Nicole Bekman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Nicole Bekman
Drinking motives have a prominent role in cognitive models of adolescent and adult alcohol decisi... more Drinking motives have a prominent role in cognitive models of adolescent and adult alcohol decision-making . The complementary construct of motivation not to drink has received less attention ). We examined how abstinence motives interacted with drinking motives and alcohol expectancies to predict alcohol consumption in samples of US high school students (N > 2,500). Nondrinking motives predicted lower rates of lifetime and current alcohol use. Motives not to drink interacted with specific drinking motives, like social and coping motives, and alcohol expectancies to predict certain aspects of drinking behavior. For example, motives not to drink had the greatest impact on youth with weaker social motivations. Findings highlight the distinction between motives not to drink and other alcohol-related cognitions in predicting adolescent alcohol consumption. This work not only supports the utility of this construct in developing models of youth alcohol-related decision-making but also has implications for prevention programming.
The present study investigated the rate and pattern of neuropsychological recovery in heavy episo... more The present study investigated the rate and pattern of neuropsychological recovery in heavy episodic drinking teens during the initial days to weeks of abstinence from alcohol. Adolescents (ages, 16-18 years) with histories of heavy episodic drinking (HED; N = 39) and socio-demographically similar control teens (CON; N = 26) were recruited from San Diego area schools. HED and CON were comparable on 5th grade standardized math and language arts test performance to ensure similar functioning before onset of substance use. Participants were administered three neuropsychological test batteries with 2-week intervals during a 4-week monitored abstinence period. HED teens performed worse overall than CON on tests of prospective memory (p = .005), cognitive switching (p = .039), inhibition task accuracy (p = .001), verbal memory (p's < .045), visuospatial construction (p's < .043), and language and achievement (p's < .008). The statistically significant group × time interaction for block design demonstrated normalization within the 4 weeks of abstinence for the HED (p = .009). This study identified cognitive performance deficits associated with heavy episodic drinking in adolescence during early abstinence and with sustained 4-week abstention. These findings suggest alcohol-related influences on several underlying brain systems that may predate the onset of alcohol abuse or dependence or take longer than 4 weeks to recover.
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2010
This study examined the role of cognitive factors--such as expectancies regarding the consequence... more This study examined the role of cognitive factors--such as expectancies regarding the consequences of not drinking and perceptions of peer drinking--in mediating affective and personality-based risk associated with adolescents' decisions to initiate alcohol use. Nondrinking high school students (N = 1,268) completed confidential surveys on adolescent attitudes and behaviors related to substance use in 2 consecutive years. Self-reported alcohol use was assessed in both years, and social anxiety, depression, sensation seeking, expectancies for not drinking, and perceived peer alcohol use were assessed in the second year. The odds of initiation were considerably lower for students with higher expectancies for not drinking, compared with those with lower expectancies. Odds of initiation rose significantly with each additional perceived peer drink reported. Both cognitive factors mediated the relationships between social anxiety, depression, sensation seeking, and alcohol-use initiat...
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2011
When asked about substance use, youths typically endorse higher levels of use than parents, sugge... more When asked about substance use, youths typically endorse higher levels of use than parents, suggesting that parents are often unaware of their child's drug and alcohol use. This study sought to examine the level of concordance between reports of youths enrolled in public sectors of care and their parents, and identify potential predictors of parental awareness of substance use and related problems. Youths receiving services in one or more public sectors of care (N = 985; 67% male) and their parents were interviewed about the youths' substance use and substance use problems, as well as associated demographic, parental, and youth factors. As has been found in other studies, youths generally reported higher rates of substance use and substance use problems compared with parents. Rates of agreement ranged from κ = .24 (sedatives) to κ = .67 (marijuana) and were higher for drug problems (κ = .47) than for alcohol problems (κ = .34). Predictors of parental awareness of drug proble...
Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2014
Negative affect and low distress tolerance have been associated with increased likelihood of alco... more Negative affect and low distress tolerance have been associated with increased likelihood of alcohol consumption and relapse. This study utilized the Paced Auditory Serial Attention Test - Computerized Version (PASAT-C) to examine affective reactivity, cognitive performance, and distress tolerance during early abstinence among heavy drinking adolescents. Participants, ages 16 to 18 (50% female), were 23 heavy episodic drinking youth (HED) and 23 demographically matched, nondrinking teens (CON). Both groups were drawn from the same schools and assessed at 3 time points: HED was first studied within 10 days (M = 4.26, SD = 4.4) of heavy episodic drinking and then at two 2-week intervals over 4 subsequent weeks of abstinence from alcohol and drugs. CON were studied at the same 2-week intervals. From the findings, it was observed that HED responded with greater emotional response to the PASAT-C (i.e., greater increases in frustration and irritability and greater decreases in happiness) ...
