Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (NAD)

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: We need research centers in our field

Research Reports
Lauren Alex O’Hagan: A taste of Nordic freedom: The problematic marketing of nicotine pouches in the United Kingdom

Marte Reikvam Devold, Anna Rita Spein, Pia Barua, Marie Pedersen Indset, André Syvertsen and Ståle Pallesen: Exploring views among Norwegian Sámi regarding gambling and gambling treatment

Adriana Lavinia Bulumac: Affiliation to the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) community: A qualitative study on differences between highly affiliated and low/non-affiliated individuals

Kerstin Geißelsöder, Maren Weiss, Klara Boksán, Michael Dechant, Johann Endres, Maike Breuer, Mark Stemmler and Norbert Wodarz: Opioid substitution treatment, relapse and addiction-related outcomes in prison setting and after release: A longitudinal study

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Consumption trends and policies under scrutinization

Research Reports

Ola Ekholm, Veronica Pisinger, Heidi Amalie Jensen & Kim Bloomfield: Implications of the decline in adolescent drinking on the experience of alcohol-related consequences in the Nordic countries: A study based on data from the ESPAD project, 2007-2015

Miia M Aro, Patrick Sandström, Timo Ståhl, Hanna Ollila, Otto Ruokolainen, Terhi Kurko, Teemu Keski-Kuha & Tuula Vasankari:  The Sales of Tobacco Products and Nicotine Replacement Therapy Products, Especially Nicotine Pouches Increased in Finland During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Ditte Maria Sivertsen, Ulrik Becker, Ove Andersen & Jeanette Wassar Kirk: Between acute medicine and municipal alcohol treatment: cross-sectoral collaborations regarding patients with alcohol problems

Kristoffer Høiland, Espen Ajo Arnevik & Jens Egeland: Alcohol use disorder and fitness to drive evaluations: Discrepancies between health professionals’ evaluations and objective measures of alcohol use and cognitive functioning 

Overviews

Carolin Kilian, Fleur Braddick & Jurgen Rehm: The legal framework for the production of alcohol for personal use within the European Union

Carly Lightowlers, Karen Duke: The framing of contemporary violence policy in England and Wales: an examination of the contributing roles of alcohol and illegal drugs

Commentary

Benedikt Fischer, Didier Jutras-Aswad, Bernard Le Foll & Tessa Robinson: North America’s fentanyl death crisis: Selected lessons for Europe’s future?

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Is a regulation system always just a regulation system?

Research reports

Evangelia Kousounadi Knountsen, Vibeke Asmussen, Maria Herold: Uncovering young people’s situational construction of sexual consent

Karin Heimdahl Vepsä, Mats Ekendahl, Patrik Karlsson, Josefin Månsson: Polyphonic narratives: the mixing of Alcoholics Anonymous and Relapse Prevention in stories about recovery and relapse

Ann Helena Lyrberg: Barns upplevelser av en intervention i familjer där vuxna har ett problematiskt bruk av alkohol och droger

Bagga Bjerge, Strandholdt Bach, Johanne Korsdal Sørensen: Caring for aging substance users – challenges, dilemmas and recommendations

Rune Ellefsen: Narkotikapolitikk i endring: Heroinklinikkenes oppkomst i Norge

Coline Blanzat, Olivier Phan, Tristan Hamonniere, Céline Bonnaire: The PEERCARE peer-led alcohol overuse prevention program for college students: A qualitative evaluation of the peer-support experience of a “chill-out” harm reduction space

Aud Johannessen, Anne-Sofie Helvik, Kjerstin Tevik, Thomas Tjelta, Kirsten Thorsen: The elephant in the room: Metaphors in women’s accounts of life with a family member with problematic substance use

Commentaries

Patrik Karlsson, Mats Ekendahl: Risky drinking or risky governance?

Kristine Rømer Thomsen, Lotte Vallentin-Holbech, Janne Tolstrup: A missed opportunity: The needed policy changes are missing in the recent political agreement on a new tobacco, nicotine, and alcohol prevention plan in Denmark

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Snow season: The normalisation of cocaine

Research reports

Ioana Pop & Jannis Dinkelacker: Unlocking the self: Can microdosing psychedelics make one feel more authentic?

Anne M. Koponen, Mika Gissler, Niina-Maria Nissinen, Ilona Autti-Rämö, Hanna Kahila & Taisto Sarkola:  Cumulative risk factors for injuries and poisoning requiring hospital care in youth with prenatal substance exposure: A longitudinal controlled cohort study

Arja Ruisniemi, Maritta Itäpuisto & Katja Kuusisto: Relational parenthood in addiction recovery

Lloyd Balbuena, Mansfield Mela & AG Ahmed: Parental factors predicting social deviance and psychological outcomes in offspring: Evidence from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

Tuire Prami, Mari Pölkki, Jarno Ruotsalainen, Elin Banke Nordbeck, Susanna Meyner & Ari Kaski:

Reasons for not entering opioid agonist treatment: A survey among high-risk opioid users in Finland

Overviews

Jay Horn: The dichotomy between health and drug abuse in bodybuilding

Virve Marionneau & Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos:Individuals with a migratory background can offer valuable insight to improve the treatment and prevention of gambling harms.

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Tom Kettunen & Mikaela Lindeman: Bridging academia and Nordic Societies

Research reports

Sofia Härd: A qualitative study of a recovery capital assessment tool in alcohol and drug treatment facilities: perspectives from social work professionals

Ove Heradstveit, Mari Hysing, Tormod Bøe, Sondre Aasen Aasen Nilsen, Børge Sivertsen, Anne Line Bretteville-Jensen, Kristin Gärtner Gärtner Askeland: Prospective associations between adolescent risky substance use and school dropout and the role of externalizing and internalizing problems

Doris Ochterbeck, Jennifer Frense, Sarah Forberger: A survey of international addiction researchers’ views on implications of brain-based explanations of addiction and the responsibility of affected persons

Katy Holloway, Marian Buhociu, Shannon Murray, Wulf Livingston, Andrew Perkins: Assessing the early influence of COVID-19 in any analysis of the immediate implementation of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol on drinkers in Wales

Justina Kievišiene: Exploring social workers’ attitudes towards individuals with alcohol usage problems – a quantitative study from Lithuania  

Kaisu-Leena Mäkelä, Jari Kylmä, Anna-Maija Koivisto, Tiina Hakala, Marita Koivunen: Validation of the Nurses’ Skills to Care for Alcohol-Intoxicated Patients in Emergency Department (NSCAIP-ED) instrument

Overview

Ellen Amundsen, Anne-Karine Markeng Markeng Melsom, Bjørn Eriksen, Maja-Lisa Læchen:

Why did drug overdose deaths not decrease after 2010? Norway as a case study.

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Celebrating 40 years of Nordic collaboration

ISAJE position paper

Thomas Babor, Anna Tsiboukli, Matilda Hellman & Anees Bahji: Ways to get a more balanced gender representation in addiction journals’ management and workforce

For Debate

Petter Grahl Johnstad: Why are the police against drug policy liberalisation?

Research reports

Gunn Pettersen, Trond Nergaard Nergaard Bjerke, Ellen Margrethe Margrethe Hoxmark, Njål Herman Eikeng Herman Eikeng Sterri, & Jan H Rosenvinge: From existing to living: Exploring the meaning of recovery and a sober life after a long duration of a substance use disorder – an interview study

Ane Bendixen, Hildegunn Sagvaag, Bjørn Henning Østenstad, & Trond Gronnestad: Rettigheter og tvang i kommunale hjelpetilbud til personer med alvorlige samtidige rus- og psykiske lidelser – en kvalitativ studie om erfaringer med regelverket, i lys av menneskerettigheter

Joakim Wahlström, Charlotta Magnusson, Johan Svensson, & Sara Brolin Låftman: Problematic familial alcohol use and adolescent outcomes: do associations differ by parental education?

Ali Unlu, & Aleksi Hupli: Mix-method social media analysis of the Greens cannabis legalization proposal in Finnish-speaking Twitter

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Evidence for improving welfare services

Reviews

Taina Schneider, Kristiina Kuussaari & Petri Virtanen: Drug treatment service procurement – a systematic review of models, goals, and outcomes

Tiril Cecilie Cecilie Borge & Ashley Elizabeth Elizabeth Muller: Overdosevarslingssystemer – en kartleggingsoversikt med maskinlæring

Research Reports

Øyvind Reehorst Reehorst Kalsås, Kristine Berg Berg Titlestad, Kari Dyregrov & Lars Thore Thore Fadnes: How to improve services to bereaved by drug-related deaths? Investigating bereaved family members and close friends` needs for help and received help: A cross-sectional study.   

Pelle Pelters & Maria Rosaria Rosaria Galanti: “It’s nice to just be” – A qualitative study on the meaning-imbued reality of waterpipe smoking among young adults in Sweden 

Kirsten Frederiksen, Morten Hesse & Mads Uffe Uffe Pedersen: Problematic parental substance use, childhood family structures and adverse outcomes in young adulthood

Sidsel Karsberg, Adriana del Palacio Gonzalez, Michael M. M. Pedersen, Kirsten Frederiksen & Mads Uffe Uffe Pedersen: Do adverse experiences predict unemployment and need of psychiatric help after treatment for drug use disorders?     

