Dataset Information

Space and Place in Alcohol Research.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose of review

To summarize the recent literature on social and physical environments and their links to alcohol use and identify empirical research strategies that will lead to a better understanding of alcohol use in contexts.

Recent findings

Recent research has continued to describe the importance of neighborhood and regional contexts on alcohol use, while a smaller emerging scientific literature assesses the impacts of contexts on drinking.

Summary

The dynamic, longitudinal, and multiscale processes by which social and physical structures affect social interactions and substance use have not yet been uncovered or quantified. In order to understand and quantify these processes, assessments of exposures (e.g., how individuals use space) and risks within specific locations are essential. Methods to better assess these exposures and risks include model-based survey approaches, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and other forms of ecologically- and temporally-specific analyses, affiliation network analyses, simulation models, and qualitative/multi-methods studies.

SUBMITTER: Mair C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8294477 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:AimsTo test whether non-dependent drinkers show place preference for a location paired with alcohol, and to test if the amount of time spent in the alcohol-paired location is related to self-reported subjective alcohol effects experienced in that environment.DesignTwo groups of subjects completed six conditioning sessions: three with alcohol (0.8 g/kg) and three without alcohol. Individuals were assigned randomly to two groups, paired and unpaired, in a 2 : 1 ratio. The paired group (n = 78) received alcohol in one testing room and no-alcohol in another testing room (biased assignment). The unpaired group (n = 30) received alcohol and no-alcohol in each testing room.SettingHuman Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA (single site).ParticipantsHealthy male and female social drinkers (n = 108) aged 21-40 years participated in the study (consisting of 10 separate laboratory visits) between March 2012 and August 2014 (an average of 36 separate subject visits per month).MeasurementsThe primary outcome measure was the pre- to post-conditioning change in the percentage of time spent in the least preferred room (obtained during drug-free exploration tests conducted at separate visits before and after the six conditioning sessions were completed). Secondary measures included self-reported subjective mood and drug effects obtained during the conditioning sessions.FindingsThe groups differed in the change in the percentage of time spent in the initially least preferred room, from pre- to post-conditioning; paired group = 11.0%, unpaired group = -1.4%, mean difference = 12.4%, 95% confidence interval = 1.9-23.0, P = 0.02. The change in the percentage of time spent in the least-preferred room was related to the self-reported sedative effects of alcohol during conditioning sessions among paired group participants only.ConclusionsNon-dependent consumers of alcohol appear to develop a behavioral preference for locations paired with alcohol consumption, more so for those who experience sedative effects from alcohol in those locations.