Author: Michelle Villar

01 Nov ACE Project Hosts Webinar on E-cigarette Use for M-DCPS SSCs

ACE Project graduate students, Benjelene Sutherland and Katharine Crooks, provided a webinar on e-cigarette use/vaping to Miami-Dade County Public Schools Student Success Centers (M-DCPS SSCs). Alongside ACE Project program coordinator, Nasreen Hidmi, they provided information on current rates of e-cigarette use/vaping among teens and described potential risks of e-cigarette use/vaping on teens and the developing brain. Over 20 students attended the live webinar hosted on October 18th.

Thank you for providing the community with necessary information on e-cigarettes, ACE team!

08 Oct ReACH Lab Hosts 1st Annual Open House

Earlier this semester, ReACH Lab Director Dr. Elisa Trucco hosted the 1st annual ReACH Lab Open House. The open house was hosted in order to give prospective graduate students information about Florida International University, the Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology PhD program, the Center for Children and Families, and the ReACH Lab. The open house was held over Zoom, with 13 prospective graduate students attending from all over the globe. ReACH Lab graduate students also joined Dr. Trucco, in order to give prospective applicants a chance to ask questions to all members of the lab. The ReACH team hopes the open house provided prospective applicants with an equal opportunity to learn more about the lab and the program, before needing to apply. Dr. Trucco aims to make this a yearly event, with the hopes that interested applicants will gain a unique insight into the lab before submitting applications.

29 Sep ACE Project Attends 2021 Children’s Trust Exposition

Earlier this month, ACE Project members Brigitte Madan (Senior Research Assistant) and Benjelene Sutherland (Graduate Student) attended the 2021 Children’s Trust Family Exposition at the History of Miami Museum. The Family Expo serves to “connect [families] with the Trust’s extensive provider network as well as other community agencies and organizations that serve them.” The Children’s Trust hosts the Family Expo to give parents the opportunity to “learn of the wealth of resources and opportunities available to their children including after-school and enrichment programs, nutrition education, injury prevention, programs for children with special needs, pre-K registration information and KidCare outreach.” A total of 15 contact sheets from families and adolescents interested in the ACE Project were collected. Great job continuing community outreach, ACE Project team!

01 Sep ReACH Lab to Host Virtual Open House for Prospective Graduate Students

ReACH Lab director, Dr. Elisa Trucco, will be hosting a virtual open house over Zoom for prospective graduate students to learn more about Florida International University’s ‘Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology’ Doctoral Program. Dr. Trucco, alongside current ReACH Lab graduate students, will also be providing prospective students with information about the ReACH Lab and ongoing projects.

If you are interested in attending this event, please register here: https://t.co/MHqK583lJ8?amp=1

30 Aug Choice in Language can Reduce Addiction and Mental Health Stigma

A recent commentary published in Neuropsychopharmacology addresses how choosing to use appropriate language when describing mental illness and addiction can reduce stigma while improving how individuals with these conditions are treated in health care settings. The perspective, published by leaders from the National Institutes of Health, emphasizes that language chosen by researchers and clinicians plays “a major role in shaping people’s thoughts and beliefs,” and that words must be carefully selected when describing mental health conditions and addiction. Authors suggest using language based in science and words that validate the patient’s worth to positively impact how they are treated in society.

According to the authors, breaking down stigma is a crucial component in removing barriers to care. 35% of people in the U.S. with serious mental illness and 90% of people with substance use disorders do not receive treatment, with perceived public stigma and self-stigma being a significant hinderance in seeking treatment. Research from Harvard University shows support for language change impacting stigma, with a study finding that doctoral-level clinicians in mental health and addiction were more likely to “favor punishment (a jail sentence) versus treatment for a character when that individual was described as a ‘substance abuser,’ versus when they were described as having a ‘substance use disorder.’”

Authors note that, given the ever-present presence of stigmatizing words like “addict” and “alcoholic,” even in professional literature, it is not surprising that the treatment gap is so much larger for substance use disorders compared to other mental illnesses. A study from 2019 found that 17% of people with an alcohol or other substance use disorder chose not to pursue treatment due to concerns that their community would have a lesser opinion of them. Additionally, previously traumatizing experiences of stigma or discrimination in healthcare settings may contribute to the low levels of treatment-seeking.

