Binge-Watching: What Do we Know So Far? A First Systematic Review of the Evidence
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAlong with the expansion of on-demand viewing technology, the practice of binge-watching (i.e., watching multiple episodes of TV series back-to-back) has recently gained increasing research interest, given its potential harmfulness and presumed addictive characteristics. The present article provides the first systematic review of the evidence regarding this increasingly widespread behavior.Recent FindingsThe results of this systematic review (including 24 studies and 17,545 participants) show that binge-watching remains an ill-defined construct as no consensus exists on its operationalization and m...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - January 15, 2020 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Problematic and Non-problematic Pornography Use and Compulsive Sexual Behaviors Among Understudied Populations: Children and Adolescents
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe aim of the current review is to define problematic and non-problematic pornography use, and to show that this definition is dependent on the perspective that one adopts —mental health, feminist, and/or religious.Recent FindingsThe definition of problematic and non-problematic pornography use among adolescents is highly dependent on perspective. Pornography use is not reliably linked with mental health problems. However, pornography use is linked with objectification processes, sexual permissiveness, and risky sexual behavior. The current review suggests that to define pornography use as probl...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - January 12, 2020 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Bariatric Surgery as a Treatment for Food Addiction? A Review of the Literature
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this literature review is to explore a potentially controversial hypothesis – that bariatric surgery could be used as a “treatment” for food addiction.Recent FindingsTwo small studies have examined food addiction pre- and post-bariatric surgery and suggest that the prevalence of symptoms is reduced within the first-year post-operatively. Many physiological, metabolic, and neurobiological changes occur following bariatric surgery. Theoretically, these changes that modify the factors associated with obesity and eating behaviors related to obesity could also impact food addiction ...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - January 10, 2020 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Identifying Early Risk Factors for Addiction Later in Life: a Review of Prospective Longitudinal Studies
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo review prospective longitudinal studies that have identified risk factors for the development of substance use disorders in adulthood from individual differences during childhood and adolescence.Recent FindingsRisk factors during childhood and adolescence that have been consistently linked to increased risk for addiction include externalizing and internalizing symptoms, early substance use, and environmental influences, such as parental behavior and exposure to traumatic experiences.SummarySince the etiology of substance use disorders is complex and likely is attributable to many causal pathways...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - December 11, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Correction to: Gambling and Social Cognition: a Systematic Review
The original article unfortunately contained a mistake. Some references mentioned in Table 1 have been misplaced and not included in the final bibliography. (Source: Current Addiction Reports)
Source: Current Addiction Reports - December 4, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
What Have Been the Public Health Impacts of Cannabis Legalisation in the USA? A Review of Evidence on Adverse and Beneficial Effects
AbstractPurpose of ReviewTo summarise empirical research on the adverse and beneficial public health impacts of cannabis legalisation in states in the USA.Recent FindingsThe most consistent finding from surveys of drug use is that the legalisation of medical cannabis has so far not had an effect on rates of use or cannabis use disorders among youth, but it has increased the frequency of use among adult cannabis users. There are conflicting findings on the impact of legalisation of medical and recreational cannabis use on the following: cannabis use disorders in adults, rates of motor vehicle accidents in which the driver w...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - November 21, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Measuring Within-Individual Cannabis Reduction in Clinical Trials: a Review of the Methodological Challenges
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCannabis abstinence, traditionally, is the primary outcome in cannabis use disorder (CUD) treatment trials. Due to the changing legality of cannabis, patient goals, and preliminary evidence suggesting that individuals who reduce their cannabis use may show functional improvements, cannabis reduction is a desirable alternative outcome in CUD trials. We review challenges in measuring cannabis reduction and the evidence to support various definitions of reduction.Recent FindingsReduction in number of cannabis use days was associated with improvements in functioning across several studies. Reductions i...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - November 18, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Behavioral Treatments for Adolescent Cannabis Use Disorder: a Rationale for Cognitive Retraining
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAdolescent cannabis use represents a significant public health concern. Cannabis experimentation typically begins in adolescence and increases the odds of meeting criteria for cannabis use disorder. Cannabis use disorder is associated with numerous short- and long-term adverse consequences for adolescents, highlighting the critical need for efficacious behavioral treatments. This brief review aims to synthesize the state of the behavioral treatment literature on adolescents with cannabis use disorder and to discuss new pathways to leverage neuroscience to inform novel targets for behavioral interve...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - November 14, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Among Incarcerated Individuals: a Review of the Literature and Focus on Patient Preference
