Identification and management of nonsystematic purchase task data: Toward best practice

Exploring the suitability of cannabis use with next-day responsibilities: A behavioral-economic and qualitative study

Cannabis demand is sensitive to next-day responsibilities, such as job interviews; however, it is unclear how demand is affected by non-work-related responsibilities and how reported compatibility of cannabis use (i.e., how suitable one perceives cannabis use to be in a situation) influences demand. This study examined the effects of a range of responsibilities on cannabis demand in a crowdsourced sample of adults who smoked cannabis at least monthly (n = 177; 78% White; 47% women; mean age = 36.52). Participants completed hypothetical marijuana purchase tasks asking how much cannabis they would consume at escalating prices in the context of no responsibilities and next-day responsibilities spanning work, leisure, and caregiving. Cannabis demand was significantly reduced in all responsibility conditions (ps < .008; ds .28-.94), with the largest reductions for the job interview and caring-for-kids conditions. Higher ratings of suitability of cannabis use in each situation were correlated with higher demand. Finally, a qualitative thematic analysis characterized why cannabis use was considered suitable or unsuitable with each responsibility. These results suggest that demand is sensitive to next-day responsibilities. However, these effects are not uniform, and future research is needed to examine these individual differences and the timing of upcoming responsibilities.

Control of motivation for sucrose in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus by dynorphin peptides and the kappa opioid receptor

The dynorphin peptides are the endogenous ligands for the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) and regulate food intake. Administration of dynorphin-A1-13 (DYN) in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN) increases palatable food intake, and this effect is blocked by co-administration of the orexin-A neuropeptide, which is co-released with DYN in PVN from neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus. While PVN administration of DYN increases palatable food intake, whether it increases food-seeking behaviors has yet to be examined. We tested the effects of DYN and norBNI (a KOR antagonist) on the seeking and consumption of sucrose using a progressive ratio (PR) and demand curve (DC) tasks. In PVN, DYN did not alter the sucrose breaking point (BP) in the PR task nor the elasticity or intensity of demand for sucrose in the DC task. Still, DYN reduced the delay in obtaining sucrose and increased licks during sucrose intake in the PR task, irrespective of the co-administration of orexin-A. In PVN, norBNI increased the delay in obtaining sucrose and reduced licks during sucrose intake in the PR task while increasing elasticity without altering intensity of demand in the DC task. However, subcutaneous norBNI reduced the BP for sucrose and increased the delay in obtaining sucrose in the PR task while reducing the elasticity of demand. Together, these data show different effects of systemic and PVN blockade of KOR on food-seeking, consummatory behaviors, and incentive motivation for sucrose and suggest that KOR activity in PVN is necessary but not sufficient to drive seeking behaviors for palatable food.

Utility of a brief measure of cannabis demand: Day-level associations with cannabis use

BACKGROUND

Cannabis demand (i.e., relative value) is usually assessed as a trait-level risk-factor for cannabis use and consequences. This study examined within-person variability in day-level intensity (i.e., amount consumed at zero cost) and Omax (i.e., maximum cannabis expenditure) and tested hypotheses that demand would be positively associated with day-level cannabis use.

METHODS

Young adults (n=85) reporting past-month simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use completed two daily surveys for 30 days. Morning surveys assessed prior-day cannabis use and evening surveys assessed day-level demand (i.e., intensity, Omax). Multilevel models tested day-level effects of intensity and Omax on any cannabis use and flower use frequency and quantity (i.e., grams).

RESULTS

Approximately 52 % and 46 % of variability in intensity and Omax, respectively, was due to within-person change. At the day-level, higher intensity and Omax were associated with higher likelihood of any cannabis use, regardless of formulation; Omax was associated with use of flower in particular; and intensity was associated with the highest quantity of use. At the person-level, only Omax was associated with flower use likelihood, and only intensity was associated with flower quantity across days.

CONCLUSIONS

Cannabis demand demonstrated day-to-day variability, conceivably in response to various internal states and external factors. Intensity and Omax were related to elevated likelihood of using any cannabis, particularly flower, at the day-level. Overall, these data illustrate the validity and utility of brief cannabis demand measures, which might be used to further understand cannabis' reinforcing value at a fine-grained level.

Lessons Learned in Developing a Behavioral Economic Measure of Cannabis Use Using a Predominantly White Sample

Behavioral economic approaches to measuring cannabis demand represent a well-validated, low-cost method of assessing risk for hazardous cannabis use. One widely used measure of cannabis demand is the Marijuana Purchase Task (MPT), which has shown good psychometric properties across multiple samples. However, preliminary data suggest that changes could improve task ecological validity and acceptability. Using a predominantly White convenience sample, this study aimed to develop a revised MPT that uses a modern dispensary scenario to better reflect national trends in cannabis use (e.g., multiple forms of cannabis consumption). Participant inattentiveness due to increased task length and difficulty estimating purchases for the next month may have impacted demand measures. Lessons learned are discussed to inform future efforts to assess cannabis demand in a manner that is more reflective of naturalistic use: including minimizing participant burden, setting higher price ceilings to increase task utility, and considering person-level factors that may influence demand.

Examining Demand and Substitutability of Usual Brand Little Cigars/Cigarillos and Cigarettes in Young Adults Who Dual Use

INTRODUCTION

Cigarette and little cigar/cigarillo (LCC) dual use is popular among young people and poses a substantial health risk. What remains unclear is the abuse liability of LCCs vs. cigarettes, LCCs' substitutability for cigarettes, and the influence of flavors on the abuse liability and substitutability of LCCs.

METHODS

Sixty-five young adults (18-34 years) who dual use completed hypothetical purchase tasks to measure consumption of usual brand cigarettes and LCCs in 24 hours at increasing prices (demand), and LCC consumption at increasing cigarette prices (substitution). Three demand indices were calculated from raw data: breakpoint (price after which consumption reaches 0), Omax (maximum daily expenditure), and Pmax (price at maximum expenditure). Two indices were estimated using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling: intensity (consumption when free) and price-sensitivity (rate of decline in consumption as price increases). Substitution, and associations of flavored use with demand and substitution, were estimated using linear mixed models.

RESULTS

Results indicated similar abuse liability for LCCs and cigarettes. Intensity was greater for cigarettes, but price-sensitivity was similar. Flavored LCC use was associated with lower price-sensitivity and greater intensity than unflavored. LCCs were significant substitutes for cigarettes, but the effect was small. Flavored use was not associated with substitution.

CONCLUSIONS

Among young adults who dual use, LCCs and cigarettes had similar abuse liability, and those who used flavored had higher demand for their LCCs. A flavored cigar ban, as well as targeted prevention and cessation services for those who smoke flavored LCCs, may be important for reducing dual use in young adults.

IMPLICATIONS

Cigarette and LCC dual use remains high among young adults. Using hypothetical purchase tasks with young adults who dual use, LCCs had abuse liability similar to cigarettes, but were only modest substitutes for cigarettes. Participants who used flavored LCCs reported greater abuse liability than those who used unflavored, but not greater substitution for cigarettes. Prevention and cessation services are needed to target LCCs in young people, particularly those smoking flavored products. A flavored cigar ban may help to reduce their demand.

[Application of the cigarette purchase tasks in achieving China' s tobacco control goals]

OBJECTIVE

To assess cigarette demand among Chinese smokers through a cigarette purchase task (CPT) and to evaluate cigarette prices under different hypothetical scenarios in order to meet the goals of smoking prevalence reduction in China.

METHODS

In the study, 447 participants completed a hypothetical CPT at baseline assessments of a trial, thus, cigarette demand curves were individually fitted for each participant using an exponentiated version of the exponential demand model. Typically, five demand indices were derived, intensity (consumption when free), breakpoint (first price at which consumption is suppressed to 0), maximum output (Omax), maximum price (Pmax, price at which Omax occurred), and elasticity (the ratio of the change in quantity demanded to the change in price). A one-way analysis of variance was used to explore the correlations between the cigarette purchase task indices and socio-demographic and smoking characteristics. The one-way decay model was employed to simulate the smoking cessation rates and determine optimal cigarette prices in a series of scenarios for achieving 20% smoking prevalence.

