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The Authors’ Own Words: Comorbid Addiction and Major Mental Illness in Europe: A Narrative Review

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We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Comorbid Addiction and Major Mental Illness in Europe: A Narrative Review
Giuseppe Carrà , Francesco Bartoli , Giulia Brambilla , Cristina Crocamo , Massimo Clerici
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 1, 2015

The availability of substances but also the social contexts in terms of individual and local issues are factors likely to explain different dual diagnosis prevalence rates in Europe as compared with the US. Integrated models implemented following US example might perform differently within the context of well-established EU community mental health services.

The Authors’ Own Words: What Works? An Empirical Perspective on How to Retain Youth in Longitudinal Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Substance Risk Reduction Studies

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We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

What Works? An Empirical Perspective on How to Retain Youth in Longitudinal Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Substance Risk Reduction Studies
Erika Montanaro , Sarah W. Feldstein Ewing , Angela D. Bryan
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 4, 2015

One critical factor that complicates research on the long-term effects of behavioral risk reduction efforts in adolescents is retention. This study sought to directly address this gap in the literature by examining retention efforts and rates of retention for a six-month study period across two disparate samples (justice-involved youth and school-attending youth). Our results suggest justice-based youth require significant effort above and beyond school-based youth. Specifically, youth who had higher/more frequent alcohol and marijuana use were found to be more difficult to retain, suggesting that extra efforts may be required to retain justice-involved and substance-abusing youth. Different follow-up methods do not appear to be required, it is simply that more of the same efforts appear to be necessary to successfully retain justice-based youth.

Editor Descants and Disquisitions: How To Do A Peer Review

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There are some fabulous online resources to assist reviewers in the peer review process. Taylor and Francis recently published this nice review. In addition, at the 2015 AMERSA meeting, Editors of the Substance Abuse journal (Binswanger, Pugatch, Gordon) presented a workshop, “Reviewing the review: practical tips to make a manuscript peer review work for you.” The audience was packed (over 20 participants) and highly lauded for its content.

We at the journal highly regard external peer reviewers. As such, we present an annual award to the scholar who provided the “best” peer review during the year. The awardee is presented a trophy and certificate at the annual AMERSA meeting. In addition, ALL external peer reviewers are recognized in the journal by name published an annual editorial since 2014. When recognized, these articles also discuss our journal’s policies on Improving the Peer Review Process and Interdisciplinary Scholarship.

Thank you to all our reviewers over the past 3 years. Your critical reviews and suggestions have substantially improved the quality of the manuscripts reviewed and the quality of the journal.

The Authors’ Own Words: A Pilot Study to Examine the Feasibility and Potential Effectiveness of Using Smartphones to Provide Recovery Support for Adolescents

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We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

A Pilot Study to Examine the Feasibility and Potential Effectiveness of Using Smartphones to Provide Recovery Support for Adolescents
Michael L. Dennis , Christy K. Scott , Rodney R. Funk , Lisa Nicholson
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 4, 2015

Adolescents in residential treatment have low rates of completing treatment, accessing continuing care, and sustaining their recovery during the months after discharge. Dennis, Scott, Funk & Nicholson (this issue) demonstrate the feasibility of using smartphone technology to provide adolescents with recovery monitoring and support services following treatment. They showed that the 2-3 minute surveys can reliably be used to predict the risk of substance use in the subsequent 7 days and that the use of support services on the phone was associated with reduction in use overall and after controlling for likelihood of use. While just a pilot study, this work suggest the potential value of using technology to help youth sustain recovery and reduce relapse. To the extent that substance use disorders are a chronic condition, it also helps to establish the value of providing youth with self-management tools.

The Authors’ Own Words: Trajectories of Marijuana Use Beginning in Adolescence Predict Tobacco Dependence in Adulthood

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We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Trajectories of Marijuana Use Beginning in Adolescence Predict Tobacco Dependence in Adulthood
Judith S. Brook , Jung Yeon Lee , David W. Brook
Substance Abuse
Vol. 36, Iss. 4, 2015

Although the “stage theory” suggests that marijuana use occurs after the initiation of tobacco smoking, our findings indicated that the opposite way also exists. That is, diminishing chronic, increasing, and moderate marijuana use may reduce tobacco dependence. In light of the results, policy makers should consider the effects of different amounts of marijuana use in their approach to tobacco dependence. Prevention and treatment programs in early adolescence should focus on decreasing the chronic marijuana use trajectory group, the increasing marijuana use trajectory group, and the moderate marijuana use trajectory group. In addition to focusing on the trajectories of marijuana use, prevention of tobacco dependence should target early tobacco use.