Supervisors: Laura Juliano, Ph.D., David Gorelick, M.D., Ph.D., Debra Furr-Holden, Ph.D., William Latimer, Ph.D., MPH, Geetha Subramaniam, MD, and Thomas Brandon, Ph.D.
Background: Young adults are increasingly using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The ... more Background: Young adults are increasingly using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The standard ENDS device involves an electric coil that heats a wick to vaporize an e-liquid solution. “Dripping” is another method that involves applying e-liquid directly to the coil. Dripping increases risk of harmful toxic compounds in vapor aerosols. Despite evidence of high levels of dripping among adolescents, young adult prevalence is unknown. Methods: Young adults aged 18 to 24 completed an online survey assessing vaping and dripping status, type of devices used, tobacco use, and vaping expectancies. Among ever-vapers, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models assessed whether demographics predicted dripping and use of dripping devices. Multivariate Analysis of Variance compared never- and ever-drippers on expectancies for vaping outcomes. Results: Over 2 in 5 young adult ever-vapers (43.7%) reported dripping. A multivariate regression model found that male gender (AOR ...
Cigarette smoking is common among patients in cocaine and opioid dependence treatment, and may in... more Cigarette smoking is common among patients in cocaine and opioid dependence treatment, and may influence treatment outcome. We addressed this issue in a secondary analysis of data from an outpatient clinical trial of buprenorphine treatment for concurrent cocaine and opioid dependence (13 weeks, N= 200).
The current study uses structural equation modeling to investigate factors associated with alcoho... more The current study uses structural equation modeling to investigate factors associated with alcohol initiation and injection heroin use. Baseline data from the NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic Study in Baltimore, Maryland, were used. Participants were 404 injection heroin users (M(age) = 32.72) with a history of regular injection in their lifetime. Latent variables were created for self-reported school problems and academic failure. The final model indicated that greater school problems were associated with earlier alcohol initiation (ß = -0.22, p < .001) and earlier alcohol initiation was associated with greater frequency of recent heroin use (ß = -0.12, p < .05). Academic failure was directly related to greater frequency of recent heroin injection (ß = 0.15, p < .01). The results expand research investigating the relationship between adolescent behavior and illicit drug use in adulthood.
Disordered neighborhood environments are associated with crime, drug use, and poor health outcome... more Disordered neighborhood environments are associated with crime, drug use, and poor health outcomes. However, research utilizing objective instruments to characterize the neighborhood environment is lacking. This investigation examines the relationship between objective measures of neighborhood disorder and juvenile drug arrests (JDAs) in an urban locale. The neighborhood disorder scale was developed using indicators from the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology (NIfETy) instrument; a valid and reliable tool that assesses physical and social disorder. Data on 3146 JDAs from 2006 were obtained from the police department. Negative binomial regression models revealed a significant association between neighborhood disorder and the count of JDAs in the neighborhood (β == .34, p < .001). The relationship between neighborhood disorder and JDAs remained significant after adjusting for percent African-Americans in the neighborhood (β == .24, p < .001). This preliminary investigation identified a positive and statistically significant relationship between an objective measure of neighborhood disorder and JDAs. Future investigations should examine strategies to reduce drug-related crime by addressing the larger neighborhood and social context in which drug involvement and crime occurs.
Previous literature has examined natural remission rates from problematic drinking in the general... more Previous literature has examined natural remission rates from problematic drinking in the general population, but not in heroin and cocaine users. This study is a cross-sectional, retrospective study of the baseline data from the Baltimore site of the NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic Study focusing on self-reported substance use. It is one of the first efforts to identify levels of drinking severity and natural recovery in this population and explores possible rationales for the differences between conditions from non-clinical samples. The ...
