Experimental & Clinical Psychopharmacology

Is a very brief web-based intervention with focus on protective behavioral strategies efficacious in reducing impaired control over alcohol in undergraduates?
Impaired control (i.e., difficulty adhering to limits on alcohol use) prospectively predicts self-reported alcohol-related problems in undergraduates yet remains understudied. In particular, there is little evidence regarding whether brief interventions can reduce impaired control. An efficacious, very brief, web-based intervention focused on protective behavioral strategy (PBS) use may be well suited to reducing impaired control, but there is also little evidence regarding relationships between impaired control and PBS use. Data were analyzed from a randomized controlled trial of U.S. Tertiary Health Research Intervention via Email (Leeman et al., 2016) that yielded evidence of reduced weekly and peak alcohol use among undergraduates who drink heavily (N = 208). Multilevel models were tested to determine efficacy in reducing impaired control over alcohol use. The parent trial tested variants providing both direct (e.g., avoiding drinking games) and indirect (e.g., securing a designated driver) PBS, direct only or indirect only. Given this focus of the parent trial, self-reported PBS use was included in the model. U.S. Tertiary Health Research Intervention via Email did not significantly reduce impaired control over alcohol use compared to a control condition (p = .15–.96), and there was no significant main effect of time or interactions with time. However, direct and indirect PBS use was significantly inversely related to impaired control. An efficacious, very brief web-based intervention associated with decreased alcohol use did not decrease impaired control over alcohol significantly. More intensive, or longer, interventions may be needed to reduce impaired control. Greater PBS use was associated with less impaired control; thus, interventions that increase PBS use may decrease impaired control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Simultaneous use of alcohol, cannabis, and energy drinks predicts increased daily alcohol consumption and alcohol consequences.
Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis (SAM) use and alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) days are associated with heavier drinking and negative consequences compared to alcohol-only days. However, it remains unclear if SAM and AmED days differ from one another in terms of consumption and negative consequences. It also remains unclear how often days characterized by both SAM + AmED occur and if these days are associated with incremental risk for heavier drinking and negative consequences. College students who engage in SAM use and AmED completed a 30-day timeline followback interview. Day-level data on drinking days were curated to test whether days characterized by alcohol only, SAM use only, AmED use only, or SAM + AmED were associated with increased drinking quantity, negative alcohol consequences, and positive alcohol consequences. Twenty-one percent of drinking days were AmED days, 19% were SAM days, and 15.4% were SAM + AmED days. SAM-only, AmED-only, and SAM + AmED days were associated with increased drinking and negative consequences compared to alcohol-only days. However, SAM-only and SAM + AmED (but not AmED-only) days were associated with more positive consequences than alcohol-only days. SAM-only and AmED-only days did not differ in drinking quantity or consequences, whereas SAM + AmED days were associated with increased drinking and negative (but not positive) consequences compared to both SAM-only and AmED-only days. Combined SAM + AmED days are common and associated with increased risk for negative outcomes. Prevention efforts should consider how to reduce the occurrence of SAM + AmED use and how to reduce risk on days when it does occur. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Acceptance versus distraction as coping strategies for acute pain and pain-induced alcohol urge and approach inclinations.
Experimental research has identified pain as a determinant of alcohol urge mediated via negative affect. This study aimed to test acceptance coping (vs. distraction) as a moderator of this relationship. Using a randomized 2 × 2 between-subjects repeated-measures experimental design, pain-free hazardous drinkers (N = 135) were randomly assigned to receive acceptance or distraction coping training. They were asked to use the strategy while receiving an acutely painful or nonpainful stimulus. It was hypothesized that the effects of pain on negative affect would be weaker among those who received acceptance training, resulting in lower ratings on alcohol urge and approach inclinations. There were no moderating effects of Pain Condition × Coping Condition on negative affect. Given this, the moderator was removed and a simple mediation model was tested. Results showed significant indirect effects for alcohol urge through negative affect. Results suggested no differences between acceptance and distraction coping in ameliorating acute pain effects on negative affect and alcohol-related outcomes. The mediation model was partially replicated. Findings provide information that may accelerate the design of interventions to curtail drinking for pain coping by better understanding the utility of acceptance training and the pain–alcohol relation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
A behavioral choice analysis of the role of life events during early nonabstinent natural recovery from alcohol use disorder.