RESULTS

The price elasticity drawn from CPT was 0.54, indicating that a 10% price increase could reduce smoking by 5.4% in the participated smokers. Smokers with higher income were less sensitive to cigarette prices (elasticity=-2.31, P=0.028). Cigarette purchase task indices varied significantly among the smokers with different prices of commonly used cigarettes, tobacco dependence, and smoking volume. The smokers who consumed cigarettes of higher prices reported higher breakpoint, Omax and Pmax, but lower intensity (P=0.001). The smokers who were moderately or highly nicotine dependent reported higher intensity, breakpoint, Omax and Pmax, and they had lower intensity (P=0.001). The smokers who had a higher volume of cigarettes reported higher intensity and Omax, and lower intensity (P < 0.001). To achieve the goal of reducing smoking prevalence to 20% in mainland China, we estimated the desired increase on smoking cessation rate and prices accordingly in a series of scenarios, considering the gender variance and reduced smoking initiation. In scenario (a), to achieve a smoking prevalence goal of 20%, it would be necessary for 24.81% of the current smokers to quit smoking when there were no new smokers. Our fitting model yielded a corresponding value of 59.64 yuan (95%CI 53.13-67.24). Given the assumption in scenario (b) that only males quitted smoking, the desired cessation rates would be 25.82%, with a higher corresponding price of 62.15 yuan (95%CI 55.40-70.06) to induce desired cessation rates. In the proposed scenario (c) where 40 percent of the reduction in smoking prevalence came from reduced smoking initiation, and females and males equally quitted smoking due to increased cigarette prices, the price of a pack of cigarettes would be at least 37.36 yuan (95%CI 32.32-42.69) (equals to $ 5.20) per pack to achieve the cessation rate of 14.89 percent. In scenario (d) where only males quitted smoking due to increased cigarette prices considering the reduced smoking initiation, the respective smoking cessation rates should be 15.49% with the desired prices of 38.60 yuan (95%CI 33.53-44.02). After adjusting for education levels and income levels in scenario (c), the price of cigarettes would be at least 37.37 yuan/pack (equals to $ 5.20) (95%CI 30.73-44.94) and 37.84 yuan/pack (equals to $ 5.26) (95%CI 31.94-44.53), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Cigarette purchase task indices are significantly associated with income levels and prices of commonly used cigarettes, levels of tobacco dependence, and smoking volume, which is inspiring in studying price factors that influence smoking behavior. It is suggested that higher cigarette prices, surpassing the current actual market level, is imperative in mainland China. Stronger policy stra-tegies should be taken to increase tobacco taxes and retail cigarette prices to achieve the Healthy China 2030 goal of reducing smoking prevalence to 20%.

Moral injury among women military veterans and demand for cigarettes: A behavioral economic investigation using a hypothetical purchase task

OBJECTIVES

Unlike the United States general population, veteran women - as opposed to veteran men - have greater smoking prevalence; yet, little is known regarding factors that influence smoking in veteran women. The purpose of this study was to begin examining the relationship between a psychological concept known as moral injury and demand for cigarettes among veteran women.

METHODS

Veteran women who smoke (n = 44) were recruited for this cross-sectional study from Amazon MTurk, Reddit, and a veteran-serving non-profit organization in June-July 2023. Consenting participants received $2 for completing the cigarette purchase task (CPT), Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and the military version of the Moral Injury Symptom Scale (MISS-M-SF). We examined five CPT demand indices and calculated a modified exponential demand model stratified by moral injury severity status (i.e., probable vs. unlikely).

RESULTS

Probable morally injured women exhibited significantly higher relative reinforcing value (RRV) for smoking than unlikely morally injured women (F1, 920 = 9.16, p = 0.003). Average cigarette consumption at $0 (i.e., Q0) was 48.56% higher (M = 22.24 vs. M = 13.55) in probable compared to unlikely morally injured women (p = 0.04, Hedge's g = 0.74). FTND scores were significantly correlated with Pmax (i.e., demand elasticity point) and Omax (i.e., maximum expenditure) values in both populations (rs = 0.42-0.68, ps < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We provide preliminary evidence of the relatively high RRV of smoking in morally injured veteran women. Continued research is needed to refine the characterization of this relationship.

Longitudinal examination of alcohol demand and alcohol-related reinforcement as predictors of heavy drinking and adverse alcohol consequences in emerging adults

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Behavioral economic theory predicts that high alcohol demand and high proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement are important determinants of risky alcohol use in emerging adults, but the majority of research to date has been cross-sectional in nature. The present study investigated prospective and dynamic relationships between alcohol demand and proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement in relation to heavy drinking days and alcohol problems.

DESIGN

Longitudinal cohort with assessments every 4 months for 20 months.

SETTING

Ontario, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Emerging adults reporting regular heavy episodic drinking (n = 636, Mage = 21.44; 55.8% female).

MEASUREMENTS

Heavy drinking days (HDD; Daily Drinking Questionnaire), alcohol problems (Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire), alcohol demand (Alcohol Purchase Task) and proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement (Activity Level Questionnaire).

FINDINGS

Linear mixed effects models revealed that behavioral economic indicators and alcohol-related outcomes significantly decreased over the study, consistent with 'aging out' of risky alcohol use. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models revealed significant between-person relationships, such that higher alcohol demand and alcohol-related reinforcement were positively associated with HDD and alcohol problems (random intercepts = 0.187-0.534, Ps < 0.01). Moreover, alcohol demand indicators (particularly the rate of change in elasticity of the demand curve, as measured by α, and the maximum expenditure, Omax) and proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement significantly forecasted changes in HDD at all time points (|βs| = 0.063-0.103, Ps < 0.05) in cross-lagged relationships, with bidirectional associations noted for the rate of change in elasticity (βs = -0.085 to -0.104, Ps < 0.01). Proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement also significantly forecasted changes in alcohol problems at all time points (βs = 0.072-0.112, Ps < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple behavioral economic indicators (demand elasticity, maximum expenditure and reinforcement ratio) forecast changes in heavy episodic drinking and alcohol problems over the course of emerging adulthood. These results further implicate alcohol demand and proportionate alcohol-related reinforcement as etiologically and developmentally important mechanisms in alcohol use trajectories.

Executive functions and behavioral economic demand for cannabis among young adults: Indirect associations with cannabis consumption and cannabis use disorder

Behavioral economic demand for cannabis is robustly associated with cannabis consumption and cannabis use disorder (CUD). However, few studies have examined the processes underlying individual differences in the relative valuation of cannabis (i.e., demand). This study examined associations between executive functions and cannabis demand among young adults who use cannabis. We also examined indirect associations of executive functions with cannabis consumption and CUD symptoms through cannabis demand. Young adults (N = 113; 58.4% female; mean age 22 years) completed a Marijuana Purchase Task. Participants also completed cognitive tasks assessing executive functions (set shifting, inhibitory control, working memory) and semistructured interviews assessing past 90-day cannabis consumption (number of grams used) and number of CUD symptoms. Poorer inhibitory control was significantly associated with greater Omax (peak expenditure on cannabis) and greater intensity (cannabis consumption at zero cost). Poorer working memory was significantly associated with lower elasticity (sensitivity of consumption to escalating cost). Lower inhibitory control was indirectly associated with greater cannabis consumption and CUD symptoms through greater Omax and intensity, and poorer working memory was indirectly associated with greater cannabis consumption and CUD symptoms through reduced elasticity. This study provides novel evidence that executive functions are associated with individual differences in cannabis demand. Moreover, these results suggest that cannabis demand could be a mechanism linking poorer executive functioning with heavier cannabis use and CUD, which should be confirmed in future longitudinal studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Expanding on cross-price elasticity: Understanding tobacco product demand and substitution from the cross-price purchase task

We examine whether cigarettes serve as substitutes for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among ENDS users and demonstrate methodological extensions of data from a cross-price purchase task to inform policies and interventions. During a clinical laboratory study, n = 19 exclusive ENDS users and n = 17 dual cigarette/ENDS users completed a cross-price purchase task with cigarettes available at a fixed price while prices of own-brand ENDS increased. We estimated cross-price elasticity using linear models to examine substitutability. We defined five additional outcomes: nonzero cross-price intensity (purchasing cigarettes if ENDS were free), constant null demand (not purchasing cigarettes at any ENDS price), cross-product crossover point (first price where participants purchased more cigarettes than ENDS), dual-demand score (percentage of prices where both products were purchased), and dual-use break point (minimum relative price to force complete substitution). The cross-price elasticity results indicated that cigarettes could serve as substitutes for ENDS among ENDS users on average, but this average effect masked substantial heterogeneity in profiles of demand (here, a measure of the drug's reinforcement potential). Policies and regulations that increase ENDS prices appear unlikely to steer most exclusive ENDS users toward cigarette use, as most would not purchase cigarettes at any ENDS price, but they could prompt some dual users to substitute cigarettes completely while others remain dual users. This heterogeneity in consumer responses suggests additional indices of cross-product demand are useful to characterize the anticipated and unanticipated effects of tobacco price policies more fully.

Use of preexposure prophylaxis and condom purchasing decisions

Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevents human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but not other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Men who have sex with men (MSM) who take PrEP tend to report reduced condom use, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. For this study, MSM who take PrEP (i.e., PrEP experienced; n = 88) and MSM who do not (i.e., PrEP naïve; n = 113) completed an online study, including the condom purchase task (CoPT). The CoPT assesses decisions to purchase condoms across escalating prices (range: free-$55) for sex with different types of hypothetical partners: those least likely to have an STD (least STD) and those that participants most want to have sex with (most want sex with). When condoms were free, PrEP-experienced MSM had a lower rate of condom purchasing than did PrEP-naïve MSM. For both partner types, PrEP-experienced MSM reached a price break point (i.e., would not buy condoms) at a lower price than did PrEP-naïve pariticipants. For the most-want-sex-with partner at the price at which participants elected not to buy condoms, only 23% of PrEP-experienced MSM chose to abstain from sex when not purchasing condoms versus 53% among PrEP-naïve MSM. Similar patterns were observed for the least-STD partner. The results support the potential utility of the CoPT in identifying behavioral mechanisms related to condom use and PrEP.

