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Suzanne M Colby

Publications and source records attributed to Suzanne M Colby.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

The Smoking Effects Questionnaire for adult populations. Development and psychometric properties.

Outcome expectancies are central to a social learning model of smoking and of smoking cessation. The Smoking Effects Questionnaire (SEQ) was developed for use in general adult populations. Items were administered to 257 smokers and ex-smokers including worksite employees, hospital visitors, and clients entering smoking cessation treatment. Principal components analysis (PCA) found seven components with good reliability that were reduced into scales of four or five items each with internal consistencies above alpha=.80. The final measure has 33 items. The scales were divided by secondary factor analysis into three negative effect and four positive effect scales. The SEQ showed good construct and concurrent validity in comparison with measures of similar constructs and with other smoking variables. Women expected fewer negative physical effects and attributed more importance to positive stimulating effects from smoking but otherwise were comparable to men in expected effects of smoking. More dependent smokers ascribed more importance to negative physical effects and positive stimulating effects than did less dependent smokers but did not differ significantly on other expectancy domains. Both true/false scoring and importance ratings of effects produced mostly comparable results so that either scoring method could be used. Treatment implications were discussed. This brief scale is likely to be useful in a variety of research and clinical settings.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Naltrexone treatment for alcoholics: effect on cigarette smoking rates.

Naltrexone (NTX), by its pharmacological action in the mesolimbic pathways, should decrease reinforcement from nicotine as well as from alcohol. By means of this mechanism, NTX could result in temporary increases in smoking followed by decreased smoking rates among alcoholics not motivated to quit smoking. The change from pretreatment in smoking rates of 73 recently abstinent alcoholics in a 12-week clinical trial of NTX vs. placebo during alcoholism treatment was compared during 8 of the 12 weeks. Only smokers compliant with NTX were included in the analyses. NTX was associated with decreased smoking at every time point, but the effect was significant at only one time point. When alcohol relapsers were excluded, NTX patients showed decreased smoking at every time point, but the effect was significant at only two time points, a reduction of about five cigarettes per day. When smoking stage of change was included in the analyses, NTX showed no significant main or interaction effects on smoking rate. Precontemplators showed significantly less change in smoking rate than all other patients at the first and last four time points. Therefore, NTX alone currently does not show promise for promoting smoking reduction among recently abstinent alcoholics who have not sought or been given smoking cessation treatment. Further research is needed on possible effects with smokers motivated to quit smoking and on other methods of promoting smoking cessation among alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Evaluating transdisciplinary science.

The past two decades have seen a growing interest and investment in transdisciplinary research teams and centers. The Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURCs) exemplify large-scale scientific collaborations undertaken for the explicit purpose of promoting novel conceptual and methodological integrations bridging two or more fields. Until recently, few efforts have been made to evaluate the collaborative processes, and the scientific and public policy outcomes, of such centers. This manuscript offers a conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating transdisciplinary science and describes two ongoing evaluation studies covering the initial phase of the TTURC initiative. The methods and measures used by these studies are described, and early evaluative findings from the first 4 years of the initiative are presented. These data reveal progress toward intellectual integration within and between several of the TTURCs, and cumulative changes in the collaborative behaviors and values of participants over the course of the initiative. The data also suggest that different centers may follow alternative pathways toward transdisciplinary integration and highlight certain environmental, organizational, and institutional factors that influence each center's readiness for collaboration. Methodological challenges posed by the complexities of evaluating large-scale scientific collaborations (including those that specifically aspire toward transdisciplinary integrations spanning multiple fields) are discussed. Finally, new directions for future evaluative studies of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration, both within and beyond the field of tobacco science, are described.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Prevalence of alcohol and drug use in an adolescent training facility.

This study investigates substance use and crimes among incarcerated adolescents. Chart reviews were conducted between 1997-2000 with 186 adolescent, male offenders, including information on demographics, substance use, and crimes. Results indicate that use of alcohol (88.7%) and marijuana (95.7%) was highly prevalent. The most widely committed crimes included possession of a controlled substance (31.8%), receiving stolen goods (17.8%), and violation of probation (17.2%). Significant differences were observed across racial/ethnic groups; White nonHispanic adolescents were more likely to use cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin than adolescents of other races. Future research examining relationships between criminal behavior, substance use, and cultural variations in use patterns and delinquency will allow more relevant intervention and prevention strategies in this population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Identification and brief treatment of alcohol problems with medical patients: an international perspective.

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium at the 2002 RSA meeting in San Francisco, California. The chair was Peter Monti and co-chair was Nancy Barnett. The aim of the symposium was to bring together researchers from the United States, Sweden, and Mexico to present current findings on the development and implementation of screening and intervention research in Emergency Departments (ED). Cheryl Cherpitel presented findings on the performance of the Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen (RAPS4), a 4-item instrument used for screening for alcohol dependence and harmful drinking in the ED. Dr. Cherpitel also presented for her collaborator, Guilherme Borges, their research on the performance of a number of screening measures including the RAPS among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans with alcohol-related disorders in the ED. Preben Bendtsen described the implementation of an alcohol screening and intervention procedure delivered by ordinary ED staff in Sweden. Nancy Barnett presented data on characteristics related to readiness to change alcohol use in a sample of young adults who were treated in an ED for injury or intoxication.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed2003

Alcohol use and related harm among older adolescents treated in an emergency department: the importance of alcohol status and college status.