Prior research supported a behavioral choice analysis of the role of life events in posttreatment drinking among abstinence-seeking inpatients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). This study investigated the generality of those relationships among persons attempting “natural” recovery involving moderation drinking. We had two hypotheses: (1) The likelihood of drinking after an event would be related to the degree of alcohol-related disruption in the life–health area of the event. (2) Event-related drinking episodes would be quantitatively greater than event-unrelated episodes. Participants (N = 83) were from a larger integrated data set of prospective natural recovery studies of persons with AUD who had stopped heavy drinking and had 6-month follow-up reports of drinking and events; abstainers were excluded. Alcohol-related disruption before resolution was assessed in four domains (relationships, vocational/financial, living arrangements/legal, physical health). As predicted, postresolution event-related drinking was positively correlated with preresolution vocational/financial disruption (p <.01) and negatively correlated with preresolution physical health problems (p = .06). Event-related drinking episodes involved heavier drinking than event-unrelated episodes (p <.001). These findings indicate strong support for the generality of the latter relationship and qualified support for the generality of the former relationship. The different results in the two samples are attributed to differences in the evolution of their AUD recovery process and the decoupling of the event-drinking relationships. The behavioral choice framework suggests ways to improve the characterization of environmental variables in future recovery research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
An experimental investigation into the impact of acute stress on alcohol craving.
Drinking to cope is associated with many negative alcohol-related outcomes among college students, such as increased alcohol use, drinking-related problems, and alcohol use disorders. Previous experimental studies have shown that students exposed to a stressor, compared to those not exposed to a stressor, drink more and have stronger urges to drink, presumably to cope with the stressor. However, no such study has tested this effect using a remote-based stressor, which may be more common for students because of the recent increase in online learning. As such, the present study aimed to (a) test the impact of an acute stressor on state anxiety and alcohol craving and (b) investigate trait-level drinking characteristics as potential moderators of the impact of the acute stressor. Participants were 137 (Mage = 19.9, SDage = 2.0; 82.5% female; 41.6% White) college students who consumed alcohol in the past month. Using a between-subjects experimental design, we assigned participants randomly to an experimental (i.e., acute stress) condition or control (i.e., neutral) condition, and they completed a premanipulation battery of alcohol-related attitudes and behaviors and a postmanipulation measure of alcohol craving. On average, participants in the experimental condition reported greater increases in anxiety than those in the control condition, but there were no differences found in alcohol craving. However, for both anxiety and craving, greater increases from pre- to postmanipulation were found when trait-level anxiety and trait-level drinking were high, respectively. Thus, heavier drinking college students may be at greater risk for craving alcohol in response to stress than those who typically drink less. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Efficacy and safety of balovaptan for posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a significant impact on quality of life and affects more than 13 million individuals in the United States, with limited treatments available. EXUVIA (NCT05401565) was a Phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, conducted across eight sites in the United States. The study aimed to assess the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of balovaptan, a highly selective vasopressin 1a receptor antagonist, in adults with PTSD. Between August 2022 and October 2023, a total of 57 adult participants (aged 18–60 years) were screened, and 29 participants were randomly allocated (1:1) to receive either balovaptan (13/29 [44.8%]) or placebo (16/29 [55.2%]). No meaningful differences were observed for balovaptan (–17.2 [± 10.7]) versus placebo (–15.6 [± 10.7]) as measured by the primary endpoint of change from baseline at Week 12 in Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition total symptom severity score. No meaningful differences for balovaptan versus placebo were observed at Week 12 for any secondary endpoints. Balovaptan was well tolerated with no new safety findings. The number of participants with at least one adverse event of any intensity was 9/13 (69.2%) in the balovaptan group and 7/16 (43.8%) in the placebo group. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Residual and enduring effects of cannabis use on cognitive and psychomotor function: A study of adults during unrestricted cannabis use, short-term abstinence, and protracted abstinence.
The impact of cannabis on cognitive and psychomotor function is important to understand, given the role of the endocannabinoid system in these critical processes. The literature has shown robust acute negative effects of cannabis on cognition and psychomotor skills during intoxication, and to a lesser degree, persisting effects following short-term abstinence up to 4 weeks. However, whether these decrements resolve after long-term cessation of use remains unclear. We evaluated cognitive and psychomotor function in 31 adults with current cannabis use during unrestricted use (UNR) and after a 3-day abstinence (RES), 23 adults with former cannabis use (> 90 days abstinent; FU), and 58 nonusing controls (CON) using the cognition and motor batteries of the National Institutes of Health Toolbox. Linear mixed models showed no significant differences in cognitive and motor performance between UNR, RES, and FU groups. Group effects emerged such that CON outperformed UNR on the Oral Reading Recognition Test, and CON outperformed both UNR and RES on the Picture Vocabulary Test. In terms of psychomotor function, FU, RES, and UNR performed better than CON on the Grip Strength Test. In this comprehensive examination of cognitive and psychomotor performance in adults with cannabis use with 3 days to > 90 days of abstinence, our results indicated that the cognitive impacts of chronic, heavy cannabis use are observable during short-term abstinence but remit after > 90 days of abstinence. This highlights widespread impacts of cannabis use abstinence across cognitive and psychomotor domains. Future studies are needed to evaluate whether these effects are also observable with use reduction, as opposed to abstinence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Urinalysis and perceived effects following 2-week use of a commercial broad-spectrum cannabidiol product.