Maria Neufeld et al: Translating and adapting the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) for use in the Russian Federation. A multicenter pilot study to inform validation procedures  

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Yet another alcohol policy experiment in Finland

Research reports

Gabriella Olsson, Bitte Modin, & Sara Brolin Låftman: School collective efficacy and gambling: A multilevel study of 11th grade students in Stockholm

Regine Bakken, Lars Lien, Halvor Fauske, Jūratė Šaltytė Benth, & Anne Signe Landheim: Criminal thinking and psychosocial characteristics among young adults entering residential substance use treatment

Kristin Arve: “You get stuck in it”: Young people’s accounts of attempting to quit non-medical tramadol use

Hilde-Margit Løseth, Lillian Bruland Selseng & Kari Dyregrov: Barriers and facilitative factors in the provision of first-responder services to persons bereaved following a drug-related death: A qualitative study

Malin Hildebrand Karlén et al: Prevalence and heritability of alcohol use disorders in 18-year old Swedish twins

For debate

Selma Ercan Doğu & Esma Özkan: The role of occupational therapy in substance use

Book review

Virve Marionneau: Book review: Games without frontiers?

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Tom Kettunen: Our content is relevant and on track 

Research Reports

Adam Sherk, Tim Stockwell, Justin Sorge, Samuel Churchill, Colin Angus, Tanya Chikritzhs, John Holmes, Petra Meier, Timothy S. Naimi, Thor Norström, Mats Ramstedt, Jussi Simpura: The public-private decision for alcohol retail systems: Examining the economic, health and social impacts of alternative systems in Finland 

Anna Sidorchuk, Karin Engström, Jette Möller, Katalin Gemes: Predictors of beverage-specific, alcohol consumption trajectories: a Swedish population-based cohort study 

Vibeke Müller, Johan Jarl, Ulf-G. Gerdtham: A Measure of Alcohol Affordability for Sweden – Capturing trends among different demographic groups 

Rose Leontini, Tim Corney: Student Drinking Cultures in Tertiary Education Residential Accommodation: A Contextual Research Study 

Emil Danehorn, Marie Oscarsson, Goldina Smirthwaite, Ulla Peterson, Katarina Swahnberg: Swedish Exchange students’ alcohol use, drug use, risky sexual behaviour, mental health, and self-rated health: a follow-up study 

Alan Warde, Alessandro Sasso, John Holmes, Monica Hernandes, Abigail Stevely, Petra Meier: Situated drinking: the association between eating and alcohol consumption in Great Britain 

Commentary

David Inglis: Towards a Historical Sociology of Associations and Dissociations between Food, Food Events and Alcoholic Drinks: A Reply to Warde et al 

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Alcohol, drugs, gambling and tobacco form a lens for the Nordic welfare states’ biggest challenges

Review

Kevin Joseph McInerney, David Best, Ainslea Cross: Characteristics of People who have Received Treatment for Late-Onset Problem Drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis     

Research Report

Lotte Vallentin-Holbech, Sarah W. Feldstein Ewing, Kristine Thomsen: Hazardous alcohol use among Danish adolescents during the second wave of COVID-19: link between alcohol use and social life   

Marije aan het Rot, Isabelle C Bulai, Violeta Enea: Increased alcohol use to cope with COVID-19-related anxiety one year into the coronavirus pandemic     

Karoliina Karjalainen, Teemu Gunnar, Pekka Hakkarainen, Aino Kankaanpää, Sanna Rönkä: Analysis of illicit stimulant use triangulating wastewater, general population survey and web survey data

Anne Koponen, Niina-Maria Nissinen, Mika Gissler, Ilona Autti-Ramo, Hanna Kahila, Taisto Sarkola:  Adverse childhood experiences and neurodevelopmental disorders among youth with and without prenatal substance exposure – a longitudinal matched register-based cohort study

Overview

Eline Borger Rognli, Linn Nathalie Støme, Kari Kværner, Christian Wilhelmsen, Espen Ajo Arnevik: The effect of employment support integrated in substance use treatment: A health economic cost-effectiveness simulation of three different interventions  

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: The importance of debunking constructions

ISAJE position papers

Anees Bahji, Laura Acion, Anne-Marie Laslett & Bryon Adinoff: Exclusion of the non-English-speaking world from the scientific literature: Recommendations for change for addiction journals and publishers

Nady el-Guebaly, John Foster, Anees Bahji & Matilda Hellman: The critical role of peer reviewers: Challenges and future steps

Research reports

Marie Fjellerup Bærndt and Vibeke Asmussen Frank: Dilemmas of belonging: Young Muslim women in the Danish youth alcohol culture

Mikaela Lindeman, Vilja Männistö-Inkinen, Matilda Hellman, Veera Kankainen, Emmi Kauppila, Johan Svensson & Robin Nilsson: Gambling operators’ social media image creation in Finland and Sweden 2017–2020

Anna Belfrage, Anne Lill Mjølhus Njå, Siri Lunde, Janne Årstad, Elise Constance Fodstad, Torgeir Gilje Lid & Aleksander Hagen Erga: Traumatic experiences and PTSD symptoms in substance use disorder: A comparison of recovered versus current users

Christonikos Leventelis, Alexandra Katsouli, Vasileios Stavropoulos, Anna Karasavvidou, Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Petros T. Barmpas, Sotiris Tasoulis, Aristidis S. Veskoukis & Maria Tsironi: The development and validation of the pandemic medication-assisted treatment questionnaire for the assessment of pandemic crises impact on medication management and administration for patients with opioid use disorders

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Habits, consumption and public control

Research reports

Liisa Uusitalo, Jaakko Nevalainen, Ossi Rahkonen, Maijaliisa Erkkola, Hannu Saarijärvi, Mikael Fogelholm & Tomi Lintonen: Changes in alcohol purchases from grocery stores after authorising the sale of stronger beverages: The case of the Finnish alcohol legislation reform in 2018

Jani Selin & Riku Nyrhinen: Gambling policy positions of Finnish newspapers between 2004 and 2020: An automated content analysis

Anne H. Salonen, Sari Castrén, Tiina A. Latvala, Tanja Grönroos, Jonna Levola & Miika Vuori: Gender- and age-stratified analyses of gambling disorder in Finland between 2011 and 2020 based on administrative registers

Munenori Katayama, Keiji Kobara & Norihito Shirakawa: Gambling and Gambling Problem Perception Questionnaire as a tool to evaluate professionals’ attitudes towards problem gamblers and training programmes in Japan

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Digital screens and children

Research reports

Malin Gunnarsson & Jukka Törrönen: Performing normality in working life among heavy
substance users

Tord Skogedal Lindén & Rune Ervik: Health services in Nordic welfare states: Introducing a new category of providers through the Norwegian free treatment choice reform

Sindre Aske Høyland, Astrid Schuchert & Asgeir Mamen: A holistic perspective on continuing care for substance
use and dependence: Results and implications from an in-depth study of a Norwegian continuing care establishment

Tord Finne Vedøy & Karl Erik Lund: The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on where tobacco users purchased cigarettes and snus in different Norwegian regions

Nicklas Dennermalm, Patrik Karlsson & Mats Ekendahl: Risk factors for substance use in Swedish adolescents: A study across substances and time points

Stina Ingesson, Johan Ahlen, Nitya Jayaram-Lindström & Anders Hammarberg: Psychometric evaluation of a Swedish version of the Impaired Control Scale for individuals with alcohol use disorder

Review
Anu Vaihekoski, Hanna Lagström, Sini Eloranta, Susanna Bäärs, Annika Hannula, Mari Lehvikkö & Minna Salakari: Influencing adolescents’ attitudes towards nicotine products: A systematic review

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial

Matilda Hellman: Drug control and human rights in the Russian Federation

Research reports

Anders Nilsson, Ingvar Rosendahl and Nitya Jayaram-Lindström: Gaming and social media use among adolescents in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

André Syvertsen, Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari, Daniel L. King and Ståle Pallesen: Problem mobile gaming: The role of mobile gaming habits, context, and platform

Lidia Santora, Don Byrne and Christian Klöckner: Clusters of older adults with and without experience of alcohol-related harms based on affective motivations for drinking

Tim Corney and Karin du Plessis: Australian first-year university college residents’ alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms

Turid Wangensteen and Jacob Hystad: Trust and collaboration between patients and staff in SUD treatment: A qualitative study of patients’ reflections on inpatient SUD treatment four years after discharge

Kristine Tarp, Sengül Sari and Anette Sogaard Nielsen: Why treatment is not an option: Treatment naïve individuals, suffering from alcohol use disorders’ narratives about alcohol use and treatment seeking

Review

Monika Alvestad Reime, Hilde-Margit Løseth, Sari Kaarina Lindeman, Kristine Berg Titlestad, Kari Dyregrov and Lillian Bruland Selseng: Professional helpers’ experiences of assisting the bereaved after drug-related deaths: A knowledge gap

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Research reports

Ali Unlu, Tuukka Tammi and Pekka Hakkarainen: Policy windows for drug consumption rooms in Finland

Fredrik Tiberg and Johan Nordgren: Ordinary people, criminals, addicts and recreational users: Swedish court of law descriptions of persons sentenced for online drug purchases