OBJECTIVE: Patients treated in an urban emergency department were studied to determine if college status, gender and having alcohol as a reason for medical treatment were related to alcohol use and related problem behaviors. METHOD: Patients ages 18-19 years (N = 250; 55% men) who had or had not been drinking alcohol prior to the event that precipitated their medical treatment were assessed on their alcohol use, alcohol-related problems and drug use. RESULTS: There were high levels of alcohol use, tobacco use and other drug use in the sample, regardless of the reason for medical treatment. Analyses consistently showed that patients treated for alcohol-related reasons had more severe drinking patterns and problems than patients who were alcohol negative. Patients not enrolled in college showed similar patterns of alcohol consumption as their college-attending peers, but bad more severe alcohol-related behaviors and problems. Few gender differences were found and no interactions were found between gender, alcohol status and college status. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that older adolescents who receive medical treatment for alcohol use are not inexperienced drinkers. Furthermore, in this convenience sample, college students did not appear to be at greater risk for substance use or problems. Findings underscore the potential usefulness of alcohol intervention programs for alcohol-involved medical patients, and the need to attend to the alcohol and drug use of nonstudent populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Improving the future of youth smoking cessation.

OBJECTIVES: To provide recommendations that will build a better foundation for research on youth smoking cessation. METHODS: The Youth Tobacco Collaborative Cessation panel evaluated youth tobacco cessation literature and convened meetings to reach consensus. RESULTS: Methodological issues include design, recruitment and retention, follow-up, measurement, and youth vernacular. Research gaps include youth characteristics, theoretical approaches, delivery settings, and type of provider. Thirteen key research components for reporting are addressed. CONCLUSIONS: Given the dearth of studies on youth smoking cessation, scientifically rigorous studies need to be conducted with attention to methodological issues, research gaps, and reporting of key research components.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Methodological issues in measuring treatment outcome in adolescent smoking cessation studies.

As the prevalence of adolescent smoking and, notably, regular smoking has increased over the last decade, researchers and practitioners have called for a consideration of treatment programs to promote cessation among adolescents who smoke. The adolescent smoking cessation treatment field is still in its infancy, though. The literature addressing adolescent cessation is rather limited to date, often plagued by methodological problems and characterized by little success. Many basic methodological questions remain for researchers to address before we will be able to answer questions such as which treatment approaches work best for which adolescent smokers. The purpose of this paper is to review briefly what is known about adolescent smoking cessation, to identify some important methodological issues to consider in treatment outcome studies, and to make recommendations to researchers to help provide a common ground for future comparisons of results across studies. We will address the natural history of adolescent smoking cessation, treatment outcomes, validity of self-reports and biochemical validation, and research recommendations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Potential biases in case detection of alcohol involvement among adolescents in an emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors associated with physician decisions to test for alcohol involvement in adolescents treated in an emergency department (ED) and to examine patient and event characteristics associated with being identified as alcohol positive, either by testing or by clinical examination. METHODS: Medical chart reviews were conducted for all adolescent patients (n = 9,660; age range, 13-19 y) treated over a 1-year period in a Level I regional trauma center/ED. RESULTS: Among all 9,660 patients in the ED, 298 (3.1%) were identified as alcohol positive by test or clinical examination. Of the 9,660 patients, 464 (4.8%) were tested for alcohol, and 49% of these had alcohol-positive test results. Physicians were more likely to order alcohol tests when patients were male, older, injured, and treated during the overnight shift or on weekends. Testing was most common for suicide attempts, motor vehicle crashes, assaults, and intoxication. Patients being treated for an illness or for occupational or athletic injuries were rarely tested. A large proportion of alcohol-related treatment was for intoxicated, uninjured patients, whose profile was different (ie, younger, more often female, with higher blood alcohol concentrations, and admission distributed more evenly across ED shifts). CONCLUSIONS: Case detection rates for alcohol involvement may be biased and inflated when based on physician decisions to test for alcohol use. Rates based on comprehensive chart reviews and clinical examination may be better estimates but are also subject to methodologic limitations. Universal screening would yield the most accurate estimates of alcohol prevalence and would provide more accurate guidance to physicians regarding when to test for alcohol use. Universal screening as a clinical standard would help to identify more adolescents who might benefit from additional alcohol use intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Response distortion in adolescents who smoke: a pilot study.