A growing number of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products are available with negligible amounts (< 100 ppm) of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) due in part to consumer concerns regarding the risk of positive drug screens. There are, however, no published studies that report whether repeated use of these products may lead to positive urine drug tests for THC. There is also scant research on the effects of these products on physical and mental well-being. Twenty healthy adults consumed a hemp-derived broad-spectrum CBD product every day for 2 weeks. Participants attended study visits at the beginning and end of the 2-week period. At each visit, participants underwent urinalysis testing for CBD, THC, and metabolites (analyzed via liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry) and completed a validated assessment of physical and mental well-being. Participants reported using an average of 1.09 ± 0.51 ml (34.20 ± 16.00 mg CBD) of study product per day. Neither tetrahydrocannabinol nor its metabolites were detectable in urine following the 2-week period of use. Ingestion of the broad-spectrum product was associated with a significant reduction in sleep disturbance and pain intensity symptoms (p <.05), which remained significant after correcting for possible confounds (i.e., age, sex, dosage). No adverse events were reported. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Delay discounting validity and e-cigarette use: A comparison in e-cigarette users, combustible cigarette users, dual users, and nonusers.
Delay discounting refers to the devaluation of an outcome as temporal delay increases. Steep discounting is characterized by preferring a smaller, immediate outcome over a larger, delayed outcome and is associated with maladaptive behaviors such as tobacco use. Previous studies have compared delay discounting outcomes between combustible cigarette (CC) smokers and nonusers using various discounting tasks. With the growing use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes [EC]) and various delay discounting tasks available to researchers, we extended previous work in delay discounting and EC use in two ways. The present study assessed delay discounting in a web-based sample of 259 participants to (a) establish convergent validity across four different delay discounting tasks and (b) compare the outcomes between four subgroups: dual users, exclusive EC users, exclusive CC users, and nonusers. The four delay discounting tasks (Monetary Choice Questionnaire, 5-Trial Adjusting Delay Discounting Task [ADT-5], Temporal Discounting Questionnaire, and Brief Intertemporal Choice Task [BRIC Task]) showed moderate to strong convergent validity (p <.001). Further, findings indicated significant differences between all four subgroups across the four different delay discounting tasks (p <.048) with small effect sizes. Pairwise comparisons showed that exclusive EC users exhibited significantly steeper discounting than nonusers in ADT-5 (p = .043) and BRIC Task (p = .029) and dual users exhibited significantly steeper discounting than nonusers on ADT-5 (p = .043) and BRIC Task (p = .030). Our findings replicate previous findings and suggest the potential role of delay discounting in explaining the behavioral mechanism underlying e-cigarette use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Validity and reliability of the cigarette purchase task when participant cigarette consumption is unconstrained.
Hypothetical purchase tasks offer effective and efficient methods to assess the reinforcing value of various substances, including cigarettes. The purpose of the present study is to examine the validity and reliability of the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT) in an experimental arrangement in which participants were receiving free cigarettes. Critical to the validity of the CPT is that those who smoke can accurately estimate how much they would smoke under varying economic constraints. Participants (N = 9) were provided free study cigarettes for 8 weeks. Participants completed the CPT once weekly. To examine the validity of the five CPT demand indices (i.e., demand intensity, Pmax, Omax, breakpoint, and α), we used a simple linear regression stratified by session number to model which of the five CPT demand indices were associated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day during Week 1 of the experiment. Significant associations in the hypothesized direction were noted across the five CPT indices, with the evidence for validity greatest for intensity, followed by Omax, Pmax, breakpoint, and α. To examine CPT test–retest reliability, we estimated interclass correlation coefficients between Sessions 1 and 4 and Sessions 5 and 8. All but one interclass correlation coefficient supported “good” or “excellent” reliability, with the only exception seen with the α index between Sessions 1 and 4, which was moderate reliability. Collectively, these results provide evidence supporting the construct validity and temporal stability/reliability of the CPT demand indices under conditions of limited economic constraint. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting among persons who use e-cigarettes.
