Relationships Among Factual and Perceived Knowledge of Harms of Waterpipe Tobacco, Perceived Risk, and Desire to Quit Among College Users.

Relationships among Factual and Perceived Knowledge of Harms of Waterpipe Tobacco, Perceived Risk, and Desire to Quit among College Users.

J Health Psychol. 2013 Aug 8;
Lipkus IM, Eissenberg TE, Schwartz-Bloom RD, Prokhorov AV, Levy J

Waterpipe tobacco smoking is increasing in the United States among college students. Through a web-based survey, we explored associations among factual and perceived knowledge, perceived risks and worry about harm and addiction, and desire to quit among 316 college waterpipe tobacco smoking users. Overall, factual knowledge of the harm of waterpipe tobacco smoking was poor, factual and perceived knowledge was weakly correlated, both forms of knowledge were related inconsistently to perceived risks and worry, and neither form of knowledge was associated with the desire to quit. Findings provide preliminary insights as to why knowledge gaps may not predict cessation among waterpipe users. HubMed – addiction

DNA-PKcs Is a Therapeutic Target in ATM-Deficient Tumors.

Cancer Discov. 2013 Aug; 3(8): 835

ATM-defective cancer cells exhibit nononcogene addiction to DNA-PKcs for DSB repair and survival. HubMed – addiction

Mediation and Moderation Effects of an In-Home Family Intervention: the “In control: No alcohol!” Pilot Study.

Prev Sci. 2013 Aug 9;
Vermeulen-Smit E, Mares SH, Verdurmen JE, Van der Vorst H, Schulten IG, Engels RC, Vollebergh WA

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a theory-based in-home family intervention (In control: No alcohol!) on adolescent alcohol cognitions via its putative mediators using a randomized controlled design. In the South Holland region of the Netherlands, a total of 213 children (11-12 years) and their mothers were randomly assigned to the prevention program (108 dyads) and the control condition (105 dyads). Mediation effects were analyzed using pretest and two follow-up measurements (5 and 12 months after baseline). A path model was estimated (using Mplus) to examine the effect of the intervention on the putative mediators (frequency- and quality of mother-child communication, rules about alcohol, establishing a nondrinking agreement, and parental monitoring of the child’s whereabouts). Outcomes were adolescents’ perceived harmfulness of drinking and intention to drink. Multigroup analyses were performed to examine potential differences across gender. The program led to an increase in frequency of alcohol-specific communication, nondrinking agreements, and parental monitoring. Moreover, adolescents in the experimental condition perceived drinking to be more harmful and had less intention to drink compared to adolescents in the control condition. The effect of the program on adolescent alcohol cognitions was significantly mediated through having more frequent conversations about alcohol, yet only among boys. Although results on actual drinking need to be added, findings indicate that this relatively inexpensive, easy-to-administer home intervention is promising. HubMed – addiction

Organizational readiness for change in community-based addiction treatment programs and adherence in implementing evidence-based practices: a national study.

J Subst Abuse Treat. 2013 Aug 5;
Lundgren L, Amodeo M, Chassler D, Krull I, Sullivan L

Prior studies by the authors identified that clinical staff who reported that their treatment unit had lower levels of organizational readiness to change experienced higher levels of barriers in implementing an evidence-based practice (EBP). The current study examined whether clinical staff perceptions of their treatment unit’s organizational readiness to change were also associated with their adherence to EBP protocols during EBP implementation. Adherence was examined through a variable measuring the extent to which staff modified EBP standards and manuals when implementing a new EBP. Multivariate regression analyses identified that clinical staff who had five or more years of addiction counseling experience, who rated staff in their organization as having higher levels of influence, who less frequently implemented new counseling interventions and who reported higher levels of barriers when implementing a newly funded EBP also reported that their program made more modifications to the EBP in the implementation process. Finally, staff who implemented MI compared to any other EBP reported lower levels of EBP modifications. Implications: Continued federal funding is needed to enhance treatment unit organizational resources in order to reduce barriers and promote adherence to EBPs. Also, funders of treatment need to continue to provide ongoing technical assistance and training opportunities to promote implementation of EBPs with fidelity. HubMed – addiction