Katarina Winter and Johan Edman: Förnuft och känsla – Kunskapsbruk hos gårdagens förbudskritiker och dagens alkoholliberaler

Linda Nesse, Marianne Thorsen Gonzalez, Michael Rowe and Ruth Kjærsti Raanaas: Citizenship matters: Translating and adapting the Citizenship Measure to Norwegian  

Lisa Andersson: A transition of power in opioid substitution treatment: Clinic managers’ views on the consequences of a patient choice reform

Susan Calnan and Martin P. Davoren: College students’ perspectives on an alcohol prevention programme and student drinking – A focus group study

Adriana del Palacio-Gonzalez and Mads Uffe Pedersen: Youth’s personal relationships, psychological symptoms, and the use of different substances: A population-based study

Obituary

Thomas Karlsson, Mikaela Lindeman, Pia Mäkelä, Jussi Simpura and Christoffer Tigerstedt: Esa Österberg (22 June 1948 – 26 September 2021)

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial
Matilda Hellman: Justice and equality as a zero-sum game

For Debate
Matilda Hellman: Kettil Bruun is more relevant than ever

Research Reports
Virve Marionneau and Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos: Treatment and help services for gambling during COVID-19: Experiences of gamblers and their concerned significant others

Pol Rovira, Gražina Belian, Carina Ferreira-Borges, Carolin Kilian, Maria Neufeld, Alexander Tran, Mindaugas Štelemė kas and Jürgen Rehm: Alcohol taxation, alcohol consumption and cancers in Lithuania: A case study

Elin K. Bye, Stig Tore Bogstrand and Ingeborg Rossow: The importance of alcohol in elderly’s hospital admissions for fall injuries: a population case-control study

Minna Pylväs-Korolainen, Karoliina Karjalainen and Tomi Lintonen: Factors associated with non-medical use of prescription drugs among individuals with a legitimate prescription for medical purposes: A population-based study

Ilona Piispa, Karoliina Karjalainen and Niina Karttunen: Nonmedical use of prescription drugs: A comparison between intoxicationoriented and other nonmedical users

Line Lund Eriksen and Bente Hoeck: The construction of meaning in alcohol addiction: A narrative study of socially excluded people’s stories about alcohol

Rikke Hellum, Randi Bilberg and Anette Søgaard Nielsen: “He is lovely and awful”: The challenges of being close to an individual with alcohol problems

Jóna Ólafsdóttir and Sindri Steinn Marinósson: Childhood with a relative’s excessive alcohol use, and own drinking in adult years

Read the latest issue of NAD here

Editorial:

Messages from research: Tobacco, drug use, gambling
Matilda Hellman

Research Reports:

Snus and snus-like nicotine products moving across Nordic borders: Can laws protect young people?
Marjut Salokannel, Eeva Ollila

Who are the young users of tobacco products? Prevalence and characteristics of Danish adolescents who have either smoked cigarettes, used alternative tobacco products, or used both
Simone Gad Kjeld, Susan Andersen, Anette Andersen, Stine Glenstrup, Lisbeth Lund, Dina Danielsen, Lotus Sofie Bast

Sales of cigarettes to pseudo-underage mystery shoppers: Experiences from Stockholm County
Kristin Feltmann, Johanna Gripenberg and Tobias H. Elgán

A conceptual framework for assessing the public health effects from snus and novel non-combustible nicotine products
Karl Erik Lund and Tord Finne Vedøy

Smoking, hazardous drinking and individual differences in cost and gain discounting
Torleif Halkjelsvik

Advice to policy-makers for improving services to the drug-death bereaved
Svanaug Fjær and Kari Dyregrov

For Debate:

Gambling harms caused by electronic gambling machines should be prevented with state control
Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos, Virve Marionneau and Janne Nikkinen

Book Review:

Vicious games: Gambling and capitalism
Janne Nikkinen

This issue includes the following themes

Revisiting some concepts and events in Sweden’s prohibitionist drug policy model, substance use among young people in Norway who smoke and use snus, the praxis of interprofessional team meetings tailored to the needs of people with substance use disorders, and the experiences of health professionals in Norwegian nursing homes in terms of residents’ alcohol consumption

Dealing with qualitative work
Matilda Hellman

A path forward for Swedish drug policy?
Ted Goldberg

Comparison of data sources on alcohol problems: An exploratory exercise using surveys vs. national healthcare registers
Pia Mäkelä, Kristiina Kuussaari, Airi Partanen and Elina Rautiainen

Smoking and snus use among Norwegian students: Demographic, personality and substance use characteristics
Solbjørg Makalani Myrtveit Sæther, Kristin Gärtner Askeland, Ståle Pallesen and Eilin Kristine Erevik

Health professionals’ experience of nursing home residents’ consumption of alcohol and use of psychotropic drugs
Aud Johannessen, Kjerstin Tevik, Knut Engedal and Anne-Sofie Helvik

Women’s views on barriers and facilitators for seeking alcohol and drug treatment in Belgium
Julie Schamp, Sarah Simonis, Griet Roets, Tina Van Havere, Lies Gremeaux and Wouter Vanderplasschen

User involvement in interprofessional team meetings within services for substance use disorders
Merethe Wenaas, Helle Wessel Andersson, Riina Kiik and Anne Juberg

This issue includes the following themes

The meanings of the terms alcoholism, alcohol dependence, alcohol misuse and risky drinking, the possibility of drinkers switching to other substances in response to any rise in the cost of alcohol, methodological challenges for research in psychedelics use and its consequences, and Sweden’s long, complicated harm reduction policy transition

The constitution of the alcoholic self, communicative processes and administrative practices: On the varied uses of four terms denoting problematic drinking
Filip Roumeliotis, Frida Carlsson, Linn Johansson Erkenfelt, Lisa Wallander

Adapting existing behaviour: Perceptions of substance switching and implementation of minimum pricing for alcohol in Wales
Wulf Livingston, Katy Holloway, Tom May, Marian Buhociu, Iolo Madoc-Jones, Andy Perkins

Who is the typical psychedelics user? Methodological challenges for research in psychedelics use and its consequences
Petter Grahl Johnstad

Knowledge, attitudes and practice of self-medication among university students in Portugal: A cross-sectional study
Regina Ferreira Alves, José Precioso, Elisardo Becoña

Could 30 years of political controversy on needle exchange programmes in Sweden contribute to scaling-up harm reduction services in the world?
Niklas Karlsson, Torsten Berglund, Anna Mia Ekström, Anders Hammarberg, Tuukka Tammi

Ecstasy (MDMA): A rebellion coherent with the system
José Manuel García-Montes, Marino Pérez-Álvarez, Miguel Ángel Sánchez-Moya, José Alberto Carmona Torres, David F. Carreno, Salvador Perona Garcelán, Laura del Carmen Sánchez-Sánchez

This issue includes the following themes

Alcohol drinking, studied from many perspectives and by different methodologies 

Mental health work cannot be postponed
Matilda Hellman

Problematic internet use: A scoping review – longitudinal research on a contemporary
social problem, 2006–2017
Daniel Dahl and Karin Helmersson Bergmark

Alcohol use among older adults: A comparative study across four European countries
Ingeborg Rossow and Bente Træen

Beer drinking, resistance and the politics of alcohol tax levy in Botswana
Tebogo B Sebeelo

Observational learning of the televised consequences of drinking alcohol: Exploring the role of perceived similarity
Mira Mayrhofer and Jörg Matthes

Parents’ experiences of substance use problems, parenthood, and recovery within the 12-step movement
Karin Heimdahl Vepsä

The new suit of the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (SoRAD): A well-tailored costume for tackling research and challenges ahead
Jessica Storbjörk, Jonas Landberg and Robin Room

Change and continuity in Finnish drinking in the 21st century
Christoffer Tigerstedt, Pia Mäkelä, Thomas Karlsson, Janne Härkönen, Tomi Lintonen and Katariina Warpenius

The Finnish Drinking Habits Survey: Implications for alcohol policy and prevention
Katariina Warpenius and Pia Mäkelä

This issue includes the following themes

Older people’s drinking habits in the Nordic countries, describing the status of and examining trends in older people’s drinking patterns in recent decades

Who initiates Nordic comparisons?