A wide range of data are obtained with self-report. Information obtained from persons using substances is generally reliable and valid, however, many studies show that some proportion of self-reports regarding substance use are inaccurate. This study examines self-reported response distortion in adolescents who received a brief intervention to reduce their smoking. Findings indicate that age and ethnicity of respondent may influence reported response distortion. Factors that appear to influence under- and over-reporting include social desirability and fear of repercussion. Response distortion does not appear to affect rated usefulness of the intervention, nor does intervention type appear to influence whether respondents thought the researcher wanted them to report less use. Results point to the need for further research regarding adolescents and response distortion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Alcohol use disorders identification test: factor structure in an adolescent emergency department sample.

BACKGROUND: This study examined whether the factor structure of a modified version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) represented the three intended conceptual domains of consumption, dependence symptoms, and alcohol-related consequences in an adolescent sample. Additionally, the utility of factor-specific cut scores in identifying patients with DSM-IV alcohol diagnoses was investigated. METHODS: Adolescents treated for an injury in an emergency department and who reported alcohol use in the last year (n = 173; 57% male, 72% white) constituted the study sample. A modified version of the AUDIT and the alcohol section of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children were administered. The AUDIT's factor structure was determined by confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory principal components analysis. Factor-specific cut scores that identified adolescents with a DSM-IV alcohol diagnosis were determined by using receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS: A two-factor model representing consumption and dependence/consequences provided the best fit to the data. A cut score of 3 on the consumption factor and a cut score of 1 on the dependence/consequences factor demonstrated optimal performance in identifying patients with alcohol diagnoses. The consumption factor had better overall performance compared with the dependence/consequences factor, and it had similar overall performance compared with the AUDIT total score. CONCLUSIONS: The AUDIT comprised two correlated factors: consumption and dependence/consequences. The better performance of the consumption factor in detecting adolescents with DSM-IV alcohol diagnoses suggests the utility of including consumption items in brief alcohol screens used with adolescents. Results also indicate the need to identify developmentally appropriate alcohol-related problems to enhance screening performance among adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Treating adolescents together or individually? Issues in adolescent substance abuse interventions.

This article summarizes the proceedings of a symposium, chaired by Peter Monti and cochaired by Tracy O'Leary, that was presented at the 2001 RSA Meeting in Montreal, Quebec. The aim of this symposium was to present data on group- and individual-based interventions for adolescent alcohol and substance abuse, with a discussion of the implications of research findings bearing on developmental considerations when working with adolescents and young adults. Elizabeth J. D'Amico, PhD, reviewed recent findings on adolescents' choice of type of substance abuse treatment. Jennifer L. Maggs, PhD, presented a developmental perspective on this issue. Tracy O'Leary, PhD, presented data on enhancing motivational interviewing with the presence of a supportive peer for college students cited for alcohol infractions. Mary E. Larimer, PhD, presented 1-year follow-up results of the Greeks 2000 Project, a 5-year longitudinal study designed to evaluate the efficacy of an alcohol abuse prevention program provided to college students who were entering a pledge class (first year) of Greek houses. Barbara McCrady, PhD, a noted expert on the treatment of couples for substance abuse problems, served as discussant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Predictors of motivation to change after medical treatment for drinking-related events in adolescents.

Characteristics associated with intention to change drinking were examined in 254 adolescents treated in an emergency department for alcohol. Younger age, living at home, lower baseline level of drinking and drinking problems, greater depression, having penalties for breaking family drinking rules, higher injury severity, being frightened, and being admitted to the hospital predicted greater intention to change drinking at the time of the event. Baseline characteristics related to being in the action stage of change 3 months later were younger age; lower drinking; having penalties for breaking family drinking rules; injury severity; and number of anticipated consequences, including being in trouble with parents. This study has implications for brief interventions that capitalize on potential teachable moments with problem-drinking adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Does alcohol use mediate the association between alcohol evaluations and alcohol-related problems in adolescents?

Alcohol use becomes more frequent during adolescence, with the percentage of youth who drink doubling from 8th grade to 12th grade. The escalation in drinking behavior during adolescence is often associated with increased problems and other risk behavior, such as drunk driving. In this study, adolescents (N = 557) were recruited from an emergency department to assess their alcohol use, positive and negative evaluations about alcohol, driving after drinking, and problems experienced from drinking. Analyses explored the mediational role of drinking behavior between adolescents' evaluations and problems from drinking and between evaluations and driving after drinking. The findings indicated that drinking behavior partially mediated the association between positive evaluations and problems experienced from drinking but did not mediate the association between evaluations and drunk driving.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Depressive symptoms and readiness to quit smoking among cigarette smokers in outpatient alcohol treatment.

The authors examined whether length of alcohol abstinence and depressive symptoms were related to motivational readiness to consider smoking cessation among patients in alcohol treatment. Participants were adults (N = 253) enrolled in a smoking cessation trial. Controlling for gender, depressive symptoms, and nicotine dependence, hierarchical regression analysis of readiness scores revealed a significant interaction of days since last drink and depressive symptoms. It was found that a greater number of days since last drink was associated with greater readiness, but only among patients with low scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (L. S. Radloff, 1977). The findings suggest that alcoholic smokers with low depressive symptoms are more receptive to quitting smoking after sustained alcohol abstinence.

Adult↗