Key Findings
This is a quick summary of the main discovery for each research paper we have published, organized issue by issue. Each key finding is below the article title, with a link to the abstract.
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February 2018
Using Bayes factors to evaluate evidence for no effect: examples from the SIPS project
Scientists who find non-significant results should calculate a Bayes factor to determine if there is evidence for a null hypothesis over an alternative hypothesis or that more data are needed.
Pharmacologically controlled drinking in the treatment of alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorders: a systematic review with direct and network meta-analyses on nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen and topiramate
Evidence is inconclusive for using nalmefene, naltrexone, acamprosate, baclofen or topiramate to control drinking in patients with alcohol dependence or alcohol use disorder.
Associations between adolescent cannabis use and neuropsychological decline: a longitudinal co-twin control study
Adolescent cannabis use does not cause a decline in IQ, even when that use reaches dependence.
New cancer cases in France in 2015 attributable to different levels of alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption in France appears to cause almost 8% of new cancer cases, with light and moderate drinking contributing appreciably to this burden.
Does paying service providers by results improve recovery outcomes for drug misusers in treatment in England?
Drug addiction recovery services in England commissioned on a payment-by-results basis tend to have lower rates of treatment initiation and completion but higher rates of in-treatment abstinence and non-injecting than other services.
Extended-release naltrexone for methamphetamine dependence among men who have sex with men: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
Extended-release naltrexone does not appear to reduce methamphetamine use or sexual risk behaviors among methamphetamine-dependent men who have sex with men.
Ecological momentary analysis of the relations among stressful events, affective reactivity, and smoking among smokers with high versus low depressive symptoms during a quit attempt
Depressed smokers experience more exposure to stress, longer-lasting post-stress affective disturbance and greater risk of smoking relapse after stress than non-depressed smokers.
Luck, come here! Automatic approach tendencies toward gambling cues in moderate- to high-risk gamblers
In the Netherlands, moderate- to high-risk gamblers appear to have a stronger tendency than non-problem gamblers to show an ‘approach’ tendency in a laboratory task to gambling-related pictures compared with neutral pictures. This gambling approach bias has been found to predict persistence in gambling behaviour over time.
Evaluating the mutual pathways among electronic cigarette use, conventional smoking and nicotine dependence
E-cigarette use among young adults is not significantly associated with later conventional smoking, either directly or through nicotine dependence.
Factors moderating the relative effectiveness of varenicline and nicotine replacement therapy in clients using smoking cessation services
In English stop-smoking services, the advantage of varenicline over nicotine replacement therapy is lower in pharmacy and GP settings than in specialist clinics.
Moving alcohol prevention research forward—Part I: introducing a complex systems paradigm
A proposed complex systems paradigm for research into alcohol misuse can transcend limitations of traditional approaches and lead to high-leverage preventive interventions.
Alcohol e-Help: study protocol for a web-based self-help program to reduce alcohol use in adults with drinking patterns considered harmful, hazardous or suggestive of dependence in middle-income countries
If the World Health Organization’s web-based self-help program, Alcohol e-Health, is found to be effective, its potential public health impact in countries with underdeveloped alcohol prevention and alcohol use disorder treatment systems is considerable.
Associations of parental alcohol use disorders and parental separation with offspring initiation of alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use and sexual debut in high-risk families
Parental alcohol use disorders and parental separation predict increased risk of early alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use and sexual debut in offspring from high-risk families.
Moving alcohol prevention research forward—Part II: new directions grounded in community-based system dynamics modeling
Community-based system dynamics modeling can provide powerful tools for policy and intervention decisions in alcohol misuse prevention.