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Alcohol and Drugs of Addiction, Aggression and Violence

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral and Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 2270

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of cannabis and other addictive drugs, including alcohol, has been rising ever steadily over recent decades, and there has been a rise in violence connected to this use of addictive consumables. Their use and addictions in general can be extremely harmful. This is not only the case for the person using the substance, but with serious, adverse consequences for the public at large.

This Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on how cannabis, alcohol and other addictive drugs cause violence. In the preceding years, death rates have increased drastically in relation to vehicular crashes, domestic abuse, homicides and suicides. This includes the consideration of mass attacks and other violent acts in relation to drugs and alcohol.

For this Special Issue, we invite scholars to submit papers related to all aspects of cannabis, methamphetamines, hallucinogens, alcohol and other addictive drugs. These submissions can include observational work, conductive research, and reviews of peer-review or grey literature. It is our hope hope researchers and scholars will view this opportunity as one to extend open and free academic communication focused on public health world-wide, for which we all strive for.

Dr. Norman S. Miller
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • drugs
  • cannabis
  • violence
  • health and safety promotion
  • illicit
  • heavy use
  • addiction
  • substance use

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 338 KiB  
Article
Grade-Level Differences in the Profiles of Substance Use and Behavioral Health Problems: A Multi-Group Latent Class Analysis
by Kechna Cadet, Ashley V. Hill, Tamika D. Gilreath and Renee M. Johnson
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(9), 1196; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091196 - 10 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1235
Abstract
We investigated associations between polysubstance use and behavioral problems among adolescents. Because substance use becomes more developmentally normative with age, we examined whether polysubstance use was less likely to co-occur with behavioral problems among older (vs. younger) adolescents. Using data from a nationally [...] Read more.
We investigated associations between polysubstance use and behavioral problems among adolescents. Because substance use becomes more developmentally normative with age, we examined whether polysubstance use was less likely to co-occur with behavioral problems among older (vs. younger) adolescents. Using data from a nationally representative survey of US high school students, we compared the association between polysubstance use (i.e., use of alcohol, cannabis, tobacco/nicotine, and illicit drugs) and behavioral problems (i.e., suicide attempts, depressive symptoms, poor school performance, and sexual risk behaviors) by grade level. We conducted latent class analysis (LCA) to characterize patterns of polysubstance use, and multi-group LCA to estimate invariance by grade. Among the three latent classes that emerged, classes were distinguished by having low, moderate, and high probabilities for behavior problems and use of substances. Class I comprised 52% of the sample, whereas classes II and III comprised 35% and 12% of the sample, respectively. The multi-group LCA showed that younger adolescents had a higher relative probability of co-occurring problem behaviors and polysubstance use. Findings may be helpful in targeting screening and prevention efforts of high school students by grade. Specifically, our results provide evidence that associations between behavioral problems and alcohol/drug use are weaker in later high school grades, suggesting that substance use may not be a weaker marker of behavioral problems for students in higher grades. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol and Drugs of Addiction, Aggression and Violence)

Review

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47 pages, 443 KiB  
Review
Review of Studies Regarding Assessment of Families Where Children Are at Risk of Harm Due to Parental Substance Misuse
by Richard D. Tustin
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(4), 612; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22040612 - 14 Apr 2025
Viewed by 413
Abstract
Questions arise about links between the use of substances and violence, especially when parents misuse substances and there is potential to expose children to family violence. Background. The review has four aims: identify research into the harmful impacts of parental substance use on [...] Read more.
Questions arise about links between the use of substances and violence, especially when parents misuse substances and there is potential to expose children to family violence. Background. The review has four aims: identify research into the harmful impacts of parental substance use on children; identify policies in Australia about the risks from parental substance misuse; identify interventions to manage unsafe parental substance use; and review practices involving confidentiality and collaboration when a parent has multiple complex needs. Method. The paper provides a rapid review of the literature, linking parental substance misuse, family violence, and parenting capacity and covering both policies and empirical evidence. Results. The main finding is that parental substance misuse does affect parenting capacity and is associated with family violence. The concept of the cumulative risk of harm to vulnerable children is supported by research but is not yet implemented in policy. Reports indicate that some parents who misuse substances have multiple complex needs including comorbid mental health issues, domestic violence, and difficulty in managing their children’s behavior. Early intervention therapies designed to address this cluster of issues are reviewed. Conclusion. There is a need to establish objective assessment instruments that are relevant to the cohort of parents who misuse substances and engage in family violence and to improve policy to ensure vulnerable children and families in which parents misuse substances are referred to appropriate therapies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol and Drugs of Addiction, Aggression and Violence)
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