Problematic mobile phone use as impulsive choice: Development and empirical verification of a reinforcer-pathology model

Problematic mobile phone use is characterized by its "impulsive" nature; users engage in it despite their negative attitude toward it. From a behavioral-economic perspective, this attitude-behavior discrepancy is generated by competing contingencies that involve smaller-sooner social reinforcers associated with mobile phone use and larger-later prosocial reinforcers potentially compromised by phone use. Based on this conceptualization, the reinforcer-pathology model of problematic mobile phone use is proposed, which posits that such phone use stems from excessive delay discounting of the social and prosocial reinforcers and/or excessive demand for the social reinforcers. A secondary data analysis of previously published studies was conducted, with the novel addition of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis of these data. The results generated evidence that supports the reinforcer-pathology model proposed in this article. Based on the theoretical analyses and accumulated empirical evidence, theory-driven prevention and intervention strategies for problematic mobile phone use are proposed. Overall, the reinforcer-pathology model of problematic mobile phone use provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing this growing issue.

An experimental laboratory-based minority stress paradigm for alcohol research among sexual minority women: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

Sexual minority women (SMW) use alcohol at higher rates and experience greater alcohol-related harms than their heterosexual counterparts. Evidence from observational studies suggests that minority stress (i.e., stress experienced due to marginalization in society) is an important risk factor among SMW, yet there is a lack of experimental evidence to establish a direct causal role of minority stress on alcohol use in this population. We adapted the preexisting personalized guided stress induction paradigm to conduct a pilot study of how minority stress is related to stress response (assessed via subjective measures and salivary cortisol) and mechanisms of alcohol use (craving, demand, and risky decision making) in SMW.

METHODS

Using a within-subjects design (N = 8) cisgender SMW who endorsed high-risk drinking (≥1 heavy drinking episode in the past 30 days) completed three study visits: a script development session and two in-person imagery induction appointments (minority stress and neutral). Analyses examined feasibility and acceptability, stress response, and mechanisms of alcohol use.

RESULTS

The paradigm significantly increased subjective stress response (g = 1.32). Data supported the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the paradigm for use with SMW. While the paradigm did not significantly change scores on minority stress and alcohol outcomes measures, effect sizes for craving and minority stress outcomes were in the small-to-medium range (gs = 0.24-0.54).

CONCLUSIONS

The adapted minority stress paradigm appears to be feasible and appropriate for use with SMW to induce stress in laboratory settings. Future research can use this paradigm to understand the causal effects of minority stress on alcohol use and related outcomes.

Behavioral economic analysis of legal and illegal cannabis demand in Spanish young adults with hazardous and non-hazardous cannabis use

BACKGROUND

In October 2021, a legal framework that regulates cannabis for recreational purposes in Spain was proposed, but research on its potential impacts on cannabis use is currently limited. This study examined the reliability and discriminant validity of two Marijuana Purchase Tasks (MPTs) for measuring hypothetical legal and illegal cannabis demand, and to examine differences in demand of both commodities in young adults at hazardous vs. non-hazardous cannabis use risk levels.

METHODS

A total of 171 Spanish young adults [Mage = 19.82 (SD = 1.81)] with past-month cannabis use participated in a cross-sectional study from September to November 2021. Two 27-item MPTs were used to estimate hypothetical demand for legal and illegal cannabis independently. The Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test (CUDIT-R) was used to assess hazardous cannabis use and test for discriminant validity of the MPTs. Reliability analyses were conducted using Classical Test Theory (Cronbach's alpha) and Item Response Theory (Item Information Functions).

RESULTS

The MPT was reliable for measuring legal (α = 0.94) and illegal (α = 0.90) cannabis demand. Breakpoint (price at which demand ceases), and Pmax (price associated with maximum expenditure) were the most sensitive indicators to discriminate participants with different levels of the cannabis reinforcing trait. No significant differences between legal and illegal cannabis demand in the whole sample were observed, but hazardous vs. non-hazardous users showed higher legal and illegal demand, and decreased Breakpoint and Pmax if cannabis were legal vs illegal.

CONCLUSION

The MPT exhibits robust psychometric validity and may be useful to inform on cannabis regulatory science in Spain.

Using behavioral economics to optimize safer undergraduate late-night transportation

Many universities sponsor student-oriented transit services that could reduce alcohol-induced risks but only if services adequately anticipate and adapt to student needs. Human choice data offer an optimal foundation for planning and executing late-night transit services. In this simulated choice experiment, respondents opted to either (a) wait an escalating delay for a free university-sponsored "safe" option, (b) pay an escalating fee for an on-demand rideshare service, or (c) pick a free, immediately available "unsafe" option (e.g., ride with an alcohol-impaired driver). Behavioral-economic nonlinear models of averaged-choice data describe preference across arrangements. Best-fit metrics indicate adequate sensitivity to contextual factors (i.e., wait time, preceding late-night activity). At short delays, students preferred the free transit option. As delays extend beyond 30 min, most students preferred competing alternatives. These data depict a policy-relevant delay threshold to better safeguard undergraduate student safety.

Examining the effect of cannabis cues on cannabis demand in sleep, driving, and typical drug-use contexts

PURPOSE

Given the expanding legal cannabis market in the U.S., it is vital to understand how context impacts cannabis use. Therefore, we explored the effect of cannabis cues and cannabis-use context on cannabis demand in 79 adults who reported smoking cannabis at least weekly.

METHODS

Participants completed a single laboratory session consisting of four hypothetical marijuana purchase tasks (MPTs) involving either a typical use situation or a driving or sleep context. The MPTs were alternated with exposure to cannabis or neutral picture cues based on block randomization by gender.

RESULTS

Cannabis cues increased self-reported craving for cannabis (p =.044) but did not significantly alter demand (ps =0.093-0.845). In the driving context, participants demonstrated a significant reduction in cannabis demand, indicated by lower intensity (p <0.001), Omax (p <0.001), and Pmax (p <0.001), breakpoint (p =.003), and higher α (p <0.001). The sleep context was associated with significantly greater α (p <0.006) but nonsignificant effects for other indices (ps =0.123-0.707). Finally, cannabis cues increased Omax (p =.013) and breakpoint (p =.035) in the sleep context but not in the typical-use context.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that cannabis-use behavior is sensitive to contingencies surrounding driving after cannabis use and may also be sensitive to sleep contexts in the presence of cannabis cues. Since this is the first study to examine driving and sleep contexts, we caution against drawing broad conclusions until future research is conducted to replicate these findings.

Consumer preferences for sleep-tracking wearables: The role of scientific evaluation and endorsement

OBJECTIVES

Accuracy and relevance to health outcomes are important to researchers and clinicians who use consumer sleep technologies, but economic demand motivates consumer sleep technology design. This report quantifies the value of scientific relevance to the general consumer in a dollar amount to convey the importance of device accuracy in terms that consumer sleep technology manufacturers can appreciate.

METHODS

Survey data were collected from 368 participants on Amazon mTurk. Participants ranked sleep metrics, evaluation methods, and scientific endorsement by perceived level of importance. Participants indicated their likelihood of purchasing a hypothetical consumer sleep technology that had either (1) not been evaluated or endorsed; (2) had been evaluated but not endorsed, and; (3) had been evaluated and endorsed by a sleep science authority. Demand curves determined the relative value of each consumer sleep technology.

RESULTS

Devices that were evaluated and endorsed had the most value, followed by those only evaluated, and then those with no evaluation. The unit price at which there was 50% probability of purchase increased by $30 or $48 for evaluation or endorsement, respectively, relative to a nonvalidated device. Respondents indicated the most valuable sleep metric was sleep duration, the most important evaluation method was against laboratory/hospital standards for sleep, and that the highest value of endorsement came from a medical institution.

CONCLUSIONS

Consumer demand is greatest for a device that has been evaluated by an independent laboratory and is endorsed by a medical institution. Consumer sleep technology manufacturers may be able to increase sales by partnering with sleep science authorities to produce a scientifically superior device.

Exponentiated model of drug demand is preferred over exponential models in people with daily/near daily cannabis use

Cannabis use is a growing health concern emphasizing the need to better understand the complexities of drug choice in people with daily/near daily cannabis use. Hypothetical purchasing tasks provide a means to collect data on drug consumption behavior without requiring drug administration and have been used to isolate behavioral economic factors of choice, including facets of drug demand in substance using populations. Various models are used for analyzing hypothetical purchasing task data, but challenges exist in modeling data sets with consumption values of zero. Additionally, a single model or approach may not be best for all commodities and drug classes. This study compared two common demand models (exponential vs. exponentiated) applied to identical hypothetical purchasing task data from 21 (n = 21) individuals with daily/near daily cannabis use. The exponential model was fit using three common levels of replacement values for zero consumption (.1, .01, .001) and compared to the exponentiated model without replacement values. We found that the exponentiated model produced significantly better model fits for individual data, compared to all exponential models. Additionally, significant differences for model derived values of demand elasticity and intensity were found between the exponentiated model and different levels of the exponential model. We conclude that the exponentiated model is preferred over the exponential model for performing demand analysis on hypothetical purchasing task data from individuals with daily/near daily cannabis use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Presentation matters: Effects of cigarette purchase task design on systematic data and purchasing behavior

Hypothetical purchase tasks (HPTs) are effective tools for evaluating participants' demand for substances. The present study evaluated the effect of task presentation on producing unsystematic data and purchasing behavior in a sample of individuals who smoke cigarettes. Participants (n = 365) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned to complete two of three HPT presentations: List (prices on one page in an increasing order), Ascending (one price per page in an increasing order), or Random (one price per page in a random order). We evaluated outcomes using a mixed model regression with a random effect for participants. We observed a significant effect of task presentation on passing the criterion assessing consistency in effects of contiguous prices (i.e., Bounce; X²(2) = 13.31, p = .001). A significant effect of task presentation on Trend or Reversals from Zero was not observed. For purchasing behavior, we observed a significant effect of task presentation on R², X²(2) = 17.89, p < .001; BP₁, X²(2) = 13.64, p = .001; ln(α), X²(2) = 332.94, p < .001; and ln(Omax), X²(2) = 20.26, p < .001; we did not observe a significant effect of task presentation on ln(Q₀) or ln(Pmax). We recommend against using the Random HPT presentation to avoid unsystematic data. While the List and Ascending presentations do not differ across unsystematic criteria or purchasing behavior, the List presentation may be preferred due to participant experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Cannabis demand and use among veterans: A prospective examination

OBJECTIVE

Cannabis demand (i.e., relative value), assessed cross-sectionally via a hypothetical marijuana purchase task (MPT), has been associated with use, problems, and dependence symptoms, among others. However, limited work exists on the prospective stability of the MPT. Furthermore, cannabis demand among veterans endorsing cannabis use, and the prospective cyclical relationship between demand and use over time, have yet to be investigated.

