Legacy Gambling Harms: What Happens Once the Gambling Stops?
This article reviews current research that investigates legacy harms; the types of legacy harm, how long they last and whether evidence suggests these harms are real or instead imagined injuries or reflections on past regrets.Recent FindingsLegacy harms to individuals can be broadly categorised as including financial, relationship, emotional/psychological, health, culture, work/study and criminal/deviance harms. In addition, legacy harms affect entire communities by drawing funds and social capital away from vulnerable communities, leaving them socially, culturally and materially impoverished. Most legacy harms that accrue...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - August 17, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Helpful or Harmful? The Therapeutic Potential of Medications with Varying Degrees of Abuse Liability in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review summarizes recent clinical trial research on pharmacological treatments for substance use disorders, with a specific focus on agents with potential abuse liability.Recent FindingsPharmacological treatments for substance use disorders may include gabapentinoids, baclofen, modafinil, ketamine, cannabinoids, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, and psychedelics. Gabapentinoids may decrease negative subjective effects of withdrawal in alcohol and cannabis use disorders. Cannabinoids similarly appear to decrease use and withdrawal symptoms in cannabis use disorder, while research shows stimulant medicatio...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - August 15, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Food Addiction: a Deep Dive into ‘Loss of Control’ and ‘Craving’
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe majority of existing research discusses food addiction (FA) classification, which provides information for different groups and which groups may or may not be affected to differing degrees. Fewer studies report FA symptom scores, and fewer still report on individual symptoms. This paper discusses the symptoms of craving and loss of control as they are common FA symptoms that demonstrate similarities with both substance use disorders and some eating disorder pathology.Recent FindingsLoss of control presents parallels with disordered eating, particularly binge eating disorder. Craving refers to t...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 28, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Regulating Gambling-Like Video Game Loot Boxes: a Public Health Framework Comparing Industry Self-Regulation, Existing National Legal Approaches, and Other Potential Approaches
AbstractPurpose of ReviewLoot boxes are gambling-like monetisation mechanics in video games that are purchased for opportunities to obtain randomised in-game rewards. Gambling regulation is increasingly being informed by insights from public health. Despite conceptual similarities between loot boxes and gambling, there is much less international consensus on loot box regulation. Various approaches to regulating loot boxes are reviewed via a public health framework that highlights various trade-offs between individual liberties and harm prevention.Recent FindingsMany countries have considered regulation, but as yet only a f...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 26, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Factors that Impact the Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Effects of Cannabis: a Review of Human Laboratory Studies
AbstractPurpose of ReviewWith cannabis legalization expanding throughout the world, an unprecedented number of people now have access to legal cannabis. This expanded legalization has also created an extensive retail market that includes a litany of cannabis products, which vary on factors such as chemical profile (i.e., chemotype), formulation, and intended route of administration. Despite increases in cannabis access and product variety, research on the effects of product and user characteristics on drug effect profiles is limited.Recent FindingsControlled laboratory studies are important because they can reveal what fac...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 26, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
An Investigation Into the Social Profiles of Drug-Addicted Adolescents in Turkey
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe study aims to examine the relationship between crime rates among drug-addicted adolescents and personal, social, and familial factors as well as street and school factors. The participants included 713 male drug-addicted adolescents who had received residential treatment at a psychiatry clinic between 2013 and 2020. The “Patient Medical History Form” created by the experts of the clinic was used as a data collection tool. The binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine significant predictive variables increasing the probability of drug-addicted adolescents to be included ...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 26, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Online Communities and Gambling Behaviors — a Systematic Review
This study reviews evidence from the latest research examining the role of online communities in gambling behaviors and gambling problems.Recent FindingsA systematic literature search resulted in 17 studies. Research shows that online communities are used for diverse reasons like discussing gambling experiences and problems, sharing tips, and celebrating winnings with others. These reasons of online community use can have both adaptive and maladaptive implications. Online gambling communities often grow through social means by inviting friends or social media contacts to join. Active users of online gambling communities ar...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 25, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Dweck ’s Mindset Theory Applied to Addictions: a Scoping Review
AbstractPurpose of reviewMindset theory has been applied to a wide range of educational and health topics, and more recently, to addictions. The present preregistered scoping review was conducted, following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, in order to answer three questions: (1) To what extent has mindset theory literature been linked to addiction research (including substance addiction and behavioral addiction)? (2) What interventional tools based on mindset theory have been used, in this context, in order to improve patients ’ health, and to what effects? (3) What gaps and limitations exist in today’s literature, and where...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 19, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Preliminary Evidence that Tolerance and Withdrawal Occur in Response to Ultra-processed Foods
AbstractPurpose of ReviewFood addiction posits that the nature of ultra-processed food (UPF) contributes to addiction. Tolerance and withdrawal are core addiction symptoms that have received little attention in the food addiction literature. This review aimed to summarize evidence for tolerance and withdrawal in the UPF context.Recent FindingsFollowing repeated UPF consumption, animals show mesolimbic dopamine receptor downregulation and behavioral changes consistent with tolerance. Humans show weaker neural reward responses to UPF following frequent consumption. Following abstinence from UPF after heavy consumption, anima...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 13, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
A Review of Behavioral Interventions for Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCompulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) is a new diagnosis included in theInternational Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11). Interventions have been developed to address CSBD-related issues. We sought to review findings from recently published behavioral interventions for CSBD.Recent FindingsNine clinical trials met criteria for inclusion in our review. Each intervention was associated with decreases in CSBD symptoms. Intervention formats differed considerably. Acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy were the most common overarching conceptual approaches....