Matilda Hellman

Introduction to the special section on drinking patterns in older age

Christoffer Tigerstedt and Kim Bloomfield

Comparing older people’s drinking habits in four Nordic countries: Summary of the thematic issue

Christoffer Tigerstedt, Neda Agahi, Elin K Bye, Ola Ekholm, Janne Härkönen, Heidi Rosendahl Jensen, Cathrine Juel Lau, Pia Mäkelä, Inger Synnøve Moan, Suvi Parikka, Jonas Raninen, Anni Vilkko and Kim Bloomfield

Trends in older adults’ alcohol use in Norway 1985–2019

Elin K Bye and Inger Synnøve Moan

Trends in older people’s drinking habits, Sweden 2004–2017

Jonas Raninen and Neda Agahi

Drinking patterns among Finns aged 60 years and over from the 1990s onwards

Christoffer Tigerstedt, Janne Härkönen, Pia Mäkelä, Suvi Parikka and Anni Vilkko

Trends in alcohol consumption among older adults in Denmark in the 21st century

Heidi Amalie Rosendahl Jensen, Kim Bloomfield, Cathrine Juel Lau and Ola Ekholm

This issue includes the following themes

Successes and failures in drug treatment from a European perspective, follow-ups of treatment interventions in Norway and Sweden, and the wellbeing of patients,

Editorial

The new project of public health
Matilda Hellman

Research reports

Successes and failures in treatment of substance abuse: Treatment system perspectives and lessons from the European continent
Harald Klingemann

Recovery processes among young adults treated for alcohol and other drug problems: A five-year follow-up
Lisa Skogens and Ninive von Greiff

Levels of mental distress over 18 years after entering treatment for substance use disorders: A longitudinal cohort study
Arne Jan Hjemsæter, Jørgen G Bramness, Robert Drake, Ivar Skeie, Bent Monsbakken, Jūratė Šaltytė Benth and Anne S Landheim

The Norwegian remote intervention programme for problem gambling: Short- and long-term outcomes
Eilin K Erevik, Ståle Pallesen, Mette Mohn, Trond Aspeland, Øystein Vedaa, Torbjørn Torsheim

Changes in clients’ well-being (ORS) and state hope (SHS) during inpatient substance abuse treatment
Eeva Ekqvist and Katja Kuusisto

Elevated alcohol consumption among geriatric psychiatric in-patients
Anne-Sofie Helvik, Knut Engedal and Aud Johannessen

Reliability and construct validity of five life domains in the adolescent drug abuse diagnosis instrument in a sample of Swedish adolescent girls in special residential care
Marie-Louise Klingstedt, Margit Wångby-Lundh, Tina Olsson and Laura Ferrer-Wreder

This issue includes the following themes

Substance use problems in a partner, professionals experiences with family-oriented practice in addiction treatment, exploring expectations on transition from treatment to post-discharge, should some occupational groups be prioritised in the prevention of problem gambling?, perceived social stigmatisation of gambling disorders

Editorial
Who is an expert on the COVID-19 crisis?
Matilda Hellman

Research reports
Substance use disorder patients’ expectations on transition from treatment to post-discharge period
Dagny Adriaenssen Johannessen, Trond Nordfjærn and Amy Østertun Geirdal

“It’s like being stuck on an unsafe and unpredictable rollercoaster”: Experiencing substance use problems in a partner
Bente M Weimand, Bente Birkeland, Torleif Ruud and Magnhild M Høie

“Jeg fa˚r et helt annet innblikk”: Fagpersoners erfaringer med familieorientert praksis i rusbehandling
Øyvind Reehorst Kalsa˚s, Anne Schanche Selbekk and Ottar Ness

Risk of problem gambling among occupational groups: A population and registry study
Per Binde and Ulla Romild

Perceived social stigmatisation of gambling disorders and coping with stigma
Katarzyna Dabrowska and Łukasz Wieczorek

Overview Opioid maintenance treatment of pregnant women in the Scandinavian countries
Marte Handal, Svetlana Skurtveit, Milada Mahic, Inger Øhman, Birgitta Norstedt Wikner, Christian Tjagvad, Helle Kieler, Erja Halmesmäki and Ingunn Olea Lund

Book review
Regulating cannabis: A detailed scenario for a nonprofit cannabis market, by Tom Decorte
Tuulia Lerkkanen

This issue includes the following themes

Support for restrictive alcohol policies in Sweden, improving measurements of harms experienced from others’ drinking, changes in alcoholic beverage preferences among Finnish teenagers, gendered drinking norms in Mediterranean and Nordic countries

Editorial
Concepts and conditions for knowledge production
Matilda Hellman

Research reports
Solidarity or self-interest? Public opinion in relation to alcohol policies in Sweden
David Karlsson, Sören Holmberg and Lennart Weibull

Improving measurement of harms from others’ drinking: A key informant study on type and severity of harm
Oliver Stanesby, Gerhard Gmel, Kathryn Graham, Thomas K Greenfield, Orratai Waleewong and Sharon C Wilsnack

Alcoholic beverage preferences among teenagers in Finland before and after the 2018 alcohol law change
Tomi Lintonen, Suvi Ahtinen and Anne Konu

Maternal alcohol intakes before and during pregnancy: Impact on the mother and infant outcome to 18 months
Barry William McDonald and Patricia Ellyett Watson

The gendered relationship with drunkenness among different generations in Mediterranean and Nordic countries
Sara Rolando, Jukka To¨rro¨nen and Franca Beccaria

Homeless people under the influence of alcohol admitted to hospital emergency departments in Poland
Anna Burak, Katarzyna Cierzniakowska and Aleksandra Popow

Commentary
Opinions on alcohol policy in Sweden
Thomas Karlsson

This issue includes the following themes

Procurement regulations in four Nordic countries, lifestyle factors among expectant fathers, the impact of prenatal substance exposure on health outcomes, parents’ experiences of abuse from their adult children with drug problems, interaction rituals in a drug scene

Public funding of science publishing: Why we are open access

Matilda Hellman

Cohort profile: ADEF Helsinki – a longitudinal register-based study on exposure to alcohol and drugs during foetal life

Anne M Koponen, Niina-Maria Nissinen, Mika Gissler, Taisto Sarkola, Ilona Autti-Rämö, Hanna Kahila

Balancing welfare and market logics: Procurement regulations for social and health services in four Nordic welfare states

Kerstin Stenius, Jessica Storbjörk

Associations between a risky psychosocial childhood and recurrent addiction compulsory care as adult

Robert Grahn, Mojgan Padyab, Lena Lundgren

Interaction rituals in an open drug scene

Trond E Grønnestad, Hildegunn Sagvaag, Philip Lalander

Pre conception use of cannabis and cocaine among men with pregnant partners

Elisabeth Lobben Munch, Svetlana Skurtveit, Marte Handal, Eva Skovlund

Parents’ experiences of abuse by their adult children with drug problems

Bengt Svensson, Torkel Richert, Björn Johnson

Can gambling-funded research be non-biased? The case of section 52

Matilda Hellman

Funding of gambling studies and its impact on research

Janne Nikkinen

In favour of tobacco control? Former smokers’ support for tobacco policies

Tove Sohlberg

What do elderly problem drinkers aim for? Choice of goal for treatment among elderly treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent patients

Jakob Emiliussen, Kjeld Andersen, Anette Søgaard Nielsen, Barbara Braun, Randi Bilberg

Secondary traumatic stress in Norwegian SUD-therapists: Symptoms and related factors

Ayna B Johansen, Eva Kristiansen, Ingerid Bjelland, Shedeh Tavakoli

Alarming attitudinal barriers to help-seeking in drug-related emergency situations: Results from a Swedish online survey

Christophe Soussan, Anette Kjellgren

Screening of problem gambling among a homeless population in Warsaw

Łukasz Wieczorek, Jakub Stokwiszewski, Justyna I Klingemann

Alcohol industry strategies to influence the reform of the Finnish Alcohol Law

Thomas Babila Sama, Heikki Hiilamo

Corrigendum to Employees’ attitudes towards welfare technology in substance abuse treatment in Finland

Comorbidity and concurrence of problems: Overlooked, not under-researched

Matilda Hellman

Concurrent use of addictive substances among alcohol drinkers: Prevalence and problems in a Swedish general population sample

Mats Ramstedt

Self-reported harm from others’ alcohol, cigarette and illegal drug use in Norway

Inger Synnøve Moan, Elin K Bye, Elisabet E Storvoll, Ingunn Olea Lund

Breath alcohol concentration, hazardous drinking and preloading among Swedish university students

Tobias H Elgàn, Natalie Durbeej, Johanna Gripenberg

Alcohol and illicit drug consumption and the association with risky sexual behaviour among Swedish youths visiting youth health clinics

Anna Strandberg, Charlotte Skoglund, Johanna Gripenberg, Pia Kvillemo

Assessment of driving fitness among patients with alcohol-related visits to two hospitals in eastern Finland

Juhani Kalsi, Markku Tervo, Timo Tervo

Fatal attraction: A narrative of early opioid addiction

Willy Pedersen

Where is “society”?

Matilda Hellman

Social inclusion of clients treated for substance abuse in Sweden in the 1980s: A 27-year follow-up

Ninive von Greiff, Lisa Skogens, Marie Berlin

Out of the ordinary: Media reports on wet eldercare facilities

Håkan Jönson, Tove Harnett

Declining alcohol consumption among adolescents and schools in Stockholm, 2010–2016

Per Carlson

Playing with gender borders: Flirting and alcohol consumption among young adults in Denmark

Mie Birk Jensen, Maria Dich Herold, Vibeke Asmussen Frank, Geoffrey Hunt

“Gjesten har aldri rett” – Bartendere på hippe utesteders forståelse av yrket

Skule Wigenstad

The war on good research: Debating research ethics and methods on the basis of Jay Levy’s The war on people who use drugs: The harms of Sweden’s aim for a drug-free society (Routledge, 2017)

Johan Edman

A window of opportunity for children growing up with parental substance-use problems

Anne Schanche Selbekk

Disclosure of alcohol-related harm: Children’s experiences

Ilona Tamutienė, Birutė Jogaitė

An upbringing with substance-abusing parents: Experiences of parentification and dysfunctional communication

Eva Tedgård, Maria Råstam, Ingegerd Wirtberg

Into the unknown: Treatment as a social arena for drug users’ transition into a non-using life

Inger Eide Robertson, Sverre Martin Nesvåg

Polluting pharmaceutical atmospheres: Compulsion, resistance, and symbolism of buprenorphine in Norway

Aleksandra Bartoszko

Standards for opioid use disorder care: An assessment of Nordic approaches

Charlotte Gedeon, Mikael Sandell, Inge Birkemose, Johan Kakko, Valgerður Rúnarsdóttir, Kaarlo Simojoki, Thomas Clausen, Fred Nyberg, Richard Littlewood, Hannu Alho

Childhood narratives about the experience of growing up with alcoholic parents

Anneli Silvén Hagström

When children with substance-abusing parents grow up and become parents themselves: A commentary

Elisabet Näsman

Professionals do not invite children to disclose family problems: A comment

Elisabet Näsman

Gambling – no ordinary commodity

Matilda Hellman

The total consumption model applied to gambling: Empirical validity and implications for gambling policy

Ingeborg Rossow

National gambling policies and the containment of the EU’s politico-legal influence

Jani Selin

Responsible gambling in practice: A case study of views and practices of Swedish oriented gambling companies

David Forsström, Jenny Cisneros Örnberg

Is there a need for personal gambling licences?