AbstractPurpose of ReviewOpioid use disorder (OUD) is a common diagnosis among incarcerated people. Despite strong evidence for use in correctional facilities, medications for OUD (MOUD) are infrequently used, and when they are, continuity after release is low. Patient preferences regarding treatment in other chronic health conditions can impact outcomes and is an emerging focus in patient-centered research. We review the extent that patient preference is incorporated in MOUD effectiveness studies among incarcerated people and how patient perceptions of MOUD may impact treatment utilization using the Gelberg-Anderson frame...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 27, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
A narrative Overview About Psychosocial Characteristics as Risk Factors of a Problematic Social Networks Use
AbstractPurpose of ReviewSocial networks use disorder describes the problematic use of social networking sites and online-communication applications. Social characteristic of social networks use emphasizes the special relevance of psychosocial factors and social cognitions in this context. The current review aims at summarizing findings on individual psychosocial characteristics to analyze the relevance of social processes as potential mechanisms of a social networks use disorder.Recent FindingsThe empirical overview illustrates that, aside from psychopathological factors, individual psychosocial characteristics and social...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 27, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Determining Risks for Cannabis Use Disorder in the Face of Changing Legal Policies
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review aims to summarize and critically evaluate the current literature on the associations between individual and socio-cultural factors that increase risk for cannabis use disorder (CUD), and policy change.Recent findingsEpidemiological studies show that areas with permissive legal cannabis climates are associated with greater individual risk factors for CUD. This includes (1) higher rates of edible consumption and vaping, (2) higher delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) potency and lower cannabidiol (CBD) levels, and (3) younger age of initiation of use.SummaryA change in the socio-cultural le...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 23, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Problematic and Non-Problematic Pornography Use Among LGBTQ Adolescents: a Systematic Literature Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewPornography use is highly prevalent among adolescents, yet lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents remain an understudied population and knowledge about their pornography use is limited. Therefore, we aimed to provide an overview of LGBTQ adolescents ’ pornography use patterns and compare them with those of heterosexual adolescents.Recent FindingsDespite the fact that there is limited data to draw conclusions, pornography may be viewed at a younger age for LGBTQ girls, be more prevalent, and be more frequent among LGBTQ adolescents than among their heterosexual counterp...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 23, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
A Systematic Review of the Neurocognitive Effects of Cannabis Use in Older Adults
AbstractPurpose of ReviewOlder adults currently represent the fastest growing demographic of cannabis users, yet few studies have investigated the effects of cannabis use on cognitive functioning in aging. We conducted a systematic review of the recent literature examining cognitive outcomes associated with cannabis use in older adults, with and without neurocognitive disorders, to clarify the potential neuroprotective benefits or risks of cognitive decline in this population.Recent FindingsWe identified 26 studies examining cognitive outcomes associated with medical and recreational use of cannabis in healthy aging, demen...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 21, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Cannabis and Anxiety: a Biopsychosocial Model
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe current paper presents a biopsychosocial model of cannabis use and anxiety that focuses explicitly on aspects of anxiety that may contribute to cannabis use and use-related problems among individuals with elevated anxiety.Recent FindingsElevated anxiety and anxiety disorders are common among individuals who use cannabis and those with cannabis use disorder (CUD). One possible explanation for this co-occurrence may be that symptoms associated with anxiety disorders (i.e., physiological arousal, subjective anxiety, and avoidance) may place anxious individuals at risk of using cannabis to cope wit...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 18, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Pediatric Medical Settings
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to examine the impact of the opioid epidemic in adolescents and young adults and recent findings regarding the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) in pediatric medical settings.Recent FindingsExisting guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain in adults are not intended to be applied to adolescents, who arguably may need different interventions that balance the need to mitigate the long-term impact of chronic pain with the need to limit opioid misuse. Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment is an important upstream strategy to prevent opioid misus...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 6, 2019 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