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 12, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Reward Responsiveness, Learning, and Valuation Implicated in Problematic Pornography Use — a Research Domain Criteria Perspective
AbstractPurpose of ReviewProblematic pornography use (PPU) describes a pattern of behavior characterized by excessive time spent using or thinking about pornography and continued use despite negative consequences. To help advance the understanding of transdiagnostic underlying psychological and neurobiological mechanisms in PPU, we aim to review existing evidence on these mechanisms focusing on positive valence systems within the transdiagnostic Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework.Recent FindingsReward anticipation processes seem to be increased in individuals with PPU symptoms when they anticipate sexual stimuli com...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 11, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Defining Risky Use in the Context of Food Addiction
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis narrative review examined literature on the risky use diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders as applied to ultra-processed food addiction. Empirical research on the rates of risky use in humans and evidence from animal models are reviewed. Theoretical considerations for conceptualizing the risky use criteria in food addiction and areas for future research are also discussed.Recent FindingsRates of risky use, based on the Yale Food Addiction Scale, are heterogenous across studies, though elevated in clinical samples with disordered eating. Issues regarding operational definitions of ri...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 8, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Impact of Food Addiction in Therapy Response in Obesity and Eating Disorders
AbstractRecent FindingsFood Addiction (FA) is frequently observed in populations with obesity, and in eating disorders (ED) related to binge behaviours. However, the influence of FA in the treatment outcome of these conditions has been poorly explored.Purpose of the ReviewThe aim of this review, is to reflect the influence of FA in the response to treatment, and other factors with it that could be related, in order to present treatment proposals and future research lines.SummaryFA have been found to have a role in treatment outcome of obesity and ED patients, being as a predictive variable or as a mediator one. For those p...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - June 27, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Cannabis and Pregnancy: Factors Associated with Cannabis Use Among Pregnant Women and the Consequences for Offspring Neurodevelopment and Early Postpartum Parenting Behavior
AbstractPurpose of reviewTo provide a narrative summary of the epidemiology of prenatal cannabis use, the known reasons for use, the effects of in utero cannabis exposure on offspring neurodevelopment and impact on mother-infant attachment.Recent findingsCompelling evidence from human imaging studies suggest that in utero cannabis exposure disrupts early brain development and has long-term behavioral consequences for the offspring. Maternal postpartum cannabis use may diminish the maternal-infant bonding process and quality of caregiving.SummaryThe combination of increasing trends in prenatal cannabis use, low perceived ri...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - June 16, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Effects of Cannabis on PTSD Recovery: Review of the Literature and Clinical Insights
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIndividuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may use cannabis to reduce symptoms yet are also at risk for developing problematic use. This review outlines theories, summarizes recent empirical studies, and discusses clinical implications of cannabis use and PTSD recovery.Recent FindingsAlthough naturalistic studies and open trials find a relationship between cannabinoids and PTSD symptom reduction, methodological limitations preclude definitive conclusions. The only randomized controlled trial to date found cannabis had no greater effect on PTSD symptoms than placebo.SummaryRigorous studie...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - June 15, 2022 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