Janne Nikkinen

Cultures and spaces of convenience gambling

Michael Egerer, Virve Marionneau

Gamblers’ (mis-)interpretations of Problem Gambling Severity Index items: Ambiguities in qualitative accounts from the Swedish Longitudinal Gambling Study

Eva Samuelsson, Peter Wennberg, Kristina Sundqvist

Gambling patterns and associated risk and protective factors among Finnish young people

Atte Oksanen, Anu Sirola, Iina Savolainen, Markus Kaakinen

Gambling among Swedish youth: Predictors and prevalence among 15- and 17-year-old students

Johan Svensson, Kristina Sundqvist

Gambling involvement, type of gambling and grade point average among 18–29-year-old Finnish men and women

Tiina Latvala, Hannu Alho, Susanna Raisamo, Anne H Salonen

Social and healthcare reforms and vulnerable groups

Matilda Hellman

Nye bruksmønstre i et tobakksmarked i endring – kombinert bruk av sigaretter, snus og e-sigaretter blant ungdom

Camilla Stub Lundberg, Elisabeth Kvaavik, Rikke Tokle

Has illicit drug use become normalised in groups of Swedish youth? A latent class analysis of school survey data from 2012 to 2015

Patrik Karlsson, Mats Ekendahl, Josefin Månsson, Jonas Raninen

The association between social characteristics, alcoholic beverage preferences, and binge drinking in a Serbian adult population

Ljubica Pakovic, Jovana Todorovic, Milena Santric-Milicevic, Dragica Bukumiric, Zorica Terzic-Supic

Alcohol policies and attitudes toward alcohol prevention at Swedish student unions

Anna K. Strandberg, Tobias H. Elgán, Magnus Jägerskog, Johanna Gripenberg

More social research into polydrug use

Kati Kataja, Christoffer Tigerstedt, Pekka Hakkarainen

Poly and Tricky Dick: The drug war origins of the term “polydrug use”

Axel Klein

A virtual academy of polydrug use: Masters, novices and the art of combinations

Kati Kataja, Jukka Törrönen, Pekka Hakkarainen, Christoffer Tigerstedt

Contribution of alcohol and drug co-use to substance use problems: Data from a nationally-representative sample of US adults who have never been to treatment

Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe, Meenakshi S. Subbaraman, Thomas K. Greenfield, William C. Kerr

Comment on Karriker-Jaffe et al.

Karoliina Karjalainen

Book review: Studying recreational polydrug use through an ontology agent-based simulation

Jenni Savonen

Opioids, opioids, opioids: The plague among middle-aged white Americans

Matilda Hellman

Care outcomes and alcohol-related treatment utilisation profiles of patients with alcohol-use disorder: A prospective cohort study using electronic health records

Elina Rautiainen, Olli-Pekka Ryynänen, Tiina Laatikainen

Weight concerns as a predictor of smoking cessation according to nicotine dependence: A population-based study

Eeva-Liisa Tuovinen, Suoma E. Saarni, Taru H. Kinnunen, Hanna Ollila, Otto Ruokolainen,Kristiina Patja, Satu Männistö, Pekka Jousilahti, Jaakko Kaprio, Tellervo Korhonen

Prospective associations between childhood externalising and internalising problems and adolescent alcohol and drug use: The Bergen Child Study

Ove Heradstveit, Jens Christoffer Skogen, Tormod Bøe, Jørn Hetland, Mads Uffe Pedersen, Mari Hysing

Prevalence and correlates of stimulant and depressant pharmacological cognitive enhancement among Norwegian students

Helga Myrseth, Ståle Pallesen, Torbjørn Torsheim, Eilin Kristine Erevik

Extended opening hours at nightclubs in Visby: An evaluation of a trial in the summer of 2014

Thor Norström, Mats Ramstedt, Johan Svensson

The alcohol industry’s never-ending interest in research and policy

Matilda Hellman

Governance of substance use as a by-product of policing in Norway: A historical account

Kenneth Arctander Johansen, Virginie Debaere, Stijn Vandevelde, Michel Vandenbroeck

Great expectations: The bureaucratic handling of Swedish residential rehabilitation in the 21st century

Lena Eriksson, Johan Edman

The impact of relaxed traveller allowances: Fixed-effects analyses of the associations between consumer behaviour and alcohol use

Martin Stafström

Social media platforms as a photo-elicitation tool in research on alcohol intoxication and gender

Ryan Laws, Geoffrey Hunt, Tamar M. J. Antin

Changes in Finnish adolescents’ alcoholic beverage preferences 1999–2017

Tomi Lintonen, Suvi Ahtinen, Anne Konu

Kerstin Stenius looks back at developments in Nordic research and publishing

Matilda Wrede-Jäntti

Social causes of depression, anxiety and stress

Matilda Hellman

Social climate on tobacco control in an advanced tobacco control country: A population-based study in Finland

Otto Ruokolainen, Hanna Ollila, Kristiina Patja, Katja Borodulin, Tiina Laatikainen, Tellervo Korhonen

Depression, anxiety, and stress from substance-use disorder among family members in Iceland

Jóna Ólafsdóttir, Steinunn Hrafnsdóttir, Tarja Orjasniemi

Rescue the child or treat the adult? Understandings among professionals in dual treatment of substance-use disorders and parenting

Eli Marie Wiig, Astrid Halsa, Jørgen Bramness, Siv Merete Myra, Bente Storm Mowatt Haugland

What makes people with gambling disorder undergo treatment? Patient and professional perspectives

Łukasz Wieczorek, Katarzyna Dąbrowska

Gambling participation, gambling habits, gambling-related harm, and opinions on gambling advertising in Finland in 2016

Anne H. Salonen, Matilda Hellman, Tiina Latvala, Sari Castrén

Should we watch out for the giant isomorphic wheel of public health?

Matilda Hellman

The population, its health and social sciences

Sophy Bergenheim

The two sides of public health

Pekka Sulkunen

Framing drug and alcohol use as a public health problem in Britain: Past and present

Alex Mold

Public health is not an innocent concept

Kerstin Stenius

Relevant to all disciplines and professions but central to none: How may social alcohol and drug research flourish?

Robin Room

Reliability and validity of the Alcohol Marketing Assessment Rating Tool (AMART)

Jonathan K. Noel, Thomas F. Babor, Katherine Robaina

Is proximity to alcohol outlets associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm in Denmark?

Abdu K. Seid, Gabriele Berg-Beckhoff, Christiane Stock, Kim Bloomfield

Individual and school-class correlates of youth cannabis use in Sweden: A multilevel study

Patrik Karlsson, Mats Ekendahl, Isabella Gripe, Jonas Raninen

This issue of NAD deals with microdosing, alcohol-related maltreatment, gender differences among adolescents with substance abuse problems, media depictions of addiction problems, and the health service needs of users of anabolic androgenic steroids.

Alcohol-related maltreatment in child protection

Knowledge of the extent of alcohol-related maltreatment of children in Lithuania is limited. The study was based on a content analysis of child protection documents. More than one person with problematic alcohol consumption was identified in over a third of cases. Most often, it was the police (26.6%) or a close relative (16.3) who alerted the child welfare authorities about maltreatment.

Gender differences among young people with substance abuse problems

What are the similarities and differences in risk factors between boys and girls with addiction problems when they get into outpatient care? The study was based on interview data from 2169 youths over a three-year period from clinics in eleven Swedish cities. Girls came from more difficult family and childhood environments. They also had more likely problems at school, more difficult drug addiction and more serious mental health problems, while boys had much higher crime activity.

Psychedelic substances in tiny amounts

Micro dosing of psychedelic drugs is not about intoxication but about increased everyday function. The dosage is often about one tenth of the usual recreational dose. The 21 men in the thirties who participated in the interview study reported mainly positive experiences regarding mood, cognition and creativity.

Which voices are heard in media?

By analysing articles about addiction problems in daily newspapers in Poland, Italy and Finland, the study points to how reporting trends have changed since the early 1990s. More and more space is given to individuals with addiction problems and to researchers who represent a biomedical approach.

What do users of anabolic androgenic steroids want from health services?