METHOD

Two waves of data from a veteran sample (N = 133) reporting current (past 6-month) cannabis use were analyzed to assess stability in cannabis demand over 6 months. Autoregressive cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) assessed the longitudinal associations between demand indices (i.e., intensity, Omax, Pmax, breakpoint) and cannabis use.

RESULTS

Baseline cannabis use predicted greater intensity (β = .32, p < .001), Omax (β = .37, p < .001), breakpoint (β = .28, p < .001), and Pmax (β = .21, p = .017) at 6 months. Conversely, baseline intensity (β = .14, p = .028), breakpoint (β = .12, p = .038), and Pmax (β = .12, p = .043), but not Omax, predicted greater use at 6 months. Only intensity demonstrated acceptable prospective reliability.

CONCLUSIONS

Cannabis demand demonstrated stability over 6 months in CLPM models, varying along with natural changes in cannabis use. Importantly, intensity, Pmax, and breakpoint displayed bidirectional predictive associations with cannabis use, and the prospective pathway from use to demand was consistently stronger. Test-retest reliability ranged from good to poor across indices. Findings highlight the value of assessing cannabis demand longitudinally, particularly among clinical samples, to determine how demand fluctuates in response to experimental manipulation, intervention, and treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Alcohol cues increase behavioral economic demand and craving for alcohol in nontreatment-seeking and treatment-seeking heavy drinkers

BACKGROUND

Behavioral economic research has revealed significant increases in alcohol demand following exposure to alcohol-related cues. Prior research has focused exclusively on nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers, included only male participants, or used heterogeneous methods. The current studies sought to replicate and extend existing findings in treatment-seeking and nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers while also examining sex effects and moderation by alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity.

METHODS

Study 1 included 117 nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers (51.5% women; M age 34.69; 56.4% AUD+), and Study 2 included 89 treatment-seeking heavy drinkers with AUD (40.4% women; M age = 41.35). In both studies, alcohol demand was measured using a hypothetical alcohol purchase task (APT), and subjective alcohol craving was measured using visual analog scales. Measures were collected following exposure to neutral (water) cues in a standard room and alcohol cues in a bar lab.

RESULTS

Alcohol demand (intensity, Omax , breakpoint, and elasticity) and craving were significantly increased following alcohol cues compared to neutral cues (ps < 0.005) with effect sizes ranging from small to large (ηp 2  = 0.074-0.480). Participants with AUD (Study 1) or with higher AUD severity (Study 2) reported higher craving and higher demand for most indices (i.e., main effects; ps < 0.032, ηp 2  = 0.043-0.239). A larger alcohol cue increase in Omax was found for AUD+ participants in Study 1 compared to non-AUD participants (p = 0.028, ηp 2  = 0.041) but not for any other indices in Study 1 or Study 2. There were no significant sex effects.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings replicate and extend prior research by offering additional insight into alcohol cue effects on the reinforcing value of alcohol and subjective motivation to drink. The results also suggest that sex and AUD severity do not meaningfully impact cue effects across most indices of demand.

The electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) purchase task: Are results sensitive to price framing?

Extension of the cigarette purchase task (CPT) to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is complicated by the heterogeneous nature of this product class, as ambiguity exists regarding the appropriate price-frame (i.e., unit of the product being purchased). We explored correlations between ENDS purchase task (E-CPTs) outcomes featuring two common price-frames: 10 puffs and 1 mL of liquid. Adult exclusive ENDS users (N = 19) and dual users of ENDS and cigarettes (N = 16) completed two own-brand E-CPTs. One E-CPT used "10 puffs" as its price-frame; the other used "1 mL of liquid." Five outcomes were generated for each E-CPT: breakpoint, intensity, Omax, Pmax, and α. Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) considered how these outcomes captured latent structures of demand for ENDS. Spearman correlations in E-CPT outcomes assessed within-person variation between price-frames. Analyses also considered whether correlations differed by user group. E-CPT outcomes were highly correlated across price-frames (ρs > 0.57, ps < .001), and EFA revealed little difference in how outcomes from the tasks loaded onto two latent structures of demand ("Persistence" and "Amplitude") reported in the previous literature. The magnitude of correlations for E-CPT outcomes tended to be higher for exclusive ENDS users than for dual users. Participant responses to purchase task outcomes were similar across two E-CPT price-frames. Using "10 puffs" as a price-frame may be a generalizable approach among heterogenous groups of ENDS users, but researchers should consider their target population and structure the E-CPT to reflect participants' knowledge and purchasing behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Why get high? Coping and enjoyment motives mediate elevated cannabis demand and cannabis-related outcomes

OBJECTIVE

Cannabis is the most used psychoactive substance among adolescents and is a public health concern. Cannabis demand is a quantifiable measure of the reinforcing value of cannabis and comprises two latent-factors-amplitude (maximum consumption) and persistence (sensitivity to increasing costs). Cannabis demand and cannabis motives are important predictors of adolescent cannabis use and associated problems; however, little is known about how these two facets of motivation are causally related. Cannabis motives are thought to represent the final common pathway to cannabis use and may explain why elevated demand is associated with use and consequences. The present study tested whether internal cannabis motives (coping and enjoyment) mediated longitudinal associations between cannabis demand, use (hours high), and negative consequences.

METHOD

Participants aged 15-18 years old (n = 89, Mage = 17.0, SD = 0.9) who reported lifetime cannabis use completed online assessments of cannabis demand, motives, use and negative consequences at baseline, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS

PROCESS mediation models revealed that enjoyment motives mediated the association between amplitude and persistence and use. In addition, coping motives mediated the association between amplitude and negative consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that internal motives, while differentially related to aspects of demand and cannabis outcomes, are important in understanding adolescent cannabis use. Prevention efforts aimed at limiting access to cannabis and increasing access to substance-free activities may be important targets for adolescents. Further, cannabis interventions targeting specific motives for using (e.g., to cope with negative affect) may be important for reducing cannabis demand. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Use of drug purchase tasks in medications development research: orexin system regulation of cocaine and drug demand

Commodity purchase tasks provide a useful method for evaluating behavioral economic demand in the human laboratory. Recent research has shown how responding to purchase tasks for blinded drug administration can be used to study abuse liability. This analysis uses data from a human laboratory study to highlight how similar procedures may be particularly useful for understanding momentary changes in drug valuation when screening novel interventions. Eight nontreatment-seeking participants with cocaine use disorder (one with partial data) were enrolled in a cross-over, double-blind, randomized inpatient study. Participants were maintained on the Food and Drug Administration-approved insomnia medication suvorexant (oral; 0, 5, 10, 20 mg/day) in randomized order with experimental sessions completed after at least 3 days of maintenance on each suvorexant dose. Experimental sessions included administration of a sample dose of 0, 10 and 30 mg/70 kg intravenous cocaine. Analyses focused on purchase tasks for the blinded sample dose as well as alcohol, cigarettes and chocolate completed 15 min after the sample dose. As expected based on abuse liability, near zero demand was observed for placebo with dose-related increases in cocaine demand. Suvorexant maintenance increased cocaine demand in a dose-related manner with the greatest increase observed for the 10 mg/kg cocaine dose. Increased demand under suvorexant maintenance was also observed for alcohol. No effect of cocaine administration was observed for alcohol, cigarette, or chocolate demand. These data support the validity of demand procedures for measuring blinded drug demand. Findings also parallel self-administration data from this study by showing increases in cocaine use motivation under suvorexant maintenance.