Changes in language choice are crucial in order to break down barriers and prejudice for those in need of mental health and addiction services. It is important to correct the public if any stigmatizing language is used in order to properly educate society about conditions that “have long been, and continue to be, greatly misunderstood.”

11 Aug Marijuana and Alcohol Use Among Adolescents Remains Steady During Pandemic, Vaping Rates Decline

Adolescents reported a record decrease in perceived availability of marijuana and alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the use of these substances did not significantly change. Data from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, which has been measuring substance use and related attitudes among adolescents for the past 46 years, was used by University of Michigan, Ann Arbor researchers. Their research findings (published June 2021) show that limiting the substance supply alone is not enough to reduce adolescent drug use. 

In order to understand the effects of the pandemic, MTF surveyed 12^th graders between the months of February to March and July to August of 2020. Responses showed that adolescents perceived a decrease in alcohol and marijuana availability at the beginning of the pandemic. Large decreases usually consist of a one to two percent difference in perceived availability, yet during 2020, the largest decrease since 1975 was reported. Marijuana perceived availability among adolescents decreased by 17% points, while alcohol decreased by 24% points. However, no significant decrease was reported in marijuana and alcohol use. The data mentioned above was weighted to be nationally representative. 

It is expected that the use of these substances did not decrease due to the wide availability of marijuana and alcohol, as most students reported having access to them despite the social restrictions and decreased availability caused by the pandemic. Another reason for this plateau in use might be due to adolescents increasing their efforts to obtain alcohol and marijuana when confronted with less availability. 

On the other hand, adolescents’ perceived availability of nicotine also decreased during the pandemic and, unlike the previously mentioned substances, nicotine use subsequently decreased. This decrease might be due to the legal smoking age increasing to 21 in early 2020. An increase in reported vaping-related lung injuries might also have had an effect on this decrease. The team lead and author of the MTF study, Dr. Richard A. Miech, reiterated the difficulty in lowering underage substance use by simply decreasing availability and stated that “the best strategy is likely to be one that combines approaches to limit the supply of these substances with efforts to decrease demand, through educational and public health campaigns.”

02 Aug ReACH Lab Welcomes New Research Assistants

This upcoming Fall semester, the ACE Project will be welcoming three new Research Assistants: Luis Diaz, Alexandra Sawczak, and Kevin Leiva.

Luis Diaz Carrasco is a Post-Bac Research Assistant who received a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Florida International University. Through volunteering and working as a medical scribe, Luis confirmed his passion for the field of medicine. More specifically preventive medicine, which focuses on promoting health and preventing disease in individuals and communities. He plans on attending medical school and obtaining his M.D. degree, with the goal of using his skills to help build a healthcare system based on the prevention of diseases.

Alexandra Sawczak is an Undergraduate Honors student at Florida International University majoring in Biological Sciences. She is very passionate about furthering her education in medicine and pursuing a career in pulmonology. As president and founder of Be The Match On Campus, she fundraises and registers donors for the National Bone Marrow Registry in order to save lives of patients with blood cancers. Alexandra is an executive board member of Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Honor Society and a member of Phi Delta Epsilon Pre-Medical Fraternity, where she has been able to enhance her knowledge and skills in the medical field and raises funds for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Kevin Leiva, who will work closely with ReACH Lab graduate student Julie Cristello, is an undergraduate student majoring in biological sciences with a minor in business. Kevin is a QBIC scholar and a member of the international medical Fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon. Being a part of these organizations has allowed Kevin to spend more time helping others and bringing joy to those in need, and in the future, plans to attend medical school and become a physician to better serve the people in this community, focusing on minorities.

Thank you to all ReACH Lab RAs for your hard work and your interest in our research!

26 Jul ReACH Lab Members to Present at ABCT 2021 Annual Conference

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) 2021 Annual Conference will take place from November 18th to the 21st in New Orleans, LA. The conference seeks to promote cognitive and behavioral practice and science regarding public health, social justice, policy, research, practice, and training.

