Stephen Maisto, Professor of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences, SU “Alcohol and other Substance Use: Treatment, Determinants, and Co-Morbidities”

Alcohol Use disorder: Treatment, relapse & behavior change Significance: AUD is a leading cause of death and disease. Studying treatment and clinical course is important for treatment providers and researchers. Findings: Post-treatment change in alcohol use is a process. Individuals transition in and out of "relapse" and "remission" statuses. "Any heavy drinking" following treatment is not necessarily a sign of treatment failure. Takeaway: A more nuanced look at the process of AUD change by considering whether individuals are able to transition to and sustain periods of remission is important. 3 main topic areas of my research include: AUD treatment, relapse, and behavior change Pain and its relation to alcohol and cannabis use Alcohol, other drug use, and HIV prevention

Pain: relations with alcohol and cannabis use Significance: Pain is a public health concern linked to alcohol and cannabis use. Little research has examined the influence of pain on alcohol use. Cannabinoids are used for pain relief, but findings are mixed. Findings: Acute pain caused increases in urge to drink as a function of increased pain-related negative affect. Cannabinoid drugs made pain feel less unpleasant and more tolerable. They also increased pain threshold, but do not reduce pain intensity. Takeaway: Pain may be a potent antecedent of alcohol consumption. Cannabis-induced improvements in pain-related negative affect may underlie the widely held belief that cannabis relieves pain.

Alcohol, other drug use, and hiv prevention Significance: In the U.S., men who have sex with men (MSM) represent over 50% of those living with HIV. One potentially important predictor variable for risky sex among MSM is alcohol use. Findings: Alcohol’s effects on sexual risk were enhanced by both sexual arousal and expectancies. Acute changes in intoxication and arousal foster biased responding toward sexual stimuli. These biases are associated with sexual risk intentions. Takeaway: HIV prevention interventions should take into account the role of alcohol in conjunction with sexual arousal. They should also consider contextual factors that influence more automatic processes that may incline individuals toward engaging in unsafe sex.