Associations between alcohol demand, delayed reward discounting, and high-intensity drinking in a diverse emerging adult sample

The high-intensity drinking threshold (HID; 8+/10+ drinks for women/men) is more strongly associated with significant alcohol-related health consequences than the more common heavy episodic drinking threshold (HED; 4+/5+ drinks for women/men). Behavioral economic measures of alcohol reward value (demand) and delayed reward discounting (DRD) have shown associations with other alcohol-related risk behaviors and may contribute to efforts to identify individuals who are at risk for HID from the larger subgroup of at-risk drinkers who engage in HED. Logistic regression analyses tested if alcohol demand and DRD were associated with HID in a sample of 477 emerging adults who reported recent heavy drinking. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses were conducted to test these variables' ability to classify HID group membership and to select an optimal cutoff score. In logistic regression analyses controlling for typical weekly drinking, demographics, and other variables associated with HID, participants reporting higher demand intensity (amount of alcohol purchased when price is zero; Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 20.27, 95% CI [5.71, 71.91]) and lower demand elasticity (sensitivity of alcohol consumption to increases in cost; AOR = .29, 95% CI [.11, 72]) were more likely to report HID relative to HED. Omax (maximum alcohol expenditure) and DRD were associated with HID in bivariate, but not in multivariate models. The ROC analysis provided support for an intensity cutoff of 7.5 or higher. These findings suggest that brief alcohol demand curve measures, in particular demand intensity and elasticity, may have utility in identifying individuals who are at risk for HID. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A new statistical model for binge drinking pattern classification in college-student populations

Background

Binge drinking (BD) among students is a frequent alcohol consumption pattern that produces adverse consequences. A widely discussed difficulty in the scientific community is defining and characterizing BD patterns. This study aimed to find homogenous drinking groups and then provide a new tool, based on a model that includes several key factors of BD, to assess the severity of BD regardless of the individual's gender.

Methods

Using the learning sample (N1 = 1,271), a K-means clustering algorithm and a partial proportional odds model (PPOM) were used to isolate drinking and behavioral key factors, create homogenous groups of drinkers, and estimate the probability of belonging to these groups. Robustness of our findings were evaluated with Two validations samples (N2 = 2,310, N3 = 120) of French university students (aged 18-25 years) were anonymously investigated via demographic and alcohol consumption questionnaires (AUDIT, AUQ, Alcohol Purchase Task for behavioral economic indices).

Results

The K-means revealed four homogeneous groups, based on drinking profiles: low-risk, hazardous, binge, and high-intensity BD. The PPOM generated the probability of each participant, self-identified as either male or female, to belong to one of these groups. Our results were confirmed in two validation samples, and we observed differences between the 4 drinking groups in terms of consumption consequences and behavioral economic demand indices.

Conclusion

Our model reveals a progressive severity in the drinking pattern and its consequences and may better characterize binge drinking among university student samples. This model provides a new tool for assessing the severity of binge drinking and illustrates that frequency of drinking behavior and particularly drunkenness are central features of a binge drinking model.

Income shock increases preferences for smaller immediate rewards and reduces alcohol demand among a sample of crowd-sourced adults

In behavioral economics, income shock manipulations (hypothetical narratives where money is gained or lost) can provide meaningful insight into decision-making related to primary and secondary commodities. To date, few studies have examined the impact of income shock on delay discounting in healthy controls and individuals using substances, and no study to date has examined the impact of income shock on alcohol demand. This study examined the effects of income shock on behavioral economic assessments (i.e., delay discounting and alcohol demand) among a sample of adult participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 140). The sample was predominantly middle-aged, male, and White (mean age = 38.81; 37.1% female; 77.1% White). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three income shock narratives (negative, neutral, positive). They completed two versions of the 5-choice delay discounting task for $100 and $1,000 and an alcohol purchase task (APT) before and after the income shock narrative. Following negative income shock, preferences for smaller immediate rewards increased in the $100 version of the discounting task and decreased the price at which alcohol consumption was suppressed to zero (i.e., break point). Sensitivity to price changes in the APT decreased following neutral and positive income shock but not the negative condition. Results replicate and extend prior findings examining the impact of income shock on delay discounting. Furthermore, this is the first study to study income shock effects on alcohol demand. Findings suggest that primary commodity manipulation (i.e., money) can potentially impact decision-making regarding secondary commodities (i.e., alcohol). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Next-day responsibilities attenuate demand for alcohol among a crowdsourced sample of community adults

While several studies have examined how class time and internship responsibilities impact demand for alcohol in undergraduate samples, no study has examined this question using more universally applicable responsibilities with a sample of community adults. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of a range of next-day responsibilities on demand for alcohol among a crowdsourced sample of community adults using a hypothetical alcohol purchase task (APT). Community adults (n = 261; 79% White; 60% identified as men; 39% identified as women; and 1% identified as nonbinary) with a mean age of 38.42 recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk rank-ordered eight hypothetical next-day responsibilities across three categories (i.e., work, caregiving, and recreational). Participants first completed a standard APT with no explicit next-day responsibilities, followed by purchase tasks in the context of their two highest ranked responsibilities. All participants needed to pass several stages of attention and data quality checks to be included in the final sample. All observed demand indices (i.e., intensity, breakpoint, Omax, and Pmax) were significantly higher in the no responsibilities condition compared to both the first- and second-ranked responsibility condition (ps < .001); however, there was no significant difference in any demand index between the first- and second-ranked responsibility (p range .65-.91). These results extend prior work by demonstrating engagement with substance-free alternatives may reduce demand for alcohol among community adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavioral economic relationship between cannabis flower and concentrates: Evidence from simulated purchase tasks

Cannabis users use different forms of cannabis, which are associated with distinct public health concerns. Policies that aim to regulate one specific form may have unintended impacts on other forms. This study examined the behavioral economic relationship between flower and concentrates, the two most common forms of cannabis. We surveyed 605 adult cannabis users (21+) who lived in one of the U.S. states that had legalized recreational cannabis by the time of interview in 2019. The participants completed simulated purchase tasks, which asked how much cannabis flower and concentrates they would purchase in the next 30 days at escalating prices. We estimated (a) demand indices and own-price elasticities using nonlinear exponential demand models and (b) group- and individual-level cross-price elasticities using log-linear demand models. The estimated rate of change in demand elasticity (α) was 0.00066 for cannabis flower (SE = 0.00002, p < .001) and 0.00058 for cannabis concentrate (SE = 0.00002, p < .001). Group-level cross-price elasticity estimate (slope = -0.075, SE = 0.0135, p < .001) indicated that cannabis flower and concentrates were weak complements. Individual-level cross-price elasticity estimates showed that flower and concentrates were treated as independent by 76.2% of the users, as complements by 19.0% of the users, and as substitutes by 4.8% of the users. The findings suggested that cannabis flower and concentrates were overall weak complements and for most adult cannabis users were treated as independent of each other. Price and tax policies regulating either cannabis form may have minimal impacts on the other form. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Impact of reduced nicotine content on behavioral economic measures of cigarette reinforcement in adolescents who smoke cigarettes

BACKGROUND

Public health officials in the U.S. and New Zealand are considering a reduced nicotine standard for cigarettes to reduce their addictive potential. This study's aim was to evaluate the effects of nicotine reduction on the reinforcing efficacy of cigarettes in adolescents who smoke, which has implications for this policy's potential for success.

METHODS

Adolescents who smoked cigarettes daily (n = 66; mean age: 18.6) participated in a randomized clinical trial assessing effects of assignment to very low nicotine content (VLNC; 0.4 mg/g nicotine) or normal nicotine content (NNC; 15.8 mg/g nicotine) cigarettes. Hypothetical cigarette purchase tasks were completed at baseline and the end of Week 3 and demand curves fit to the data. Linear regressions estimated effects of nicotine content on demand for study cigarettes at baseline and Week 3 and associations between baseline demand for cigarette consumption at Week 3.

RESULTS

An extra sum of squares F-test of fitted demand curves indicated that demand (α) was more elastic among VLNC participants at baseline and Week 3 (F(2, 1016)= 35.72, p < 0.001). Adjusted linear regressions indicated demand was more elastic (ß= 1.45, p < 0.01) and maximum expenditure (Omax) lower (ß= -1.42, p-0.03) among VLNC participants at Week 3. More elastic demand for study cigarettes at baseline predicted lower consumption of cigarettes at Week 3 (p's < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

A nicotine reduction policy may reduce the reinforcing value of combustible cigarettes among adolescents. Future work should investigate likely responses to such a policy among youth with other vulnerabilities and evaluate the potential for substitution to other nicotine containing products.

The interactive effects of JUUL flavor and nicotine concentration on addiction potential

Prior research suggests that flavors can influence the pharmacological effects of nicotine. We used commercially available JUUL pods to examine whether preferred menthol versus tobacco flavor increased the addictive potential of nicotine per se. This study recruited 15 regular JUUL e-cigarette users to complete a 2 × 2 factorial crossover trial using an entirely remote video format. Participants completed a sampling baseline session to identify preferred JUUL flavor (menthol vs. tobacco) followed by four counterbalanced experimental sessions separated by ≥ 48 hr: (a) low-nicotine dose (3% JUUL)/nonpreferred flavor; (b) low dose/preferred flavor; (c) high-nicotine dose (5% JUUL)/nonpreferred flavor; and (d) high dose/preferred flavor. In each experimental session, participants completed a puffing procedure followed by subjective ratings of e-cigarette liking and wanting (ELW), urges, and reinforcement using a JUUL pod purchase task. There was a dose-by-flavor interaction for average ELW (F = 4.58, p = .041) in which ELW was significantly greater for the preferred than the nonpreferred flavor at the low-nicotine dose but not the high-nicotine dose. There were also dose-by-flavor interactions for pre- to post-puffing change in overall urge to vape (F = 5.97, p = .021) and urge strength (F = 4.96, p = .049), with greater reductions in overall urge/strength for the preferred compared to the nonpreferred flavor at the low but not the high dose. We found no significant interaction effects for purchase task outcomes. Using a fully remote experimental puffing procedure, our findings suggest preferred flavors increase the rewarding effects most for lower nicotine e-cigarettes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Blinded-Dose Purchase Task: assessing hypothetical demand based on cocaine, methamphetamine, and alcohol administration

RATIONALE

Behavioral economic drug purchase tasks quantify the reinforcing value of a drug (i.e., demand). Although widely used to assess demand, drug expectancies are rarely accounted for and may introduce variability across participants given diverse drug experiences.