There has been an alarming increase in e-cigarette dependence among young adults, many of whom would like to quit vaping nicotine but are finding it difficult to do so. Episodic future thinking (EFT), a cognitive intervention involving imagining future events, has been shown to reduce cigarette craving, demand intensity, and self-administration among cigarette smokers but has not been tested with e-cigarette users. This study tested if a brief EFT intervention decreases delay discounting and smoking choice using a within-subjects experimental design administered via Zoom. Daily young adult e-cigarette users attended a baseline session and two counterbalanced experimental sessions: (a) EFT in which participants preexperienced and described positive future events and (b) standardized episodic thinking, a control intervention in which participants described their experiences watching three short videos. Measures of craving, mood, and delay discounting across three commodities: Money, e-cigarette products, and food were completed pre- and postmanipulation. As predicted, monetary delay discounting showed a greater decrease following EFT relative to standardized episodic thinking (p = .006; ηp² = .229). There were no effects on craving or mood. Participants also completed a 40-min vaping versus money choice task. Approximately 70% of participants chose to abstain for the full 40 min after EFT compared to 60% after the control condition, a nonsignificant difference (p = .184). Additional research is needed to support the efficacy of EFT as an intervention for helping e-cigarette users increase their ability to abstain. The study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting experimental research on e-cigarettes in a virtual setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Undervaluing nondrug rewards or overvaluing cocaine? Cocaine demand relates to cocaine use severity more strongly than anhedonia in individuals with cocaine use disorder.
Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a major public health issue, and greater cocaine use severity has been associated with worse treatment retention and outcomes. Therefore, greater understanding of processes that influence cocaine use is needed. Both anhedonia (i.e., undervaluation of nondrug rewards) and cocaine demand (i.e., cocaine valuation) are related to cocaine use severity and thematically related to each other at face value, but no studies have directly compared these outcomes to our knowledge. The present study represents a secondary analysis from a two-phase sequential, multiple assignment, randomized trial aimed at developing adaptive interventions for CUD. We examined the relationship between anhedonia and cocaine demand and how these measures were related to cocaine use severity. Participants (N = 116) were treatment-seeking adults with CUD. All measures were taken at baseline before treatment initiation. Analyses revealed (a) moderate and very strong evidence of relationships between cocaine demand factors (i.e., persistence, amplitude) and anhedonia (PP values ≥ 77.8%); (b) positive association between cocaine demand (both persistence and amplitude) and measures of cocaine use severity, with the exception of one relationship, which was in the opposite direction; and (c) demand amplitude continued to be positively related to cocaine use severity, even when considering anhedonia. Overall, findings from this study indicate cocaine demand relates to cocaine use severity more strongly than anhedonia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Opioid Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (OPBSS): Development and psychometric evaluation.
Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are behaviors that individuals use to mitigate harm related to risky behaviors. Though measures have been validated to assess alcohol- and cannabis-specific PBS use, an opioid-specific PBS measure has yet to be validated. The present study developed and validated a tool to assess the extent of PBS employed by individuals who use licit and/or illicit opioids. We recruited a community sample of adults who endorsed past-month opioid use (n = 345) via online platforms to complete a baseline survey, and 277 participants (80.2%) also completed the 1-month follow-up survey. From PBS measures of other substances, harm reduction strategies found in the literature, and expert feedback, we developed the 60-item Opioid Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale (OPBSS). We removed 14 items based on item and exploratory factor analyses, resulting in 46 retained items. A two-factor solution was supported: strategies focused on managing opioid use (Controlled Opioid Use) and preventing opioid-related harm (Serious Harm Reduction). The OPBSS subscales demonstrated high internal consistencies, fair-to-excellent test–retest reliability, significant positive associations with PBS measures for other substances, and robust associations with risky opioid use and opioid-related negative consequences, both concurrently and prospectively when controlling for other opioid characteristics. The 46-item OPBSS has promising psychometric properties. Importantly, more opioid PBS predicted less risky opioid use and related consequences, suggesting that opioid PBS may be a beneficial opioid prevention effort. However, additional psychometric work is needed to determine which PBS are most suitable for populations with distinct opioid use patterns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Naturalistic substance use before/during MTurk research participation is associated with increased substance demand and craving.
Although crowdsourcing platforms are widely used in substance-use research, it is unclear what percentage of participants use substances at the time of participation and how this might affect data quality, behavioral outcomes, or decision making. We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected on MTurk for a two-session, within-subject experiment recruiting individuals who regularly use alcohol, cannabis, cigarettes, or opioids. We analyzed 527 observations collected across two sessions (Session 1: n = 303, Session 2: n = 224) on measures of substance use before (within 3 hr)/during participation, data quality, demand in hypothetical purchase tasks, delay discounting, and craving. Substance use before/during participation was common (35.7%). Some participants reported substance use before/during both (25.4%) or only one (20.1%) of the sessions. Between-subject analyses of the first session data revealed that participants who used substances before/during participation did not differ on quality measures yet were slower to complete the survey. Controlling for individual differences in demographic variables and typical substance use, using a substance before/during participation was associated with increased hypothetical consumption of substances when the substance was free (demand intensity) and higher craving for substances, but not delay discounting. Substance use before/during MTurk participation among individuals who regularly use substances is prevalent and may impact outcome measures or standardization across sessions in repeated measures designs. Several implications have emerged, including statistically or experimentally controlling for substance use occurring before/during participation, which could improve the validity and rigor of online substance use research, and should be considered a part of best practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology - Vol 33, Iss 1