence of negative consequences, impaired control, psychological distress, and functional impairment. However, the existing research on problematic use of ChatGPT or other conversational AI bots fails to provide such robust scientific evidence. Caution is thus warranted to avoid (over)pathologization, inappropriate or unnecessary treatments, and excessive regulation of tools that have many benefits when used in a mindful and regulated manner.

It has been surmised that there are approximately 1.6 million adults in England alone who may benefit from some type of support in relation to harmful gambling. Harmful gambling is a public health issue linked to psychological comorbidity, poor mental and physical health, and high levels of suicidality, and there is pressing need for initiatives and opportunities to identify gambling related harms before crisis level is reached.Harmful gambling is a term recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to mean gambling of any frequency that causes harm, problems or distress for the person. People experiencing harmful gambling are shown to be high users of health services and support services, despite low levels of help-seeking behaviour for gambling itself, which can often be 'crisis driven' (i.e. only seeking help after experiencing severe harms like a suicide attempt). This leads to overutilisation and unnecessary burden on such services, addressing a symptom of the disorder (e.g., depression), rather than addressing the underlying cause (i.e., the harmful gambling). Consequently, support services such as healthcare services, third sector organisations and the criminal justice system are well placed to provide secondary prevention initiatives (i.e., routine screening/referral to treatment) for harmful gambling, before the individual reaches crisis point. The commentary highlights where secondary prevention initiatives can be placed.

Empirical research investigated psycho-social factors associated with the development and maintenance of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) in children and adolescents, but their potential role has not been highlighted in systematic reviews. The aims of the current systematic review were to (1) summarize and synthesize findings from empirical research on family factors related to children and adolescents' IGD; (2) identify familial protective and risk factors that are related to the development and maintenance of IGD in children and adolescents, and (3) provide suggestions for future research. A number of 64 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria in the review from the following databases: Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, Google Academic, and APA PsycNet. Family variables have been significantly connected to gaming addiction levels in children and adolescents. Results were divided into five main themes: parental mediation, positive parenting, poor parenting, familial disharmony, and familial socioeconomic status. Protective factors included parental knowledge and positive parenting, while poor parenting, familial disharmony and familial socioeconomic status with all their sub-themes represented risk factors. Restrictive mediation and affected parenting provided inconclusive results that deserve further research. Familial connection is imperative for gaming addiction prevention. A stressful familial environment (e.g., parental conflicts) could increase gaming addiction coping behavior. Longitudinal and cross-sectional results provided inconsistent results regarding the role of parental depression and parental mediation in children's gaming addiction development. Cross-cultural studies are needed on familial factors related to children's gaming addiction. Further longitudinal studies could provide answers for conflicting or underexplored areas.

The current study examined whether young adults showing a pattern of greater substance use on months when experiencing greater levels of depressive symptoms showed long-term hazardous alcohol and cannabis use and elevated depressive symptoms. Data were from 772 young adults in Washington State (mean age = 21.1 years, SD = 1.7; 57 % female). For 24 consecutive months, surveys asked about past-month depressive symptoms and typical number of alcoholic drinks per week and typical number hours high on cannabis per week. Participants completed a survey 30 months after baseline that included measures of depressive symptoms and hazardous alcohol and cannabis use. Multilevel models showed substantial variability in monthly within-person associations of depressive symptoms with alcohol and cannabis use across individuals during the first 24 months. On months when experiencing increased depressive symptoms compared to their average, some young adults used more alcohol or cannabis and some used less. When linking outcomes at 30-month follow-up to person-specific slopes extracted from the multilevel models, results showed that young adults who tended to drink more or use more cannabis when they experienced more depressive symptoms than their average reported greater levels of hazardous alcohol and cannabis use at 30-month follow-up, respectively. Person-specific slopes were not associated with 30-month depressive symptoms. Although there was substantial variability in within-person monthly associations, findings suggest that young adults showing short-term patterns consistent with increased alcohol and cannabis use to regulate depressive symptoms may benefit from prevention and intervention efforts aimed at decreasing risk of longer-term problematic substance use.

Desire-based thinking is associated with the magnitude and severity of problematic social media use. One's ingroup identity has also been shown to be related to problematic behaviour including excessive social media use. Recent work showed that different factors predicted either compulsivity or withdrawal-based aspects of problematic Instagram. For compulsivity symptoms, negative metacognitions and the verbal perseveration component of desire thinking (i.e., persistent repetition of self-talk about the need to achieve a desired goal) were essential. In contrast, for withdrawal symptoms identity centrality (and no other dimensions of identity) and imaginal prefiguration (i.e., thoughts related to the mental images of a desired target or of its context for consumption) were the only predictors. The current study extended this work by testing whether the direct effects of components of ingroup identity as an Instagram user (N = 200) on increasing problematic use was also accounted for indirectly as a function of increasing desire-based thoughts as an active mediator, and whether these effects differed as a function of desire thinking component (i.e., imaginal prefiguration and verbal perseveration). Results showed that for overall problematic Instagram use desire thinking and the imaginal prefiguration component were found to fully mediate the influence of one ingroup self-investment aspect of identity, namely centrality i.e., chronicity of being an Instagram ingroup member for one's experienced identity. Total desire thinking was also shown to fully mediate the effects of identity centrality only for that component of problematic Instagram use that reflected compulsivity-type symptoms and to be a partial mediator for withdrawal-type symptoms. Imaginal prefiguration and verbal perseveration desire thinking components were both shown to partially mediate the effect of identity centrality on withdrawal symptoms but not show any mediating influence for compulsivity. These results reemphasise the primary significance of identity centrality (and ingroup self-investment processes) in accounting for variability in problematic Instagram use but also detail the importance of desire thinking factors as mediating its expression.