OBJECTIVES

Three experiments validated and extended previous hypothetical purchase tasks by using blinded drug dose as a reinforcing stimulus, and determined hypothetical demand for experienced effects while controlling for drug expectancies.

METHODS

Across three double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject experiments, cocaine (0, 125, 250 mg/70 kg; n=12), methamphetamine (0, 20, 40 mg; n=19), and alcohol (0, 1 g/kg alcohol; n=25) were administered and demand was assessed using the Blinded-Dose Purchase Task. Participants answered questions regarding simulated purchasing of the blinded drug dose across increasing prices. Demand metrics, subjective effects, and self-reported real-world monetary spending on drugs were evaluated.

RESULTS

Data were well modeled by the demand curve function, with significantly higher intensity (purchasing at low prices) for active drug doses compared to placebo for all experiments. Unit-price analyses revealed more persistent consumption across prices (lower α) in the higher compared to lower active dose condition for methamphetamine (a similar non-significant finding emerged for cocaine). Significant associations between demand metrics, peak subjective effects, and real-world spending on drugs also emerged across all experiments.

CONCLUSIONS

Orderly demand curve data revealed differences across drug and placebo conditions, and relations to real-world measures of drug spending, and subjective effects. Unit-price analyses enabled parsimonious comparisons across doses. Results lend credence to the validity of the Blinded-Dose Purchase Task, which allows for control of drug expectancies.

Initial development and validation of a brief assessment of marijuana demand among young adult college students

Hypothetical purchase tasks assess substance demand, but the length of purchase tasks makes repeated assessment of state-dependent changes in demand difficult, often limiting clinical utility. Although brief assessments of alcohol and cigarette demand exist, brief measures of cannabis demand do not. College students (N = 209, Mage = 19.92, SD = 1.45; 63% female; 56.9% non-Hispanic Caucasian) who reported using cannabis at least 3 days in the past month, completed an online survey including the full-length marijuana purchase task (MPT), a three-item brief assessment of marijuana demand (BAMD) assessing intensity, Omax and breakpoint, and cannabis use outcomes. Convergent and divergent validity were examined. Independent samples t tests compared demand on the BAMD and MPT based on presence or absence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) symptoms, and one-way between-subject analyses of variance compared effects of CUD severity (mild/moderate/severe) on BAMD indices. All indices were significantly correlated across both assessment measures (ps < .01). Similarly, all indices on both demand measures were significantly correlated with craving, CUD severity, and cannabis-related consequences (ps < .01); whereas only intensity and Omax were significantly correlated with cannabis use frequency (ps < .01). Individuals with (vs. without) CUD symptoms reported significantly greater intensity and Omax (ps < .01) and significant differences in CUD severity on BAMD indices were found as well (ps < .05). The BAMD demonstrated convergent and divergent validity with the MPT. Findings suggest that brief cannabis demand can be easily assessed as an indicator for high-risk cannabis use. Thus, the BAMD may be a useful and clinically relevant tool to assess cannabis demand in real-world settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Concurrent validity of the marijuana purchase task: a meta-analysis of trait-level cannabis demand and cannabis involvement

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The Marijuana Purchase Task (MPT) is increasingly used to measure cannabis reinforcing value and has potential use for cannabis etiological and regulatory research. This meta-analysis sought to evaluate for the first time the MPT's concurrent validity in relation to cannabis involvement.

METHODS

Electronic databases and pre-print repositories were searched for MPT studies that examined the cross-sectional relationship between frequency and quantity of cannabis use, problems, dependence, and five MPT indicators: intensity (i.e. unrestricted consumption), Omax (i.e. maximum consumption), Pmax (i.e. price at which demand becomes elastic), breakpoint (i.e. first price at which consumption ceases), and elasticity (i.e. sensitivity to rising costs). Random effects meta-analyses of cross-sectional effect sizes were conducted, with Q tests for examining differences by cannabis variables, meta-regression to test quantitative moderators, and publication bias assessment. Moderators included sex, number of MPT prices, variable transformations, and year of publication. Populations included community and clinical samples.

RESULTS

The searches yielded 14 studies (n = 4077, median % females: 44.8%: weighted average age = 29.08 [SD = 6.82]), published between 2015 and 2022. Intensity, Omax , and elasticity showed the most robust concurrent validity (|r's| = 0.147-325, ps < 0.014) with the largest significant effect sizes for quantity (|r| intensity = 0.325) and cannabis dependence (|r| Omax  = 0.320, |r| intensity = 0.305, |r| elasticity = 0.303). Higher proportion of males was associated with increased estimates for elasticity-quantity and Pmax -problems. Higher number of MPT prices significantly altered magnitude of effects sizes for Pmax and problems, suggesting biased estimations if excessively low prices are considered. Methodological quality was generally good, and minimal evidence of publication bias was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The marijuana purchase task presents adequate concurrent validity to measure cannabis demand, most robustly for intensity, Omax , and elasticity. Moderating effects by sex suggest potentially meaningful sex differences in the reinforcing value of cannabis.

Reinforcer pathology, probabilistic choice, and medication adherence in patients with multiple sclerosis

The reinforcer pathology model posits that core behavioral economic mechanisms, including delay discounting and behavioral economic demand, underlie adverse health decisions and related clinical disorders. Extensions beyond substance use disorder and obesity, however, are limited. Using a reinforcer pathology framework, this study evaluates medical adherence decisions in patients with multiple sclerosis. Participants completed behavioral economic measures, including delay discounting, probability discounting, and a medication purchase task. A medical decision-making task was also used to evaluate how sensitivity to mild side effect risk and efficacy contributed to the likelihood of taking a hypothetical disease-modifying therapy. Less steep delay discounting and more intense (greater) medication demand were independently associated with greater adherence to the medication decision-making procedure. More generally, the pattern of interrelations between the medication-specific and general behavioral economic metrics was consistent with and contributes to the reinforcer pathology model. Additional research is warranted to expand these models to different populations and health behaviors, including those of a positive health orientation (i.e., medication adherence).

Cannabis Involvement and Demand in Frequent Concentrate Users Versus Predominantly Flower Users

OBJECTIVE

Cannabis concentrate products contain more of the intoxicating cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinol, than flower products and, thus, may produce greater harm. Indeed, concentrate use is associated with greater cannabis dependence and problems (e.g., anxiety) than flower use. Given this, continued examination of concentrate versus flower use differences on associations with various cannabis measures may be useful. These measures include behavioral economic demand for cannabis (i.e., its subjective reinforcing value), use frequency, and dependence.

METHOD

In the present study of 480 cannabis users, those who were frequent concentrate users (n = 176) were compared with predominantly flower users (n = 304) regarding the relationship of two latent drug demand metrics assessed by the Marijuana Purchase Task to cannabis use frequency (i.e., days of cannabis use) and cannabis dependence (i.e., Marijuana Dependence Scale scores).

RESULTS

Two previously observed latent factors emerged, based on confirmatory factor analysis: amplitude, reflecting maximum consumption, and persistence, reflecting cost insensitivity. Group comparisons showed that amplitude was greater among the concentrate versus flower group, but no difference was found for persistence. Further, using structural path invariance testing, the factors were differentially associated with cannabis use frequency across groups. Amplitude was positively associated with frequency for both groups, whereas persistence was negatively associated with frequency for the flower group. Neither factor was associated with dependence for either group.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings continue to indicate that the demand metrics, although distinct, can be parsimoniously condensed into two factors. In addition, method of administration (i.e., concentrate vs. flower use) may affect how demand for cannabis relates to frequency of use. Associations were notably stronger with frequency relative to dependence.

Hyperbolic modeling and assessment of hypothetical health behaviors during a viral outbreak using crowdsourced samples

The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to investigate factors related to public response to public health measures, which could help better prepare implementation of similar measures for inevitable future pandemics. To understand individual and environmental factors that influence likelihood in engaging in personal and public health measures, three crowdsourced convenience samples from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) completed likelihood-discounting tasks of engaging in health behaviors given a variety of hypothetical viral outbreak scenarios. Experiment 1 assessed likelihood of mask wearing for a novel virus. Experiment 2 assessed vaccination likelihood based on efficacy and cost. Experiment 3 assessed likelihood of seeking health care based on number of symptoms and cost of treatment. Volume-based measures and three-dimensional modeling were used to analyze hypothetical decision making. Hypothetical public and personal health participation increased as viral fatality increased and generally followed a hyperbolic function. Public health participation was moderated by political orientation and trust in science, whereas treatment-seeking was only moderated by income. Analytic methods used in this cross-sectional study predicted population-level outcomes that occurred later in the pandemic and can be extended to various health behaviors.