ReACH Lab members Nasreen Hidmi, Odette Manresa, and Sarah Hartmann collaborated on and received two poster presentation acceptances for this current year’s ABCT conference. The first poster acceptance is titled “The continued benefit of distress tolerance during the COVID-19 pandemic,” which assesses the changes in distress tolerance impact on adolescent mental health and perceived quality of life outcomes across the course of the pandemic. Findings suggested that pandemic-associated stressors negatively affecting adolescent mental health and quality of life can be mitigated by distress tolerance. On the other hand, the second poster acceptance titled “Coping activities during COVID-19 ameliorate the lack of technical resources’ negative impact on adolescent mental health” examined the association between lack of technical resources and mental health in adolescents, and whether this relationship is moderated by positive coping activities. Research findings suggested that the negative effects on adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic might be partially mitigated by positive coping activities ​​but even more so, a focus on increasing universal student access to technical resources for remote learning.

Congratulations to Nasreen, Odette, and Sarah on both acceptances!

12 Jul Juul Labs Reaches a $40 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Filed By North Carolina

As seen in a New York Times article, multiple lawsuits were filed against Juul Labs, an electronic cigarette company. The company was accused of contributing significantly to the rise in underage vaping and nicotine use (which has been labeled as an epidemic by the F.D.A) through their marketing strategies. The plaintiffs claim that Juul Labs knew, or should have known, that marketing towards adolescents would lead to an increase in nicotine addiction among teenagers.

A settlement of USD $40 million will be paid in the span of six years to North Carolina, the first of fourteen states that sued the company. The money will be used to fund anti-vaping campaigns and programs, and to research e-cigarettes. This settlement was reached without the company admitting the allegations. As a result, they will no longer need to go through with the jury trial (which was scheduled to occur this summer), but the Food and Drug Administration has yet to decide whether Juul Labs will be allowed to continue selling their vapes as a tool to help adult smokers quit traditional cigarette smoking. In the meantime, the company agreed to abide to the following regulations in the state of NC. First, their products will only be sold from behind the counters. Second, they will be required to use age verification systems through a third-party when selling online. Third, they will commit to sending fake underage shoppers to approximately 1,000 stores annually to test whether the products are being sold to minors. The fourth and final regulation states that they will refrain from using models that are under the age of 35 years old in advertisements.

However, this is not the end of court cases for Juul Labs. Aside from the lawsuits started by the states, a multi-district litigation made up of approximately 2,000 different cases have been filed by cities, counties, and school districts, but none of them are scheduled to begin in 2021. Additionally, a bipartisan investigation of Juul Lab’s marketing and sale practices is currently underway, conducted by a large group of attorney generals across the nation.

As stated by the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew L. Myers, these turn of events are a step in the right direction towards reducing underage vaping, yet it is not enough to solve the current crisis.

21 Jun Drug Overdose Deaths at Highest Peak Since Opioid Epidemic

According to a recent New York Times article, the past year has accounted for the highest number of deaths due to drug overdose since the 1990s, when the opioid epidemic was just beginning. The death of more than 87,000 Americans has caused many to consider it a public health crisis. This has been worsened due to the stress brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused high unemployment rates, city lockdowns, self-quarantines, and the temporary closing of many treatment programs responsible for providing the medication used to reverse overdoses.

This preliminary data is based on information released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which showed a 29% rise in overdose-related deaths occurred between October 2019 and September 2020, most of which involved the use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Unlike the opioid epidemic, which was mainly affecting White Americans, the current crisis is affecting Black Americans at a higher rate. Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, adds that “the risk of dying from a methamphetamine overdose is 12-fold higher among American Indians and Alaskan Natives than other groups.” Dr. Volkow says drug combinations, like fentanyl with stimulants, are also more prevalent than ever before, mainly due to the larger profit generated by dealers for lacing non-opioid drugs with cheaper opioids.

The current administration recently expressed the urge to address and prioritize this epidemic by releasing an outline with measures regarding addiction treatment like those also supported by the previous administration. The ‘American Rescue Plan Act’ was developed by President Biden, where US$1.5 billion will go towards preventing and treating substance use disorders and US$30 million will go towards funding local services.