Random abstract from Psychology of Addictive Behaviors

The Psychology of Addictive Behaviors publishes peer-reviewed original articles related to the psychological aspects of addictive behaviors. Articles on the following topics are included: (a) alcohol and alcoholism, (b) drug use and abuse, (c) eating disorders, (d) smoking and nicotine addiction, and (e) other compulsive behaviors (e.g., gambling). Full-length research reports, literature reviews, essays, brief reports, and comments are published. The journal is published four times yearly and is abstracted by Psychological Abstracts.
Copyright 2010 American Psychological Association

Drink less or drink slower: The effects of instruction on alcohol consumption and drinking control strategy use.
Brief alcohol interventions often involve recommendations to use drinking control strategies. However, little is known about the functional effect of these strategies on alcohol use. This prospective study employed an experimental design to evaluate the relationship between strategy use and alcohol consumption. The differential effects of instructions to increase the use of strategies or to reduce alcohol consumption were compared to self-monitoring (SM) only. Undergraduate drinkers were randomized into 3 conditions: SM plus strategy increase (SI; n = 61), SM plus alcohol reduction (AR; n = 60), and SM control (SM; n = 56). Participants in the AR group reduced their alcohol use over 2 weeks, while those in the SI group did not drink less. Participants in the SI group increased strategy use over time, whereas the AR group increased use of some strategies but not others. These results indicate that increasing use of drinking control strategies does not necessarily result in reduced drinking. Furthermore, all strategies are not equal in their association with alcohol consumption; if the goal is alcohol reduction, type of strategy recommended may be important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

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Psychology of Addictive Behaviors - Vol 23, Iss 4