Validation of the Food Purchase Task (FPT) in a clinical sample of smokers with overweight and obesity

Obesity is a major health problem associated with disease burden and mortality. In this context, analyzing food as a powerful reinforcer from a behavioral economics framework could be relevant for the treatment and prevention of obesity. The purposes of this study were to validate a food purchase task (FPT) in a clinical sample of Spanish smokers with overweight and obesity and to assess the internal structure of the FPT. We also analyzed the clinical utility of single-item breakpoint (i.e., commodity price that suppresses demand). A total of 120 smokers [% females: 54.2; M_age = 52.54; SD = 10.34] with overweight and obesity completed the FPT and weight/eating-related variables. Principal component analysis was used to examine the FPT structure, and a set of correlations were used to examine the relationship between the FPT, eating and weight-related variables. The FPT demonstrated robust convergent validity with other measures of eating. Higher food demand was related to higher food craving (r = .33), more binge eating problems (r = 0.39), more weight gain concerns (r = 0.35), higher frequency of both controlled (r = 0.37) and uncontrolled (r = 0.30) grazing, as well as to an eating style in response to emotions (r = 0.34) and external eating (r = 0.34). Of the demand indices, Intensity and O_max showed the highest magnitudes of effects. The FPT factors, persistence and amplitude, do not improve individual FPT indices; and the single-item breakpoint was not related to any eating or weight variable. The FPT is a valid measure of food reinforcement with potential clinical utility in smokers with obesity/overweight.

Can initial experiences with drugs predict future drug abuse risks?

Initial experiences with drugs may influence an individual's motivations for continued use. This study evaluated the relationship between subjective effects elicited by an individual's first use of alcohol or cannabis, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) alcohol use disorder (AUD) or cannabis use disorder (CUD) severity, and behavioral economic demand for alcohol or cannabis. Self-reports of initial subjective effects associated with drugs were analyzed for N = 463 participants whose first substance use was either alcohol or cannabis. The likelihood that a particular subjective effect at the time of first use was associated with current AUD/CUD was assessed using ordinal logistic regression with subjective effects as predictors of DSM-5 severity. Behavioral economic demand was assessed using a hypothetical purchase task in which participants indicated their hypothetical consumption of alcohol or cannabis as a function of price. Significant associations were observed for initial subjective effects elicited by alcohol or cannabis and increased DSM-5 severity: (alcohol) relief (OR = 2.52 [95% CI 1.51-4.25], p = .0005) and (cannabis) energetic (OR = 2.31 [95% CI 3.27-55.5], p = .0004). The mean (± SEM) Pmax value for the alcohol subgroup endorsing relief ($96.22 ± $26.48) was significantly greater than the Pmax value for the alcohol subgroup not endorsing relief ($33.81 ± $12.93), t(237) = 2.276, p = .0237. These results suggest that the initial subjective effects associated with a given substance may predict the development and/or severity of substance misuse and substance use disorders (SUDs). These findings are consistent with anecdotal reports that persons with SUD feel energized by the use of substances whereas persons without SUD do not report experiencing such subjective effects upon first use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of social context and opportunity cost on the behavioral economic value of cannabis

OBJECTIVE

Behavioral economics suggest that cannabis reinforcing value (cannabis demand) may be influenced by external, contextual factors such as the social reward that might accompany cannabis use and the presence of opportunity costs (e.g., a next-day responsibility that cannabis use might adversely impact). The present study examined the effect of social context and opportunity cost on cannabis demand and explored whether relations were moderated by cannabis use severity.

METHOD

Adults with past-week cannabis use recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 310; 53.5% female, 79.4% White) completed four purchase tasks, in which participants reported how much cannabis they would purchase across escalating prices, to index cannabis demand under varying contexts: (a) solitary, typical responsibilities; (b) social, typical responsibilities; (c) solitary, substantial responsibilities; and (d) social, substantial responsibilities.

RESULTS

The presence of peers significantly increased demand intensity (consumption at zero price) and Omax (maximum expenditure) relative to the solitary conditions. Substantial responsibilities significantly decreased intensity, breakpoint (price at which consumption is fully suppressed), and Pmax (price at which maximum expenditure occurs) and increased elasticity (greater price sensitivity). Demand was most inelastic in the social, typical responsibilities condition relative to other conditions. Cannabis use severity was associated with less elastic demand in the solitary, typical responsibilities condition. Those with higher cannabis use severity reported larger differences in demand intensity and Omax between solitary and social conditions, and in demand elasticity between typical and substantial responsibility conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Results are consistent with previous research illustrating social and opportunity costs as determinants of cannabis use behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining the latent factor structure of a hypothetical cigarette purchase task among pregnant women

The cigarette purchase task (CPT) is a valid behavioral-economic measure of demand that has smokers estimate hypothetical cigarette consumption under a range of escalating prices. The task involves no experimenter exposure of participants to smoking. CPT demand is measured in terms of five indices: intensity (cigarettes consumed at $0), Omax (largest expenditure), Pmax (price associated with peak expenditure), breakpoint (the first price at which consumption is 0), and elasticity (rate at which consumption changes as a function of increasing price). Out of concern for collinearity, prior studies investigated a more parsimonious CPT latent-factor structure for these derived indices consisting of two factors. The present study examined whether the same two latent-factor solutions extend to pregnant women who smoke. Six hundred sixty-five women completed the CPT as part of recruitment for a clinical trial examining the efficacy of a remote contingency-management intervention to promote smoking cessation during pregnancy. Factor analysis confirmed a two-factor solution to the CPT accounting for 87% of the variance in the five indices with demand intensity and Omax loading onto amplitude and Omax, Pmax, breakpoint, and elasticity loading onto persistence. Backward elimination regression revealed a significant negative relationship between amplitude and persistence (i.e., lower amplitude and persistence scores predicted a higher likelihood of making at least one quit attempt upon learning of pregnancy). These results further support the utility of the CPT for experimentally examining individual differences in smoking among pregnant women in an efficient and ethical manner that does not involve exposing them to cigarette smoke. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Notes on demand: Conceptual and empirical benefits of applying Rachlin's discounting equation to demand data

OBJECTIVE

Howard Rachlin wrote extensively on how value diminishes in a hyperbolic form, and he contributed to understanding choice processes between different commodities as a molar pattern of behavior. The field of behavioral economic demand has been dominated by exponential decay functions, indicating that decreases in consumption of a commodity are best fit by exponential functions. Because of the success of Rachlin's equation at describing how hyperbolic decay affects the value of a commodity across various factors (e.g., delay, probability, social distance), we attempted to extend his equation to behavioral economic demand data for alcohol and opioids.

METHOD

Rachlin's discounting equation was applied to estimate consumption on alcohol purchase task data and nonhuman drug demand data. We compared results of his equation to the exponentiated demand equation using both a mixed-effects modeling approach and a two-stage approach.

RESULTS

Rachlin's equation provided better fits to consumption data than the exponentiated equation for both mixed-effects and two-stage modeling. We also found that traditional demand metrics, such as Pmax, can be derived analytically when using Rachlin's equation. Certain metrics derived from Rachlin's equation appeared to be related to clinical covariates in ways similar to the exponentiated equation.

CONCLUSIONS

Rachlin's equation better described demand data than did the exponentiated equation, indicating that demand for a commodity may decrease hyperbolically rather than exponentially. Other benefits of his equation are that it does not have the same pitfalls as the current exponential equations and is relatively straightforward in its conceptualization when applied to demand data. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A hypothetical lottery task to assess relative resource allocation toward alcohol and cannabis

OBJECTIVE

Relative spending on substances (vs. alternatives) is predictive of several substance use outcomes, but it can be challenging to assess. We examined a novel method of assessing relative resource allocation through the use of a hypothetical lottery task wherein participants assume they collected $100,000 United States dollars in lottery winnings and were tasked with allocating their winnings across spending categories (e.g., savings, leisure, alcohol, cannabis). We hypothesized relative allocation of funds toward alcohol and cannabis would be positively associated with more use and problems of each substance.

METHOD

College students (N = 479; Mage = 19.9 [SD = 2.2]) reported on their substance use and problems, alcohol and cannabis demand, and the hypothetical lottery task.

RESULTS

Relative resource allocation toward alcohol and cannabis on the lottery task positively correlated with alcohol and cannabis demand indices (intensity, breakpoint, Omax, and elasticity [negatively]), respectively. Using zero-inflated modeling, greater relative allocation toward alcohol positively related to alcohol use and problems in models that controlled for alcohol demand indices. For cannabis, relative resource allocation was also positively associated with cannabis use, but not problems, independently from cannabis demand indices.