Regardless of actual nicotine content, expectations about the nicotine content of a cigarette inf... more Regardless of actual nicotine content, expectations about the nicotine content of a cigarette influence the rewarding subjective effects of smoking, and may even affect cognitive performance. These effects are theorized to be mediated by beliefs about effects of cigarette smoking, or response expectancies. However, few studies have directly manipulated response expectancies. Understanding the effects of such manipulations could improve effectiveness of nicotine-dependence treatments and medications. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, cigarette smokers (N = 80) smoked either a nicotine or a placebo (denicotinized) cigarette crossed with instructions that the cigarette would either enhance or impair cognitive and motor performance. As predicted, participants in the "told enhance" condition reported significantly greater beliefs that nicotine had beneficial effects on performance than those in the "told impair" condition. Compared to those "told impair," those "told enhance" reported more psychological reward, enjoyable physical sensations, and craving reduction from the cigarette, as well as greater motivation to perform well on a cognitive task. Relative to placebo cigarettes, nicotine cigarettes produced greater reports of satisfaction, craving reduction, and dizziness. Smoking a nicotine cigarette produced better performance on the Rapid Visual Information Processing Task, a test of sustained attention; but the expectancy manipulation had no effect. These data suggest that response expectancies can be experimentally manipulated and can influence perceived rewarding effects of cigarette smoking, but do not appear to affect cognitive performance. These findings add to our understanding of the benefits and limitations of expectancy manipulations, both experimentally and as a treatment technique.
This study investigated the independent and interactive effects of caffeine pharmacology and expe... more This study investigated the independent and interactive effects of caffeine pharmacology and expected effects of caffeine on performance and subjective outcomes. Abstinent coffee drinkers (n = 60) consumed decaffeinated coffee with either 280 mg or 0 mg added caffeine. Caffeine dose was crossed with varying instructions that the coffee would either enhance or impair performance in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Performance, mood, caffeine withdrawal, and negative somatic effects were assessed. Relative to placebo, caffeine improved reaction time and accuracy on the rapid visual information processing task, a measure of vigilance. However, there was a significant dose by expectancy interaction that revealed that among participants given placebo coffee, "impair" instructions produced better performance than "enhance" instructions. Caffeine also improved psychomotor performance as indicated by a finger tapping task with no main effects of expectancy or interactions. Impair instructions produced greater reports of negative somatic effects than enhance instructions, but only when caffeine was administered. Manipulating the expected effects of caffeine altered the behavioral and subjective effects of caffeine. A significant dose by expectancy interaction revealed a somewhat paradoxical outcome in the placebo conditions whereby those told "impair" performed better than those told "enhance." This may reflect compensatory responding as has been observed in similar studies using alcohol (Fillmore et al. Psychopharmacology 115:383-388, 1994). Impair instructions led to greater negative somatic effects only when caffeine was administered supporting the active placebo hypothesis.
Background: Young adults are increasingly using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The ... more Background: Young adults are increasingly using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The standard ENDS device involves an electric coil that heats a wick to vaporize an e-liquid solution. “Dripping” is another method that involves applying e-liquid directly to the coil. Dripping increases risk of harmful toxic compounds in vapor aerosols. Despite evidence of high levels of dripping among adolescents, young adult prevalence is unknown. Methods: Young adults aged 18 to 24 completed an online survey assessing vaping and dripping status, type of devices used, tobacco use, and vaping expectancies. Among ever-vapers, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models assessed whether demographics predicted dripping and use of dripping devices. Multivariate Analysis of Variance compared never- and ever-drippers on expectancies for vaping outcomes. Results: Over 2 in 5 young adult ever-vapers (43.7%) reported dripping. A multivariate regression model found that male gender (AOR ...
Cigarette smoking is common among patients in cocaine and opioid dependence treatment, and may in... more Cigarette smoking is common among patients in cocaine and opioid dependence treatment, and may influence treatment outcome. We addressed this issue in a secondary analysis of data from an outpatient clinical trial of buprenorphine treatment for concurrent cocaine and opioid dependence (13 weeks, N= 200).
The current study uses structural equation modeling to investigate factors associated with alcoho... more The current study uses structural equation modeling to investigate factors associated with alcohol initiation and injection heroin use. Baseline data from the NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic Study in Baltimore, Maryland, were used. Participants were 404 injection heroin users (M(age) = 32.72) with a history of regular injection in their lifetime. Latent variables were created for self-reported school problems and academic failure. The final model indicated that greater school problems were associated with earlier alcohol initiation (ß = -0.22, p < .001) and earlier alcohol initiation was associated with greater frequency of recent heroin use (ß = -0.12, p < .05). Academic failure was directly related to greater frequency of recent heroin injection (ß = 0.15, p < .01). The results expand research investigating the relationship between adolescent behavior and illicit drug use in adulthood.