The use of anabolic androgenic steroids can lead to increased muscle mass and strength, but also to unwanted side effects. In Norway, the specialized substance abuse treatment services are responsible for assisting users of anabolic androgenic steroids with health problems. The study points to how healthcare can become more accessible to this group. [The study is published in Norwegian but has an English language abstract]

Drinking with parents: Different measures, different associations with underage heavy drinking?

Hilde Pape, Elin K. Bye

Parent participation in alcohol prevention: Evaluation of an alcohol prevention programme

Frode Adolfsen, Henriette Kyrrestad Strøm, Monica Martinussen, Bjørn Helge Handegård, Henrik Natvig, Martin Eisemann, Roman Koposov

Determinants of electronic cigarette use among Finnish adults: Results from a population-based survey

Otto Ruokolainen, Hanna Ollila, Karoliina Karjalainen

“It looks kind of cool when cool people smoke, but…” Norwegian adolescents’ decoding of smoking scenes in films

Gunnar Sæbø, Janne Scheffels, Rikke Tokle

Recurrent cannabis use among Norwegian students: Prevalence, characteristics, and polysubstance use

Eilin K. Erevik, Torbjørn Torsheim, Cecilie S. Andreassen, Øystein Vedaa, Ståle Pallesen

Agency as a structuring principle

Matilda Hellman

Is it all about money? A qualitative analysis of problem gamblers’ conceptualisations of money

Maria Heiskanen

Patient satisfaction with treatments and outcomes in residential addiction institutions

Helle Wessel Andersson, Eli Otterholt, Rolf W. Gråwe

“It can’t happen to me”: Alcohol drinkers on the 2012 outbreak of methanol poisonings and the subsequent prohibition in the Czech Republic

Vendula Belackova, Barbara Janikova, Jaroslav Vacek, Hana Fidesova, Michal Miovsky

Barns upplevelser när föräldrars missbruk upphört: “Alltså det är svårt att må bra igen”

Karin Alexanderson, Elisabet Näsman

Alcohol use among Norwegian students: Demographics, personality and psychological health correlates of drinking patterns

Eilin K. Erevik, Ståle Pallesen, Øystein Vedaa, Cecilie S. Andreassen, Torbjørn Torsheim

Trends in alcohol drinking among university students at the Polish University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

Robert Podstawski, Elżbieta Wesołowska, Dariusz Choszcz

Alcohol and culture: An introduction

Anette Søgaard Nielsen, Anne-Marie Mai

Märta Tikkanen’s gender and alcohol saga

Anne-Marie Mai

Is training in creative writing a feasible treatment adjunct for clients suffering from chronic alcohol-use disorder?

Rikke Hellum, Stine Jensen, Anette Nielsen

Alcohol use and generational masculinity: An interdisciplinary approach

Jakob Emiliussen, Alastair David Morrison

The cultural aspect: How to measure and interpret epidemiological data on alcohol-use disorders across cultures

Jürgen Rehm, Robin Room

Drinking patterns at the sub-national level: What do they tell us about drinking cultures in European countries?

Kim Bloomfield, Ulrike Grittner, Ludwig Kraus, Daniela Piontek

Comment on Rehm and Room

Pekka Sulkunen

Exploring new substance use settings

Matilda Hellman

Scientific progress: The role of innovative qualitative inquiries

Matilda Hellman

A qualitative analysis of Pål Kraft

Johan Edman

The endless dilemma with qualitative research

Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos

Risky consumption of alcohol and drugs among employees at ski resorts

Maria Warne, Kristina Sinadinovic, Anne H Berman, Håkan Källmén, Stig Vinberg

The slippery slope of flubromazolam: Experiences of a novel psychoactive benzodiazepine as discussed on a Swedish online forum

Martin Andersson, Anette Kjellgren

Alcohol screening in North Denmark Region hospitals: Frequency of screening and experiences of health professionals

Mette Grønkjær, Lise Nørregaard Søndergaard, Mona Østergaard Klit, Kerstin Mariegaard, Kathrine Hoffmann Kusk

Assessment of alcohol and psychotropic drug use among old-age psychiatric patients in Norway: Experiences of health professionals

Aud Johannessen, Knut Engedal, Anne-Sofie Helvik

Self-reported health, use of alcohol and illicit drugs, and criminality among adults with foetal alcohol syndrome

Jenny Rangmar, Annika Dahlgren Sandberg, Marita Aronson, Claudia Fahlke

Nordic alcohol statistics 2010–2015

Matilda Hellman, Tom Kettunen

Thirty-three years later: Still a new-old journal
Matilda Hellman

The recovery movement and its implications for policy, commissioning and practice
David Best, Stephanie Judith De Alwis, Donna Burdett

Is it possible to recover from recovery?
Liese Recke

Can Nordic alcohol and drug treatment benefit from a recovery perspective?
Kerstin Stenius

Collaboration between community social services and healthcare institutions: The use of a collaborative individual plan
Håkan Källmén, Anders Hed, Tobias H. Elgán

Employees’ attitudes towards welfare technology in substance abuse treatment in Finland
Teemu Rantanen, Timo Toikko

Patterns of polydrug use among pregnant substance abusers
Therese Reitan

Psychometric properties of the UngDOK: A structured interview for adolescents with substance-use problems
Mikael Dahlberg, Mats Anderberg, Peter Wennberg

Substance use problems among people with mild/borderline intellectual disability: Challenges to mainstream multidisciplinary specialist substance treatment in Norway
Anne Juberg, Monica Røstad, Erik Søndenaa

Thematic issue on substance use and ageing

Thematic issue: Substance use and ageing

Sverre Nesvåg

“I could’ve had a better life”: Reflective life reviews told by late-middle-aged and older women and men with ongoing long-term alcohol problems

Magdalena Bergström

Concomitant alcohol and sedative-hypnotic drug use among the elderly in Norway

Elin Kristin Bye, Ingeborg Rossow

How do family pressure, health and ambivalence factor into entering alcohol treatment? Experiences of people aged 60 and older with alcohol use disorder

Jakob Emiliussen, Kjeld Andersen, Anette S. Nielsen

Äldre, alkohol och omsorgsbehov: Biståndshandläggare om arbetet med äldre personer med missbruksproblem

Evy Gunnarsson, Lis-Bodil Karlsson

Alcohol and prescribed psychotropic drug use among patients admitted to a department of old-age psychiatry in Norway

Aud Johannesen, Knut Engedal, Marianne Larsen, Elin Lillehovde, Line Tegner Stelander, Anne-Sofie Helvik

Den aldrende LAR pasienten

Hege Tollefsen Nyhagen, Helge Waal

Health and social issues among older patients in opioid maintenance treatment in Norway

Zhanna Gaulen, Silvia Eiken Alpers, Siv-Elin Leirvåg Carlsen, Sverre Nesvåg

Vurdering av helsetjenester for eldre med alkoholrelaterte problemer: Hva virker og hva kan bli bedre?

Ole Næss, Sverre Nesvåg

Aldring og skadelige rusmiddelvaner – muligheter og utfordringer

Ingjerd Woldstad

Thematic issue on alcohol's harm to others

Conceptual and methodological issues in studying alcohol’s harm to others

Robin Room, Anne-Marie Laslett and Heng Jiang give a comprehensive critical overview of the historical development of the alcohol’s harm to others approach. They assess an abundance of empirical studies and shed light on how they have tackled issues such as alcohol’s harm to other people or to institutions, with particular attention to causation, attribution and perspective. Johan Edman and Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe discuss these questions further in their respective commentaries.

Alcohol’s harm to others: a reinvented perspective with mixed policy implications

Katariina Warpenius and Christoffer Tigerstedt give an account of ways in which alcohol research has grasped and should grasp the kind of harm caused to people and relationships that cannot be studied by explicitly focusing on the drinker. They argue that taking the interactional nature of alcohol-related harm seriously offers a novel cross-cutting perspective to well-established traditions in the alcohol research field.

Challenges in estimating population impacts of alcohol’s harm to others

Ingeborg Rossow and Mats Ramstedt provide a methodological and conceptual critique of the burgeoning field of research that focuses on alcohol’s harm to others. They describe challenges faced by studies of alcohol’s harm to others and propose solutions to these problems.

Scoping response system management of alcohol’s harm to others in lower middle income countries

Alcohol’s harm to others is under-recognised and under-researched, particularly in low and middle-income areas where a disproportionate burden of alcohol harms accrue. Anne-Marie Laslett and co-authors describe a qualitative assessment of various countries’ service responses to alcohol’s harms to others in lower middle income countries.

How do older people’s drinking appear in the daily work of home care professionals?

Riitta Koivula, Christoffer Tigerstedt, Anni Vilkko, Kristiina Kuussaari and Satu Pajala consider issues around older people’s alcohol use and the role of home carers in addressing and managing situations where alcohol use causes difficulties. The professionals brought up their lacking qualifications in alcohol-related issues and the need for support from substance abuse services

Everything in moderation? A mixed methods study on perceptions of parents’ drinking in the presence of children

Janne Scheffels, Inger Synnøve Moan and Elisabet Storvoll use a mixed methods approach to explore attitudes towards parents’ drinking in the presence of their children. Situations expressly described as moderate and positive by adults may even turn out to be negative experiences for the children.