CONCLUSIONS

Results provide initial support for the hypothetical lottery task as an indicator of relative resource allocation toward substances. Generally, these results extend previous behavioral economic research demonstrating the utility of relative resource allocation as a unique predictor of clinically relevant outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Interest in and perceived effectiveness of contingency management among alcohol drinkers using behavioral economic purchase tasks

Contingency management (CM), in which financial incentives are provided upon verification of abstinence from alcohol, cigarettes, and/or illicit substances, is one of the most highly effective and empirically supported treatments for substance use disorders. However, the financial cost of implementation has been identified as a major barrier to implementation of this treatment. The purpose of this study was to develop behavioral economic purchase tasks to assess interest in CM as a function of treatment cost and perceived effectiveness of CM as a function of abstinence incentive size in alcohol drinkers. Alcohol drinkers recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) completed behavioral economic purchase tasks measuring demand for CM based on targeted abstinence intervals and treatment effectiveness and alcohol use disorder severity assessments. Nonlinear mixed-effects modeling was used to fit demand curves and assess the relationship between individual characteristics and demand metrics for CM. Results reveal that participants reported higher probability of remaining abstinent from drinking when offered larger incentives and required larger incentives when duration of abstinence required to earn the incentive was increased. Additionally, willingness to pay for treatment increased as effectiveness of treatment increased. Abstinence interval and treatment effectiveness are important features to consider when developing effective CM for widespread use, as these variables affected participants' likelihood of being abstinent and their interest in treatment. Future work will validate these assessments with actual treatment outcomes and determine predictors of CM treatment effectiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Bidirectional prospective associations between behavioral economic indicators and drinking patterns during alcohol use disorder natural recovery attempts

OBJECTIVES

Behavioral economic (BE) theory posits that harmful alcohol use is a joint product of elevated alcohol demand and preference for immediate over delayed rewards. Despite cross-sectional research support, whether expected bidirectional relations exist between BE indicators and drinking during recovery attempts is unknown. Therefore, this prospective research investigated quarter-by-quarter cross-lagged associations between BE simulation tasks and drinking following a natural recovery attempt. Higher demand and discounting in a given quarter should predict subsequent drinking. Conversely, drinking in a given quarter should predict subsequent higher demand and discounting.

METHOD

Community-dwelling problem drinkers were enrolled shortly after stopping heavy drinking without treatment (N = 191). Drinking practices, problems, delay discounting, and alcohol demand (intensity, Omax, Pmax, elasticity) were assessed at baseline and 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-ups. Longitudinal cross-lagged models related each BE indicator in the previous quarter to drinking status in the next quarter, and vice versa.

RESULTS

Higher demand intensity (consumption when drinks are free) at Quarter 1 distinguished participants who drank heavily in Quarter 2 from those who abstained. In turn, heavy drinking participants in Quarter 2 had higher intensity at Quarter 3 than abstainers and moderate drinkers in Quarter 2, and higher intensity at Quarter 3 distinguished heavy drinkers in Quarter 4 from moderate drinkers (ps < .05). Hypothesized associations for other BE indices were inconsistent or partially supported.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol purchase task metrics showed some hypothesized prospective associations with drinking during a natural recovery attempt, which supports their ecological validity as relapse risk indicators. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Can I see some ID? Examining validity of the marijuana purchase task among late adolescent cannabis users

Cannabis demand (i.e., reinforcing value) can be assessed using a marijuana purchase task (MPT; assesses hypothetical purchasing of cannabis at escalating prices) and has been related to use frequency, problems, and cannabis use disorder symptoms in adults. Cannabis demand has yet to be studied in adolescents, which can inform prevention and intervention efforts to reduce cannabis-related risks. The present study sought to validate the MPT with a sample of late adolescent lifetime cannabis users. Participants aged 15-18 years old (n = 115, Mage = 16.9, SD = 0.9) residing in a state with legalized cannabis use completed online assessments at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Convergent and divergent validity was examined, while principal component analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure and assess predictive validity. Three indices, Omax (i.e., maximum expenditure on cannabis), breakpoint (i.e., price suppressing consumption to zero), and alpha (i.e., degree to which consumption decreases with increasing price) were all significantly associated with cannabis use, consequences, craving, and expenditures and significantly differentiated low-risk users and high-risk users as measured by the Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test-Revised (CUDIT-R). A two-factor solution reflecting amplitude (intensity, alpha, Omax) and persistence (breakpoint, Pmax) was observed. Both factors were associated with cannabis use and consequences in baseline regression models. At follow-up, persistence was associated with consequences; amplitude was not associated with either outcome. These findings provide initial evidence that the MPT is a valid measure for assessing cannabis demand among adolescents and can be used to understand mechanisms of adolescent cannabis use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Substance-related cross-commodity purchase tasks: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

In the context of behavioral economics, drug use is a choice to which an individual may allocate responding despite the presence of alternative response possibilities. To examine the demand for a drug in an environment in which other drugs or nondrug alternatives are present, researchers often use a cross-commodity purchase task. These tasks allow participants to make choices across several reinforcers at varied unit prices and may elucidate behavioral economic patterns of substitutability and complementarity. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of cross-commodity purchase task studies with human participants.

METHOD

Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we screened 46 full-text studies (from 456 total records obtained from PsycINFO and PubMed databases and reference list search), yielding a final sample of 35 studies.

RESULTS

The drug category with the largest number of studies assessed was tobacco and nicotine products. The most consistent economic relationships found were substitutability of traditional cigarettes by e-cigarettes and e-liquid, and both legal and illegal cannabis for the other; however, other substitutable and complementary relationships were observed (e.g., substitution of food for cigarettes, a complementary relationship between alcohol and cannabis).

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss the implications of the results of this review from a treatment and harm reduction standpoint, highlight areas for future research particularly among drug categories with few studies and evaluating ecological validity of hypothetical measures, and make best practice recommendations for future cross-commodity drug-related purchase task research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavioral economic relationship between cannabis and cigarettes: Evidence from hypothetical purchase tasks

BACKGROUND

In the United States (U.S), cannabis policies have been increasingly liberalized whereas tobacco policies have been increasingly stringent. Given the high prevalence of cannabis and tobacco dual use, there are concerns that a policy regulating one substance may unintendedly influence the other. This study examined the responsiveness of the demand for cannabis joints and cigarettes when price varied.

METHODS

The study included 338 adult participants (21+) who used both cannabis and tobacco and lived in one of the U.S. states with recreational cannabis legalized by the time of interview in 2019. They completed hypothetical purchase tasks to indicate the quantity desired of cannabis joints and cigarette packs 1) when only one substance was available with escalating prices and 2) when both substances were concurrently available with escalating prices of cannabis joints and a fixed price of cigarette packs. We estimated 1) the own-price elasticity of demand for each substance using nonlinear exponential demand model, and 2) the cross-price elasticity of demand at aggregate level using nonlinear exponential demand model and at individual level using log-linear demand model.

RESULTS

The estimates for the rate of change of own-price elasticity (α) were 0.0011 (SE = 0.000039, p < 0.001) for cannabis joints and 0.00095 (SE = 0.000037, p < 0.001) for cigarette packs. The aggregate-level estimates of cross-price elasticity (I = 13.032, SE = 0.34, p < 0.001; β = 0.0029, SE = 0.0021, p > 0.05) suggest an independent relationship between the two substances. At individual level, 78.70% of the participants treated the two substances as independent, 17.46% as complements, and 3.85% as substitutes.

CONCLUSIONS

For most adults who used both cannabis and tobacco in the U.S., cannabis joints and cigarettes had an independent relationship. Policies regulating the price of cannabis may not have large unintended consequences on cigarette use.

Hyperbolic discounting and exponentiated demand: Modeling demand for cigarettes in three dimensions

Behavioral economics has been a fruitful area of research in substance use. Mathematical descriptions of how individuals temporally discount the value of a commodity have been correlated with substance use and mathematical descriptions of drug consumption decreasing as a function of price (i.e., demand) predict maladaptive substance use. While there is a logical assumption that temporal factors affect demand for a drug, little has been done to merge these models. Thus, the purpose of this study was to combine models of discounting and demand, extending Howard Rachlin's work and contributions to novel areas of study. Data from 85 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who completed a hypothetical cigarette purchase task that included price of and delay to cigarettes were analyzed. Multilevel modeling was used to determine descriptive accuracy of combined additive and multiplicative models of discounting and demand. Of the discounting models used in conjunction with the exponentiated demand equation, the Rachlin hyperboloid best described the delay dimension of consumption. The multiplicative version of the Rachlin equation applied to both delay and price outperformed other models tested. Therefore, existing models of discounting and demand can be extended to modeling consumption data from complex multidimensional experimental arrangements.

Using an experimental tobacco marketplace to pilot test the substitutability of JUUL e-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine and tobacco products for conventional cigarettes among vulnerable populations

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) is an online research marketplace where increasing the cost of cigarettes is used to investigate the substitutability of other fixed-price tobacco products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The ETM is useful for modeling effects of potential policy changes on use of various concurrently available products. To our knowledge, the ETM has not been used to investigate substitutability of newer generation e-cigarettes or populations at increased risk for smoking, heavy smoking, nicotine dependence, and smoking-attributable adverse effects. In the current pilot study, participants were 30 adult daily smokers with socioeconomic disadvantage or comorbid psychiatric conditions (substance-use disorder or mental illness). In each session, cigarette prices increased ($0.12, $0.25, $0.50, $1.00. and $2.00 per cigarette) while prices for alternative products remained fixed. Across three ETM sessions, either all products, all products except little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs), or all products except ENDS (JUUL e-cigarettes) were available. Linear regression was performed on individual participant data using log-transformed cigarette price to determine demand and substitution. Cigarette demand decreased as price increased across sessions (significantly non-zero slopes, ps ≤ 0.0001). When all products were available, ENDS substitution increased as cigarette price increased (significantly non-zero slope, p = .016). When LCCs were unavailable, ENDS again were a significant substitute (p = .008). When ENDS were unavailable, LCCs did not substitute (ps ≥ 0.48). In all sessions, participants rarely purchased other products (e.g., snus). Overall, ENDS were the most robust substitute for cigarettes, further underscoring the potential importance of ENDS availability on the impact of tobacco regulatory policies.