Disordered neighborhood environments are associated with crime, drug use, and poor health outcome... more Disordered neighborhood environments are associated with crime, drug use, and poor health outcomes. However, research utilizing objective instruments to characterize the neighborhood environment is lacking. This investigation examines the relationship between objective measures of neighborhood disorder and juvenile drug arrests (JDAs) in an urban locale. The neighborhood disorder scale was developed using indicators from the Neighborhood Inventory for Environmental Typology (NIfETy) instrument; a valid and reliable tool that assesses physical and social disorder. Data on 3146 JDAs from 2006 were obtained from the police department. Negative binomial regression models revealed a significant association between neighborhood disorder and the count of JDAs in the neighborhood (β == .34, p < .001). The relationship between neighborhood disorder and JDAs remained significant after adjusting for percent African-Americans in the neighborhood (β == .24, p < .001). This preliminary investigation identified a positive and statistically significant relationship between an objective measure of neighborhood disorder and JDAs. Future investigations should examine strategies to reduce drug-related crime by addressing the larger neighborhood and social context in which drug involvement and crime occurs.
Previous literature has examined natural remission rates from problematic drinking in the general... more Previous literature has examined natural remission rates from problematic drinking in the general population, but not in heroin and cocaine users. This study is a cross-sectional, retrospective study of the baseline data from the Baltimore site of the NEURO-HIV Epidemiologic Study focusing on self-reported substance use. It is one of the first efforts to identify levels of drinking severity and natural recovery in this population and explores possible rationales for the differences between conditions from non-clinical samples. The ...
Regardless of actual nicotine content, expectations about the nicotine content of a cigarette inf... more Regardless of actual nicotine content, expectations about the nicotine content of a cigarette influence the rewarding subjective effects of smoking, and may even affect cognitive performance. These effects are theorized to be mediated by beliefs about effects of cigarette smoking, or response expectancies. However, few studies have directly manipulated response expectancies. Understanding the effects of such manipulations could improve effectiveness of nicotine-dependence treatments and medications. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, cigarette smokers (N = 80) smoked either a nicotine or a placebo (denicotinized) cigarette crossed with instructions that the cigarette would either enhance or impair cognitive and motor performance. As predicted, participants in the "told enhance" condition reported significantly greater beliefs that nicotine had beneficial effects on performance than those in the "told impair" condition. Compared to those "told impair," those "told enhance" reported more psychological reward, enjoyable physical sensations, and craving reduction from the cigarette, as well as greater motivation to perform well on a cognitive task. Relative to placebo cigarettes, nicotine cigarettes produced greater reports of satisfaction, craving reduction, and dizziness. Smoking a nicotine cigarette produced better performance on the Rapid Visual Information Processing Task, a test of sustained attention; but the expectancy manipulation had no effect. These data suggest that response expectancies can be experimentally manipulated and can influence perceived rewarding effects of cigarette smoking, but do not appear to affect cognitive performance. These findings add to our understanding of the benefits and limitations of expectancy manipulations, both experimentally and as a treatment technique.
This study investigated the independent and interactive effects of caffeine pharmacology and expe... more This study investigated the independent and interactive effects of caffeine pharmacology and expected effects of caffeine on performance and subjective outcomes. Abstinent coffee drinkers (n = 60) consumed decaffeinated coffee with either 280 mg or 0 mg added caffeine. Caffeine dose was crossed with varying instructions that the coffee would either enhance or impair performance in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Performance, mood, caffeine withdrawal, and negative somatic effects were assessed. Relative to placebo, caffeine improved reaction time and accuracy on the rapid visual information processing task, a measure of vigilance. However, there was a significant dose by expectancy interaction that revealed that among participants given placebo coffee, "impair" instructions produced better performance than "enhance" instructions. Caffeine also improved psychomotor performance as indicated by a finger tapping task with no main effects of expectancy or interactions. Impair instructions produced greater reports of negative somatic effects than enhance instructions, but only when caffeine was administered. Manipulating the expected effects of caffeine altered the behavioral and subjective effects of caffeine. A significant dose by expectancy interaction revealed a somewhat paradoxical outcome in the placebo conditions whereby those told "impair" performed better than those told "enhance." This may reflect compensatory responding as has been observed in similar studies using alcohol (Fillmore et al. Psychopharmacology 115:383-388, 1994). Impair instructions led to greater negative somatic effects only when caffeine was administered supporting the active placebo hypothesis.
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