Exploring smokers’ opposition to proposed tobacco control strategies

Smokers are in favour of legislation that targets passive smoking, but defend their right to smoke in most public spaces. According to Marianne Lund, smokers opposed most of the proposed tobacco control strategies. Their support may be more important in tobacco control areas that aim to denormalise smoking and where enforcement is more complex. Helen Keane and Tove Sohlberg have written commentaries.

Risky drinking among Norwegian students

Solbjørg Makalani Myrtveit and colleagues investigate whether participation in the introductory week at Norwegian universities is associated with risky drinking. They also investigate whether risky drinking is associated with academic performance.

Factors influencing whether nurses talk to somatic patients about their alcohol consumption

Many Danes drink so much that it is detrimental to their health. As they are at risk of suffering diseases which can lead to hospitalisation on somatic wards, hospitals are ideal arenas for identifying individuals whose alcohol consumption is excessive. Rikke Hellum, Lene Bjerregaard and Anette Søgaard Nielsen identify potential factors that influence whether or not nurses talk to patients about their alcohol consumption on somatic wards. They also examine whether a screening project may affect the nurses’ readiness to talk about alcohol use with their patients.

Assessment of personality problems among patients with substance use disorders

Several studies have shown that personality disorders are frequently occurring among patients with substance use disorders. Ingebjørg Aspeland Lien and Espen Ajo Arnevik explore whether personality problems might be assessed among SUD patients in early stages of treatment.

Binge drinking and internalised sexual stigma among Italian lesbian, gay and bisexual young adults

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people are at increased risk to develop alcohol-related problems compared to heterosexuals. Valeria Verrastro and colleagues describe alcohol use patterns in relation to alcohol expectancies, internalised sexual stigma and sensation seeking and to highlight the specific risk factors that sexual minority subgroups face.

Problematic alcohol use and problem gambling

This study by Johanna Nordmyr, Anna K. Forsman and Karin Österman explores associations between structural and functional aspects of social networks and relationships (social ties) among individuals exhibiting problematic alcohol use and problem gambling, respectively. Functional aspects of individual-level social ties appear to be more relevant when studying problematic alcohol use or problem gambling, similarly to other forms of mental health problems.

Empowered communities: Science, ideology and the limits of political action

Filip Roumeliotis investigates how empowerment and democratic participation are conceptualized in the drug prevention program ‘Communities that Care’. The analysis is based on 13 publications written by program developers and other collaborators. He argues that the program may exert ‘ideological closure’ on the ability of communities to speak in properly political terms through disciplining communities into a common language that assert primacy of a (particular brand of) scientific reasoning.

Continuity and change in Swedish print media constructions of cannabis

Josefin Månsson describes and analyses how cannabis is constructed in Swedish print media, and asks whether this has changed over time. The Swedish print media generally has a crime-centred and deterrent approach towards cannabis, with prohibition at the heart of the reporting. International events do however introduce discursive alternatives. It remains to be seen if these new ways of writing about cannabis will strengthen or challenge traditional Swedish prohibitionist constructions.

Pregnant substance-abusing women in involuntary treatment

Use of coercion against pregnant women who misuse substances was legalised in Norway in 1996. Siv Merete Myra and colleagues explored whether an attachment between the mother and her unborn child was possible in a context of coercion as experienced from the woman’s perspective. They found that involuntary detention enabled safety for and connection with the unborn child. Within this context, the pregnant substance-abusing women’s own relational experiences and developmental histories represent the most significant barrier for their ability to bond with the expected child.

Childhood maltreatment and alcohol misuse in a sample of Danish young adults

In their study, Susan Cronin, Siobhan Murphy and Ask Elklit examined the relationship between alcohol misuse and different types of childhood maltreatment in a sample of young adults. A significant relationship was found between childhood maltreatment and alcohol misuse. This relationship was significantly stronger for maltreated women, which identifies a gap in the literature. High associations between maltreatment and alcohol misuse in females may suggest alcohol is used as a coping strategy following childhood maltreatment.

Prevalence and risk factors of electronic cigarette use among adolescents

Is vaping prevalent among Swedish adolescents? Susanna Geidne and colleagues found that one out of four Swedish grade 9 students have tried e-cigarettes. They also found that the use of e-cigarettes tended to cluster with the use of other substances, such as other tobacco products and alcohol. The article is commented on by Karl E. Lund and Jaana M. Kinnunen.

Preventing and responding to gambling-related harm and crime in the workplace

Per Binde has studied gambling-related harm and crime in the workplace. In his outline of key prevention and response measures to problem gambling, he includes substance use and gambling policy, problem gambling awareness, attention to signs of gambling-related harm, control functions, appropriate responses to harmful gambling, and rehabilitation. According to Binde, the workplace should play a greater role in the universal, selective and indicated prevention of problem gambling

Exploring treatment culture and overdose in Norway

Research shows that the risk of overdose mortality among marginalized drug users is particularly high during the first weeks after discharge from inpatient treatment. Elin Berg investigated whether there might be a connection between marginalization and treatment culture to understand fatale overdoses after discharge from inpatient treatment. The case study is focused on a single individual and his treatment process in Norway. The case shows that there may be a relationship between marginality, treatment culture and overdose mortality. Cultural and structural aspects of the treatment system put subject in an empty and risky situation that probably contributed to his death.

Use of cognitive enhancers among medical students in Lithuania

Aistė Lengvenytė, Robertas Strumila and Jurgita Grikinienė have studied the use of cognitive enhancers among medical students in Lithuania.They wanted to determine the reasons for usage and evaluate the contributing factors such as socio-demographic characteristics, stress levels, sleep quality and knowing somebody who has used a neuro-enhancing drug. In Lithuania, 1 of 12 medical students report having used neuro-enhancing drugs. Male students reported three times higher prevalence rates than females.

Lack of information can be come a barrier for entering treatment

What kind of information do individuals in treatment for alcohol problems find should be available before treatment start? Anette Søgaard Nielsen and Annette Elkjær Ellermann found that by far the most participants rated information about the content of treatment as a priority. Individuals seeking and entering treatment for alcohol problems require information about the treatment itself and what it contains before they start treatment. This is in stark contrast to the kind of information that treatment seekers currently find, such as the opening hours of the treatment centre and similar practicalities. The article is followed with three commentaries by Jessica Storbjörk, Katja Kuusisto and Morten Hesse.

Mutual support and recovery in the Russian Alcoholics Anonymous online community

In Russia the paradigm of alcoholism as a disease is still in contrast to the general perception of alcoholics as weak-willed. Laura Lyytikäinen studied alcoholism and recovery in Russia by looking at the Russian Alcoholics Anonymous online group. The online community creates a space for engagement with AA’s 12-Step program and service work of supporting other alcoholics in recovery in the context of Russia, where face-to-face AA groups and other recovery programmes are scarce. When the state cannot deliver the services for problem drinkers or recovering alcoholics, people may turn to the Internet to find alternative information and social support.

Thematic issue on gambling and gender

Significant life events and social connectedness in Australian women’s gambling experiences

Elaine M. Nuske, Louise Holdsworth and <b>Helen Breen examine the relation between significant life events, social connections and gambling among Australian female gamblers. Pierre Bourdieu’s and Robert D. Putnam’s theories on social capital are used to understand women’s gambling engagement and gambling-related problems.

Problem gambling and drinking among Finnish women

Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos analyses the relation between gender and addiction in short online narratives written by Finnish female problem gamblers. The women’s problematic gambling behaviour casts light on relationships and the gendered roles within the family. The qualitative data gives also an insight into female problem gamblers’ relation to drinking.

A gender perspective on gambling clusters in Sweden using longitudinal data

Ulla Romild, Jessika Svensson and Rachel Volberg use the Swedish Longitudinal Gambling Study (SWELOGS) data to study past-year gambling participation (cf. frequency and forms of gambling) by gender among 16 to 84-year-old respondents. Different clusters are identified representing various forms of gambling participation and indicating gender and socio-demographic differences between and within them.

At-risk and problem gambling among Finnish youth

Robert Edgren and colleagues explore the association between at-risk gambling, problem gambling, risky alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, poor mental health and loneliness among 15 to 28-year-old Finnish males and females. The data is derived from the Finnish Gambling Survey 2011. The study also reviews the meanings of risky behaviours among adolescents and emerging adults and the impact of gender and age in the development of problems.

From boredom to dependence: The medicalisation of the Swedish gambling problem

Johan Edman and Josefine Berndt study the medicalisation of gambling in Sweden by comparing discussion protocols and parliamentary bills from the early 1970s to the early 2010s. The political handling of the gambling problem reveals the process of medicalisation of misuse, but it also points out major social and economic changes in the Swedish society.

Involvement in alcohol-related verbal or physical aggression. Does social status matter?

In their analyses of a large sample of Swedes (N=104316), Ludwig Kraus and colleagues assessed the association between social status variables and aggression when controlling for volume of alcohol consumption and episodic heavy drinking (EHD), tested whether social status moderates the association between volume or EHD and verbal as well as physical aggression, and investigated whether EHD moderates the effect of volume on aggression. They found that groups of lower educated and nonmarried individuals experience verbal or physical aggression over and above different levels of consumption.