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2011
Drinking motives have a prominent role in cognitive models of adolescent and adult alcohol decisi... more Drinking motives have a prominent role in cognitive models of adolescent and adult alcohol decision-making . The complementary construct of motivation not to drink has received less attention ). We examined how abstinence motives interacted with drinking motives and alcohol expectancies to predict alcohol consumption in samples of US high school students (N > 2,500). Nondrinking motives predicted lower rates of lifetime and current alcohol use. Motives not to drink interacted with specific drinking motives, like social and coping motives, and alcohol expectancies to predict certain aspects of drinking behavior. For example, motives not to drink had the greatest impact on youth with weaker social motivations. Findings highlight the distinction between motives not to drink and other alcohol-related cognitions in predicting adolescent alcohol consumption. This work not only supports the utility of this construct in developing models of youth alcohol-related decision-making but also has implications for prevention programming.
The present study investigated the rate and pattern of neuropsychological recovery in heavy episo... more The present study investigated the rate and pattern of neuropsychological recovery in heavy episodic drinking teens during the initial days to weeks of abstinence from alcohol. Adolescents (ages, 16-18 years) with histories of heavy episodic drinking (HED; N = 39) and socio-demographically similar control teens (CON; N = 26) were recruited from San Diego area schools. HED and CON were comparable on 5th grade standardized math and language arts test performance to ensure similar functioning before onset of substance use. Participants were administered three neuropsychological test batteries with 2-week intervals during a 4-week monitored abstinence period. HED teens performed worse overall than CON on tests of prospective memory (p = .005), cognitive switching (p = .039), inhibition task accuracy (p = .001), verbal memory (p's < .045), visuospatial construction (p's < .043), and language and achievement (p's < .008). The statistically significant group × time interaction for block design demonstrated normalization within the 4 weeks of abstinence for the HED (p = .009). This study identified cognitive performance deficits associated with heavy episodic drinking in adolescence during early abstinence and with sustained 4-week abstention. These findings suggest alcohol-related influences on several underlying brain systems that may predate the onset of alcohol abuse or dependence or take longer than 4 weeks to recover.
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2010
This study examined the role of cognitive factors--such as expectancies regarding the consequence... more This study examined the role of cognitive factors--such as expectancies regarding the consequences of not drinking and perceptions of peer drinking--in mediating affective and personality-based risk associated with adolescents' decisions to initiate alcohol use. Nondrinking high school students (N = 1,268) completed confidential surveys on adolescent attitudes and behaviors related to substance use in 2 consecutive years. Self-reported alcohol use was assessed in both years, and social anxiety, depression, sensation seeking, expectancies for not drinking, and perceived peer alcohol use were assessed in the second year. The odds of initiation were considerably lower for students with higher expectancies for not drinking, compared with those with lower expectancies. Odds of initiation rose significantly with each additional perceived peer drink reported. Both cognitive factors mediated the relationships between social anxiety, depression, sensation seeking, and alcohol-use initiat...
Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 2011
When asked about substance use, youths typically endorse higher levels of use than parents, sugge... more When asked about substance use, youths typically endorse higher levels of use than parents, suggesting that parents are often unaware of their child's drug and alcohol use. This study sought to examine the level of concordance between reports of youths enrolled in public sectors of care and their parents, and identify potential predictors of parental awareness of substance use and related problems. Youths receiving services in one or more public sectors of care (N = 985; 67% male) and their parents were interviewed about the youths' substance use and substance use problems, as well as associated demographic, parental, and youth factors. As has been found in other studies, youths generally reported higher rates of substance use and substance use problems compared with parents. Rates of agreement ranged from κ = .24 (sedatives) to κ = .67 (marijuana) and were higher for drug problems (κ = .47) than for alcohol problems (κ = .34). Predictors of parental awareness of drug proble...
Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research, 2014
Negative affect and low distress tolerance have been associated with increased likelihood of alco... more Negative affect and low distress tolerance have been associated with increased likelihood of alcohol consumption and relapse. This study utilized the Paced Auditory Serial Attention Test - Computerized Version (PASAT-C) to examine affective reactivity, cognitive performance, and distress tolerance during early abstinence among heavy drinking adolescents. Participants, ages 16 to 18 (50% female), were 23 heavy episodic drinking youth (HED) and 23 demographically matched, nondrinking teens (CON). Both groups were drawn from the same schools and assessed at 3 time points: HED was first studied within 10 days (M = 4.26, SD = 4.4) of heavy episodic drinking and then at two 2-week intervals over 4 subsequent weeks of abstinence from alcohol and drugs. CON were studied at the same 2-week intervals. From the findings, it was observed that HED responded with greater emotional response to the PASAT-C (i.e., greater increases in frustration and irritability and greater decreases in happiness) ...
Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2011