ArticlePreventive medicine2016
The behavioral economics of young adult substance abuse.
Article in Preventive medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brief Motivational Interventions Are Associated with Reductions in Alcohol-Induced Blackouts Among Heavy Drinking College Students.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2019Pooled it
- Role of relative-reinforcement value of alcohol-free activities during recovery from alcohol use disorder in an adult clinical sample.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2024Trial
- Applying the PROSPER prevention delivery system with middle schools: Emerging adulthood effects on substance misuse and conduct problem behaviors through 14 years past baseline.Child development · 2022Trial
- A randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of a brief alcohol intervention supplemented with a substance-free activity session or relaxation training.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2019Trial
- Justice System Involvement As a Risk Factor for Substance Use Into Mid-Thirties.Journal of drug issues · 2025Article
- Assessment of contextualized reinforcement pathology in a community sample of young adult substance users.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- The Role of Alcohol Expectancies in the Association Between Behavioral Economic Alcohol Demand, Relative Reinforcement, and Alcohol Problems.Journal of drug education · 2025Article
- Sources of Environmental Reinforcement and Engagement in Health Risk Behaviors Among a General Population Sample of US Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Applying behavioral economics to understand changes in alcohol outcomes during the transition to adulthood: Longitudinal relations and differences by sex and race.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2024Article
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is associated with more alcohol problems and less substance-free reinforcement: A behavioral economics daily diary study of college student drinkers.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2024Article
- Sober Curiosity and Participation in Temporary Alcohol Abstinence Challenges in a Cohort of U.S. Emerging Adults.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2024Article
- Mindfulness-based relapse prevention targeting psychological craving and trait mindfulness in young Chinese women with methamphetamine dependence: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Low levels of fitting in on campus moderates the relationship between enhancement drinking motives and drinks per week among college students.Addictive behaviors · 2023Article
- Associations between Alcohol-Free Sources of Reinforcement and the Frequency of Alcohol and Cannabis Co-Use among College Freshmen.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Can I see some ID? Examining validity of the marijuana purchase task among late adolescent cannabis users.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Differential brain responses to alcohol-related and natural rewards are associated with alcohol use and problems: Evidence for reward dysregulation.Addiction biology · 2022Article
- A positive psychology framework for why people use substances: Implications for treatment.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Associations between alcohol demand and both the experience and subjective evaluation of positive and negative alcohol-related consequences.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Article
- Psychometric evaluation of the Reward Probability Index in emerging adult drinkers.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2021Article
- Identifying Patterns of Alcohol Use and Obesity-Related Factors Among Emerging Adults: A Behavioral Economic Analysis.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Alcohol and drug use peaks during young adulthood and can interfere with critical developmental tasks and set the stage for chronic substance misuse and associated social, educational, and health-related outcomes. There is a need for novel, theory-based approaches to guide substance abuse prevention efforts during this critical developmental period. This paper discusses the particular relevance of behavioral economic theory to young adult alcohol and drug misuse, and reviews of available literature on prevention and intervention strategies that are consistent with behavioral economic theory. Behavioral economic theory predicts that decisions to use drugs and alcohol are related to the relative availability and price of both alcohol and substance-free alternative activities, and the extent to which reinforcement from delayed substance-free outcomes is devalued relative to the immediate reinforcement associated with drugs. Behavioral economic measures of motivation for substance use are based on relative levels of behavioral and economic resource allocation towards drug versus alternatives, and have been shown to predict change in substance use over time. Policy and individual level prevention approaches that are consistent with behavioral economic theory are discussed, including brief interventions that increase future orientation and engagement in rewarding alternatives to substance use. Prevention approaches that increase engagement in constructive future-oriented activities among young adults (e.g., educational/vocational success) have the potential to reduce future health disparities associated with both substance abuse and poor educational/vocational outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.