Gambling, violent behaviour and attitudes towards violence among adolescent gamblers in Finland

Tiina Räsänen and colleagues explored the relationship between gambling and violent behaviour and attitudes towards violence among 14- and 16-year-old Finnish adolescents. They found that both gambling frequency and the number of gambling-related harms were linked to violent behaviour as well as to positive attitudes towards violence. Adolescents who engaged in gambling on a daily basis and/or experienced gambling harms had the highest risk.

Monitoring local alcohol prevention in Sweden

Swedish municipalities carry out a variety of alcohol prevention activities, but there is little knowledge of how these have developed over time, due partly to the lack of tools for monitoring prevention activities locally. In this study Tony Nilsson, Håkan Leifman and Sven Andréasson develop an Alcohol Prevention Magnitude Measure (APMM) based on local data, and analyse the development of local alcohol prevention by using APMM. The results reveal that local alcohol prevention in Sweden, as measured by the APMM, has increased generally between 2006 and 2010 as a result of more local policies and activities.

Ten years of maintenance treatement in Norway

The national Opiate Maintenance Treatment (OMT) program in Norway started officially in 1998. Edle Ravndal and Grethe Lauritzen investigate the prevalence of live OMT patients in the total sample after 10 years, and compare the outcome of primarily substance abuse, anxiety and depression among OMT patients versus non-OMT patients. The OMT-group reported to a larger extent more anxiety and depression throughout the total observation period than the non OMT participants. Use of heroin and criminality were significantly reduced in both groups, but the OMT patients had more difficulties in reducing the use of benzodiazepines and cannabis.

Dynamic control important for substance abuse treatment in Norwegian prisons

The treatment of prison inmates in the Nordic countries has been described as humane and welfare-oriented. Janne Henriette Ingarsdotter Helgesen explores how key actors working in 13 substance treatment units in Norwegian prisons assess the responsibilities, working methods and goal attainment of these units, and how their descriptions fit the idea of a Nordic exceptionalism. The main pattern that emerges from this study supports that welfare orientation and ideas about therapy and rehabilitation are priorities in work with imprisoned substance users in substance

The creation of addictology behind the iron curtain

In their perspective article, Mihal Miovsky and colleagues seek to identify, describe and explain important events in shaping the historical context where the Czech education in addiction science and conception of addictology were developed. Because of the Iron Curtain, Czech practitioners had to develop their own concept of addiction and ideas on training psychotherapists so they could not be labelled western or anti-state, or be subject to intense state control.

The compartmentalisation of social science: What are the implications?

In our editorial Matilda Hellman deliberates differences between basic and applied research. In the social sciences researchers have become specialised experts inhabiting narrow compartments of knowledge production. What does this mean for the future alcohol and drug research?

Four lessons from drug policy reform movements

<b>Ole Rogeberg</b> discusses how a public health approach sometimes fails to capture several concerns seen as important by recent drug policy reform movements, such as the full harms of illegal markets, the subjectively valued consumption of intoxicants, the dysfunctionality of current policy processes in the drug field and the value of the knowledge gained from policy experiments. Commentaries by Thomas Babor and Robin Room.

Targeting khat or targeting Somalis? A discourse analysis

In Scandinavia, the use of the psychoactive plant khat is widely seen as a social and health problem exclusively affecting the Somali immigrant population. Johan Nordgren has analysed the khat abuse discourse as it is presented in evaluation reports describing projects initiated by the social services to reduce khat abuse. According to Nordgren, overreliance on cultural explanations overlooks socioeconomic issues and that the focus should be on potentially problematic patterns of khat use rather than Somali immigrants in general.

The credibility of risk information about licit substances among Swedish adults

In this exploratory study, Mats Ekendahl and Patrik Karlsson analyse how Swedish adults trust and perceive risk information regarding alcohol, cigarettes and wet snuff (“snus”) provided by public authorities. The study suggests that attitudes on risk information are substance-specific and associated in complex ways with gender, age, education and experience of own substance use. The study indicates that the general population in Sweden receives what is seen as an adequate amount of knowledge from public authorities, and finds it consistent and trustworthy.

Alcohol-related sickness absence of young employees in Norway

Combining survey and register-based data, Line Schou and Gunn Birkelund have studied whether there are differences in alcohol-related sickness absence according to socioeconomic status and family situation among young employees in Norway. They have also assessed whether differences can be attributed mainly to differences. The authors found that alcohol-related sickness absence is more common among people who are single and without children, and more common among men than women. With the exception of income, socioeconomic factors do not seem to be important. The differences between groups appeared to be only partly a result of different drinking patterns.

Changing arenas of underage adolescent binge drinking in Swedish small towns

Using an ethnographic approach, Birgitta Ander and colleagues have explored arenas of adolescent binge drinking in small Swedish towns and the meanings these have for young persons. The focus of the article is on space and place, and on the geography of underage drinking. The authors found that adolescent binge drinkers have moved away from street and other outdoor drinking arenas to home environments, where they feel they have more control over their party location and participants.

The social exclusion of Swedish drug users

What happened to the ‘first generation’ of drug Swedish users? In this Swedish language article <b>Susanne Alm</b> documents the social exclusion of drug users in Swedish society using a large data set of persons born in Stockholm in 1953 (Stockholm Birth Cohort Study). Very few of those with drug problems in their youth were able to establish a firm position in society in the long run. The article is followed by three commentaries in Swedish and Norwegian by Jessica Storbjörk, Edle Ravndal and Heini Kainulainen.

Prisoners’ experiences of drug treatment and punishment in four Nordic countries

Based on 91 qualitative interviews and 6 months of observations in 12 prisons, in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, the authors study how prisoners experience drug treatment, control and sanctions. Hedda Giertsen, Per-Åke Nylander, Vibeke Asmussen Frank, Torsten Kolind and Jouni Tourunen found that staff relations are regarded as more important than treatment methods, while controls and sanctions are seen as a part of everyday life in prison.

The Bench: An open drug scene and its people

Based on a year of participant observation this article describes life in an open illicit drug milieu in a Norwegian city. Trond Erik Grønnestad and Philip Lalander found that frequenting this stigmatized place with its everyday rituals is an expression of the need for dignity and human understanding among people who are regarded as urban outcasts.

Prevention of alcohol and drug misuse in adolescents: An overview of systematic reviews

Elke Emmers, Geertruida Elsiena Bekkering and Karin Hannes present an overview of recent systematic reviews, summarising the evidence on the effectiveness of prevention strategies that target substance misusing adolescents. There is a small but consistent positive effect of school-based prevention programmes.

Social work assessment of underage alcohol consumption in Sweden and Italy

In this cross-national focus group study Paolo Guidi and Matteo Di Placido ask thirty-five social workers employed in public social services in Stockholm, Malmö (Sweden), and Genoa (Italy) to assess and discuss a vignette story of underage alcohol consumption. The authors found that Italian social workers are in general more concerned and interventionist than are their Swedish colleagues who view teenage alcohol consumption as common behaviour.

Anabolic-androgenic steroid use in the Nordic countries

How extensive is the non medical use of anabolic-androgenic steroids in the Nordic countries? Is it a public health problem? The analysis by <b>Dominic Sagoe</b> and colleagues included 32 studies that provided original data on 48 lifetime prevalence rates based on a total of 233,475 inhabitants from all five Nordic countries. Three commentaries are also available by Rafn Jónsson and Bilgrei och Sandøy with a reply from Sagoe och Pallesen. Kerstin Stenius also discusses the topic in her editorial.

From cannabis to problem drinking? Use and abuse from youth to adulthood

The transition to adulthood tends to entail changes in consumption of alcohol and drugs. In this Norwegian longitudinal panel study, Christer Hyggen and Torild Hammer study the relationship between cannabis and alcohol use in relation to adult roles and responsibilities.

One in five Norwegians engage in risky drinking

The population study by Torleif Halkjelsvik and Elisabet Storvoll use the AUDIT intrument to estimate the the proportion of the Norwegian population that according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines should be followed up by primary health care, based on three levels of risk drinking. They found that 17% scored whithin these risk categories. (Abstract in English, article in Norwegian)

Hasardspel: var drar läkare gränsen mellan problematiskt och oproblematiskt beteende?

Allmänläkare är nyckelpersoner i bestämmandet av vad som betraktas som spelproblem. Författarna visar hur skillnaderna i problemdefinitioner verkar vara relaterade till vem som vårdar och hur spelandet regleras i tre länder: Finland, Frankrike och Tyskland. De pekar på hur viktigt det är att ha kulturell känslighet då man skapar rekommendationer för sociala interventioner. Studien baserar sig på fokusgruppsintervjuer.

Implementation of a multicomponent Responsible Beverage Service programme in Sweden

Ulrika Haggård and her co-authors identify factors that promote or hinder implementation of a multicomponent Responsible Beverage Service programme in Swedish municipalities. Suggestions on how to elude some of the hindering factors are proposed, e.g. to develop long-time financial plans, to provide better information about the RBS program in full, and to stress the importance of collaboration between representatives from the municipalities, police authorities and owners of on-licenced premises.

Significant others in substance abusers’ change talk in the Finnish Probation Service

This Finnish study by Harri Sarpavaara explores the meanings substance-abusing clients attach to family and friendships during motivational interviewing (MI) sessions in Probation Service. It is suggested that the meaning of significant others should not be overlooked in MI and other substance abuse treatment.