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Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has afforded several important advances in the field of alcohol research, including testing prominent models of alcohol abuse etiology in “high resolution.” Using high-tech methods for signaling and/or assessment, such as mobile electronic diaries, personal data assistants, and smartphones, EMA approaches potentially can improve understanding of precipitants...

To assess alcohol consumption levels in large populations, researchers often rely on self-report measures. However, these approaches are associated with several limitations, particularly underreporting. Use of noninvasive biomonitoring approaches may help validate self-report alcohol consumption measurements and thus improve their accuracy. Two such devices currently are available, the WrisTAS™and...

Real-time assessment, known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and real-time intervention (ecological momentary intervention [EMI]) can significantly extend the reach and impact of interventions to help individuals reduce their drinking behavior. For EMA, the user provides information on the variable of interest (e.g., drinking or craving) via a mobile device. This data reporting can occur...

Alcohol is strongly linked to the leading causes of adolescent and adult mortality and health problems, making medical settings such as primary care and emergency departments important venues for addressing alcohol use. Extensive research evidence supports the effectiveness of alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBIs) in medical settings, but this valuable strategy remains underused, with...

The ability to capture real-time data on human behavior inexpensively, efficiently, and accurately holds promise to transform and broaden our understanding of many areas of health science. One approach to acquiring this type of real-time data is ecological momentary assessment (EMA). This method has been used to collect data in many domains of addiction research, including research on the...

Participation in online social media Web sites (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) has skyrocketed in recent years and created a new environment in which adolescents and young adults may be exposed to and influenced by alcohol-related content. Thus, young people are exposed to and display pro-alcohol messages and images through online portrayals of drinking on personal pages as well as unregulated...

Individuals seeking to change their alcohol use form a heterogeneous group with varied treatment goals—including moderation and abstinence—that therefore requires flexible treatment options. The availability of alcohol in the United States, and the pervasive social pressure to drink, warrant treatments that support individuals outside the treatment environment and that foster coping and self...

Among the earliest applications of health technologies to a safety program was the development of blood alcohol content (BAC) tests for use in impaired-driving enforcement. This led to the development of miniature, highly accurate devices that officers could carry in their pockets. A natural extension of this technology was the vehicle alcohol interlock, which is used to reduce recidivism among...

Several systems for treating alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) exist that operate on mobile phones. These systems are categorized into four groups: text-messaging monitoring and reminder systems, text-messaging intervention systems, comprehensive recovery management systems, and game-based systems. Text-messaging monitoring and reminder systems deliver reminders and prompt reporting of alcohol...

Since 1976, when the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) issued its first report on alcohol misuse by college students, research advances have transformed our understanding of excessive drinking on college campuses and the negative outcomes that follow from it. For instance, we now know that a broad array of factors influence whether a particular college student will choose...