Reach News

19 Mar Dr. Trucco to Present at the Annual Research Society on Alcoholism Conference

ReACH Lab Director, Dr. Elisa Trucco, will be presenting her work examining genetic risk factors and neurobiological underpinnings of adolescent internalizing and externalizing behavior at RSA’s annual conference in Denver, CO. Her first project is in collaboration with Dr. Nicole Fava at FIU’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work as well as colleagues at the University of Michigan. This presentation entitled, “Relation between childhood adversity, externalizing behavior, and substance use in adolescence: Mediating effects of brain processes” examines the role of inhibitory control as a mechanism through which early childhood adversity impacts the development of externalizing behavior and substance use. The second project is in collaboration with Andrea Hussong at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and colleagues at the University of Michigan. This presentation entitled, “Biological underpinnings of an internalizing pathway to alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use” examines how childhood temperament and internalizing behavior mediate the association between several genetic risk factors and later substance use. 

19 Mar The ReACH Lab Welcomes Julie and Annabel!

The ReACH Lab is excited to welcome its newest members, Julie Cristello and Annabel Franz. Julie and Annabel will be starting the Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology Program at FIU in fall 2017. Julie is currently working at Massachusetts General Hospital and Annabel is currently working at the Medical University of South Carolina. Congratulations!

13 Mar ReACH Lab Member, Barry Ladis, to Present at SPR

Congratulations to ReACH Lab member, Barry Ladis, for his acceptance to present at the Society for Prevention Research’s 25th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Barry will be presenting his poster, “Development of a Comprehensive Measure of Parenting Quality for Early Adolescence.”

24 Feb Dr. Trucco Selected for the 2017 National Cancer Institute Integration Sandpit

Dr. Trucco was selected to participate in this year’s Sandpit on Knowledge Integration Across Health Domains, Professions, and Nations to Advance Cancer Prevention through the National Cancer Instate and Cancer Research UK. This workshop will bring together a broad, multidisciplinary group of participants to collaborate on innovative ideas for integrating knowledge across health behaviors, research fields, and national contexts in order to advance cancer control and prevention.

27 Jan Dr. Trucco Recognized as a Rising Star

ReACH Lab Director, Dr. Elisa Trucco, was recognized as one of the Association for Psychological Science’s Rising Stars! The APS Rising Star designation is presented to outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their research careers. See a full list of all the 2016  Rising Star recipients!

15 Jan ReACH Lab Takes New Orleans by Storm

Congratulations to ReACH Lab Graduate Assistant, Barry Ladis, for his presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research’s Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA.

Barry also had the opportunity to met Dr. J. David Hawkins, renowned expert in the prevention of problem behaviors among youth.

15 Dec Rise in Infant Opioid Dependence in Rural Areas

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and maternal opioid use have increased 5-fold in the US between 2000-2012. Research has shown that rising rates of drug dependence in newborns are due largely to widening use of opioids among pregnant women. A new study in JAMA Pediatrics has found that drug-dependence in newborns has increased disproportionately in rural areas. JAMA Pediatrics examined data from 2004-2013 to compare infants with NAS in rural and urban areas. Their results found infants diagnosed with NAS increased in rural areas from 1.2 in 2004 to 7.5 in 2013, whereas in urban areas the NAS increased from 1.4 in 2004 to 4.8 in 2013. Infants with NAS experience irritability, breathing problems, seizures, low birth weight, and uncoordinated sucking and swallowing reflexes. These complications have had a negative impact on rural hospitals, which typically have less resources than those in urban areas. These findings highlight the urgent need for additional research on risk and protective factors that are contributing to more maternal use of opioids so that these factors can be addressed in prevention and treatment services for rural women and children. -P. Goldman & B. Ladis

14 Dec Teen Use of Alcohol and Illicit Drugs other than Marijuana Show Favorable Downward Trends

Recent prevalence data from The Monitoring the Future Study, which surveyed 45,000 students in 380 public and private secondary schools in grades 8, 10 and 12, indicates a significant drop in most adolescent substance use categories. One exception is daily marijuana use among 12^th graders, which remains quite high at 6%. For all grades, the annual and monthly prevalence of alcohol use are at significant lows over the life of the study. Cigarette use also continued to fall. However, the study cites an increase in other forms of tobacco such as e-cigarettes and hookah. Of significance was the decline among 8^th and 10^th graders in the use of prescription drugs as well as other illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy. These substance categories have declined by about 1% in each grade in 2016, continuing the trend of a larger decline for this age group over the longer term. Despite these favorable downward trends, the prevalence of adolescent substance use remains high and a significant concern. As such, research to identify the interaction of genetic and environmental risk and protective factors are critical as they can help inform practitioners in adolescent prevention and treatment programs. -B. Ladis

05 Dec New Finding: Genes Impact Addiction through Low Sensitivity to Alcohol

A recent study in collaboration with researchers at the University of Michigan demonstrated that youth carrying certain genetic risk factors are more likely to develop substance use addiction due to different sensitivities to early experiences with alcohol. A genetic predisposition made youth less sensitive to the effects of alcohol when they first initiated the substance. For example, they were less likely to get a buzz from drinking the same amount of alcohol compared to their peers.  Thus, these youth may tend to drink more in order to get the same effect from alcohol. High rates of use during adolescence predicted increased problematic use in adulthood. Stay tuned for more!