This editorial introduces the new issue of SAj 2015 Volume 26, issue 2, a special issue on “Expanding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: the Role of Pharmacotherapies. This issue, supported by funding from  This issue, sponsored by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) in collaboration with AMERSA, disseminates scholarship regarding the important role that pharmacotherapy plays in treating addiction to opioids.

New e-publications ahead of print were posted today on our publisher’s website. Read about the significance of each manuscript in the authors’ own words.

Do Alcohol Advertisements for Brands Popular among Underage Drinkers Have Greater Appeal among Youth and Young Adults?

Authors: Michael Siegel MPH MD, William DeJong PhD, Daryl Cioffi BA, Lucero Leon-Chi BS, Timothy S. Naimi MPH MD, Alisa A. Padon PhD, David H. Jernigan PhD & Ziming Xuan ScD MS MA

“This study is the first to compare the extent of youth appeal of alcohol advertisements for brands popular among underage drinkers vs. brands unpopular among underage drinkers. We found that the advertisements for more popular brands were significantly more likely to be perceived as appealing to youth. This research is important for two reasons. First, it informs the debate about whether alcohol companies are targeting youth with their advertising. If youth-oriented brands are more likely to contain youth-oriented content, this could be an indication that the companies are preferentially trying to reach underage youth. Second, the research may help shed light on the debate about whether alcohol advertising is effective in influencing youth drinking behavior. If brands whose alcohol ads appeal more heavily to youth turn out to be the same brands that are popular among youth, this could be an indication that the advertising is influencing youth brand choices.” – M. Siegel

Oxford Recovery Housing: Length of stay correlated with improved outcomes for women previously involved with the criminal justice system

Authors: Leonard A. Jason PhD, Doreen Salina PhD & Daphna Ram PhD

“This study examined the influence of recovery homes on a sample of former substance using women with criminal justice involvement. Findings suggest that length of stay of 6 or more months is critical for those in recovery homes. This highlights the importance of promoting longer lengths of stay for individuals in recovery, and the importance of understanding the processes through which longer stays influence better outcomes.” – D. Ram

Congratulations to Substance Abuse journal’s 2014 award winners! Awards were announced and presented at the AMERSA 2014 national conference in San Francisco, CA.

2014 Awards & Recipients

Best Peer Review: Jennifer McNeely, MD, MS

Our electronic platform allows us to rate peer reviewers on a scale from 1 to 3 for both timeliness and relevance of the review. We seek to recognize reviews that were thorough, that considered the article within the context of current addiction literature, and provided specific recommendations for improvement or clarification to authors. Reviews receiving a perfect score (i.e., 3) are considered for this award. The quality of the article reviewed does not directly affect this score.

Best Manuscript: Conrad L. Woolsey, PhD, CHES, CC-AASP for “Frequency of Energy Drink Use Predicts Illicit Prescription Stimulant Use”

The “best” manuscripts are those that clearly articulate research or policies designed to advance the identification and treatment of substance use disorders and/or the training of addiction care providers. The number of views and citations a manuscript has received also factor into the nomination process.

Most Downloaded Manuscript: Lauren Matukaitis Broyles, PhD, RN for “Confronting Inadvertent Stigma and Pejorative Language in Addiction Scholarship: A Recognition and Response”

This award is given to the article with the most full-text downloads within the previous two years (i.e., Vol. 33(4) – Vol. 35(3)) according to data from our publisher. Articles winning awards in previous years are not eligible.

Substance Abuse journal supports the mission of the Association of Medical Education Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA), which is “to improve health and well-being through interdisciplinary leadership in substance use education, research, clinical care, and policy.” The Editorial Team believes that improving health and well-being requires interdisciplinary leadership regarding the language that we use in our scholarship. We ask authors, reviewers, and readers to carefully and intentionally consider the language used to describe alcohol and other drug use and disorders, the individuals affected by these conditions, and their related behaviors, comorbidities, treatment, and recovery in our publication. Specifically, we make an appeal for the use of language that:

• Respects the worth and dignity of all persons (“people-first language”)
• Focuses on the medical nature of substance use disorders and treatment
• Promotes the recovery process
• Avoids perpetuating negative stereotype biases through the use of slang and idioms

For an overview of each of the above principles, examples of preferred and non-preferred terms, and discussion of some the nuances and tensions that inherently arise as we give greater attention to the issue of how we talk and write about substance use and addiction, please refer to our 2014 editorial in Substance Abuse journal, entitled, “Confronting Inadvertent Stigma and Pejorative Language in Addiction Scholarship: A Recognition and Response,” which is available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08897077.2014.930372

In sum, the Editorial Team does not seek to issue a formal or final dictum on language use for authors and reviewers, but instead, to encourage thoughtful and deliberate consideration of language that is most consistent with operationalizing respect for personhood in Substance Abuse journal’s policies and practices. Authors and reviewers are encouraged to contact the Managing Editor with related questions about this policy.

These comments are also available under Author Instructions – Editorial Policies.