To place college drinking within its larger developmental context, we reviewed studies that compare drinking behavior among college students with that of their age-matched nonstudent peers. Among the recurrent themes identifi ed across these studies, we particularly noted discrepancies in the conceptualization and operationalization of both college status and noncollege status. These discrepancies, and other methodological variations, were then examined because they infl uence conclusions about drinking outcomes. Method: Eighteen studies directly comparing college students with nonstudents were reviewed. Results: College students drank more than noncollege peers and, in general, drank more frequently than did noncollege peers, although these differences were likely the result of factors other than col-lege attendance itself. Younger people drank more than older peers in both groups. College students also tended to be more at risk for alcohol-related problems, including alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence, again likely the result of factors other than college attendance per se. Conclusions: This review highlights the lack of consensus in the conceptualization and operationalization of college and noncollege status across studies, as well as the importance of variables such as living situation, age, full-time and part-time status, and type of college, which may be more directly related to variations in alcohol consumption than is college status itself. Future investigations of college drinking should place this phenomenon within the larger context of developmental processes associated with this time of life.
Co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorders have become increasingly prevalent in military populations. Over the past decade, PTSD has emerged as one of the most common forms of psychopathology among the 1.7 million American military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND). Among veterans from all eras, symptoms of PTSD have been highly correlated with hazardous drinking, leading to greater decreases in overall health and greater difficulties readjusting to civilian life. In fact, a diagnosis of co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder has proven more detrimental than a diagnosis of PTSD or alcohol use disorder alone. In order to effectively address co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder, both the clinical and research communities have focused on better understanding this comorbidity, as well as increasing treatment outcomes among the veteran population. The purpose of the present article is threefold: (1) present a case study that highlights the manner in which PTSD and alcohol use disorder co-develop after trauma exposure; (2) present scientific theories on co - occurrence of PTSD and alcohol use disorder; and (3) present current treatment options for addressing this common comorbidity.
Recent conceptualizations of alcohol expectancies relate cognitive schemas to their neurobiological underpinnings; cue reactivity paradigms lend themselves well to testing this broadened conceptual framework. In the present study, we examined the relationship between self-reported alcohol expectancies and responses to alcohol-related and affective picture cues among fifty-five young adults. In addition to traditional subjective and psychophysiological indices of cue reactivity, the startle eyeblink reflex was obtained during picture cue presentations to address both attention-arousal (early probes) and affective-motivational (late probes) aspects of cue processing. Analyses indicated that participants reporting greater positive, arousing, and social alcohol expectancies rated alcohol cues as more pleasant, arousing, and craving-inducing. In addition, participants displayed inhibited startle reactivity to late alcohol cue probes, indicative of an appetitive reaction. Finally, startle responding to early probes indicated that participants with greater alcohol expectancies displayed blunted attention to negative affect cues. Findings are discussed in terms of the utility of the startle reflex and cue reactivity paradigms for clarifying the relationship between alcohol expectancies and motivated attention to salient cues.
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