• Alcohol use increased significantly following COVID-19 related campus closure. • Higher social support was associated with less alcohol use overall. • Elevated psychological distress was associated with steeper increases in alcohol. • Social support did not moderate the effect of distress on increasing alcohol use.

The Attentional Control Scale (ACS; Derryberry & Reed, 2002) has been used to assess executive control over attention in numerous studies, but no published data have examined the factor structure of the English version. The current studies addressed this need and tested the predictive and convergent validity of the ACS subscales. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor model with Focusing and Shifting subscales. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis supported this model and suggested superior fit compared to the factor structure of the Icelandic version (Ólafsson et al., 2011). Study 3 examined correlations between the ACS subscales and measures of working memory, anxiety, and cognitive control. Study 4 examined correlations between the subscales and reaction times on a mixed-antisaccade task, revealing positive correlations for antisaccade performance and prosaccade latency with Focusing scores and between switch trial performance and Shifting scores. Additionally, the findings partially supported unique relationships between Focusing and trait anxiety and between Shifting and depression that have been noted in recent research. Although the results generally support the validity of the ACS, additional research using performance-based tasks is needed.

Whether well-documented patterns of mental health comorbidity with adolescent combustible cigarette use extend to e-cigarette use is unclear. Demonstrating associations between e-cigarette and combustible cigarette use with mental health symptomatology across adolescence may be important for promoting accurate perceptions of populations at risk for and potential consequences of tobacco product use. Adolescents (N = 2460; mean age at baseline = 14.1; 53.4% female; 44.1% Hispanic) who had never previously used combustible or e-cigarettes were assessed at baseline, and 6- and 12-month follow-ups in Los Angeles, CA (2013–2014). Logistic regression was used to examine associations between baseline depressive symptoms and onset of e-cigarette and cigarette single product and dual use at follow-ups. Latent growth modeling was used to examine associations between sustained use of either product (vs. non-use) and changes in depressive symptoms over 12-months. Higher baseline depressive symptoms predicted subsequent onset of cigarette (OR = 1.024, 95% C.I. = 1.009−1.055), e-cigarette (OR = 1.015, C.I. = 1.003−1.023), and dual use of both products (OR = 1.021, C.I. = 1.003−1.043). Sustained use of e-cigarettes over the 12-month observation (vs. non-use) was associated with a greater rate of increase in depressive symptoms over time (b = 1.272, SE = 0.513, p = 0.01). Among those who sustained use of e-cigarettes, higher frequency of use was associated with higher depressive symptoms at the final follow-up (B = 1.611, p = 0.04). A bi-directional association of depressive symptoms with e-cigarette use onset across mid adolescence was observed. Further research on the causal nature, etiological underpinnings, and intervention implications of mental health and tobacco product use comorbidity is warranted.

Among vapor store customers in the United States who use electronic nicotine delivery devices to stop smoking, vaping longer, using newer-generation devices and using non-tobacco and non-menthol flavored e-liquid appear to be associated with higher rates of smoking cessation.

It appears that a campus-wide tobacco ban is a well-accepted and effective prevention method for smoking. This study lends considerable support for efforts towards smoke-free campuses.

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Second-generation e-cigarettes seem to be more effective in reducing symptoms of nicotine withdrawal than do first-generation e-cigarettes.

Objectives To describe temporal trends in concordance, sensitivity, and specificity and to explore demographic trends in concordance in two outpatient treatment studies for cocaine dependence. Methods We obtained 2229 urine drug screens from 129 individuals, along with accompanying self-use reports. Paired self-use reports and urine drug screens were considered concordant if the two measures of cocaine use were in agreement. The sensitivity and specificity of the self-use reports in predicting the urine drug screen was also estimated. To model concordance, sensitivity, and specificity as a function of time, generalized estimating equations were used. Demographic effects on concordance among subjects who achieved 100% concordance and subjects who achieved a recently proposed 70% concordance threshold were tested. Results Over the course of our studies, both sensitivity and concordance statistically decreased, yet specificity remained relatively constant. Median concordance for all subjects was 88%. Among all subjects, concordance varied significantly by gender, with females achieving significantly higher concordance than males (96% vs. 86%). Similarly, females were almost twice as likely to achieve 100% concordance as males (42% vs. 22%). Finally, 80% of participants achieved the 70% concordance threshold, and no differences among demographic groups with regards to the 70% concordance threshold were observed. Conclusions Temporal effects of concordance and sensitivity may have profound repercussions when using self-use reports to gauge efficacy of an experimental intervention. Furthermore, gender may differentially affect concordance. Finally, a substance abuse outcome measure that reliably combines objective and self-report data is promising, but further research is needed.