Smoking self-efficacy is a key predictor of being able to maintain smoking cessation. Smokers with depression have lower confidence that they can abstain from smoking (i.e., lower smoking self-efficacy) than those without depression. Additionally, individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB) have greater difficulty quitting smoking and lower self-efficacy than those assigned male at birth (AMAB). However, limited attention has been given to the experience of making a quit attempt on changes in smoking self-efficacy among smokers with depressive symptoms and how this may differ by abstinence outcomes and sex. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether abstinence or a reduction in cigarettes smoked during a standard smoking cessation treatment predicted post-treatment changes in smoking self-efficacy, and whether assigned sex moderated this relationship.

Smoking among adults in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs is common with limited success in quitting. Given e-cigarettes' potential for smoking harm reduction, it is important to examine e-cigarette use among people in SUD treatment.

Globally, problematic social media use (PSMU) is becoming increasingly common among university students. There is, however, a dearth of longitudinal studies investigating family functioning, loneliness, and PSMU. Based on the model of compensatory internet use, this study investigated the hypothesis that loneliness would mediate the longitudinal association between family functioning and PSMU among Chinese university students. It also explored whether there were sex differences in the associations between family functioning, loneliness, and PSMU. A total of 928 university students (45.7% male and 54.3% female; Mage = 20.71 years, SD = 1.21) completed the two-wave surveys. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, the Chinese 6-item short version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Family APGAR Index were employed to evaluate PSMU, loneliness, and family functioning, respectively. Cross-lagged panel model analysis and multi-group analysis by sex were conducted. The study found that family functioning at T1 negatively predicted loneliness at T2 (β = -0.10, p = 0.001) and PSMU at T2 (β = -0.12, p < 0.001). Loneliness at T1 positively predicted PSMU at T2 (β = 0.13, p < 0.001). Loneliness significantly mediated the longitudinal association between family functioning and PSMU. Significant sex differences were found in the paths from loneliness at T1 to PSMU at T2 and from family functioning at T1 to PSMU at T2, with these associations being stronger in males than in females. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at enhancing family communication and emotional cohesion could be effective in reducing both loneliness and PSMU among university students.

Social media use in younger people has shown mixed associations with mental health. We hypothesized that communication types during social media use might alter the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU) and anxiety over time. We aimed to identify how four dimensions of communication influence the link between PSMU and anxiety.

As there is a significant gap in the development of preventive interventions tailored to adolescents, this study develops and preliminarily investigates the efficacy of a preventive intervention towards Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) by referring to the metacognitive model. Six classes, a total of 93 high school students (75 % females, Mage = 16.26, SD = 1.24), were randomly assigned to either the Training or No Training group. The intervention spanned five weekly sessions, incorporating cognitive behavioral therapy and the conceptual change model to modify metacognitive beliefs. Pre- and post-test measures included daily time spent on the mobile phone, risky behaviors related to smartphone use, and metacognitive beliefs about smartphone use. A mixed ANOVA indicated a significant reduction in daily time spent on the mobile phone and risky behaviors related to smartphone use only in the Training group, with large effect sizes. Findings are promising and discussed in terms of future improvement.

Understanding the social context of e-cigarette use in the United States (U.S.) remains a high priority.

Problematic Internet use (PIU) has been empirically identified as a risk factor for future psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) among adolescents. This study aimed to examine the short-term predictive role of PIU on PLEs in adolescents and investigate their underlying mechanisms, focusing on the mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of psychological resilience. A total of 27,260 Chinese adolescents (52.2 % males, Mean = 14.33 ± 1.49) were included for analyses in this two-wave longitudinal study conducted six months apart. The baseline survey (time 1, T1) was between December 17 and 26, 2021, and the follow-up survey (time 2, T2) was between May 17 and June 5, 2022. Participants reported their socio-demographics, T1 PIU, T1 sleep disturbance, T1 resilience, T1 PLEs, T2 PLEs, and T2 negative life events. After controlling for socio-demographics, T1 PLEs, and T2 negative life events, T1 PIU exacerbated T2 PLEs directly and indirectly through T1 sleep disturbance, with T1 resilience moderating both parts of the mediation pathway. These findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms linking PIU to PLEs among adolescents and offer valuable implications for clinical practice and school policy.

Previous work has linked substance use to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, but the extent to which patterns of substance use influence patterns of IPV perpetration is unclear.