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This paper explores methodological opportunities, challenges, and potential solutions for alcohol administration research that uses a virtual reality (VR) analogue for sexual aggression.

We briefly review relevant sexual aggression, alcohol administration, and VR literatures. The strengths and limitations of different types of analogues are described.

Most existing sexual aggression analogues use sexual assault scenarios which end the same way for all participants, who are then asked how they would respond in that situation. Studies using these analogues have produced valuable findings regarding alcohol's role in sexual aggression; however, one important limitation is that participants can distance themselves from the situation before responding. VR provides highly immersive behavioral analogues that require participants to make quick decisions; thus they are less likely to be impacted by social desirability. In VR, participants make multiple decisions based on the feedback they receive from their virtual dating partner and the ending depends on the choices they make. For example, VR analogues can allow participants to select dates who are intoxicated or to encourage their virtual dating partner to drink alcohol. Thus, researchers can model different patterns of responses and strategies used to attempt to obtain sex, which can then be used to develop interventions targeted for individuals with different types of risk profiles.

There are strengths and limitations associated with all experimental proxies. The field would benefit from greater discussion of the essential elements of sexual aggression and if these vary for different types of perpetrators and situations that involve alcohol.

Conflicting findings have been reported for the longitudinal course of behavioral addictions, especially for social media addiction (SMA) and work addiction (WA). Therefore, evaluating whether these constructs are more trait-like or state-like might be informative. The aim of the present study was to examine the proportion of variance of SMA and WA symptoms (as defined by the components model of addiction) explained by trait and occasion-specific factors in addition to exploring cross-lagged relationships between SMA and WA.

Young adults from a representative sample who continuously used social media and worked at least 40 hours a week during the first three waves of the Budapest Longitudinal Study were included (N = 1,551; Females: 50.6%; Age: M = 27.7 years [SD = 4.40]). The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale and the Bergen Work Addiction Scale were administered in all three waves.

A latent state-trait model with a general trait factor was considered for both SMA and WA. Symptomatic variability in SMA was explained approximately equally by trait and state-like factors, while WA-related symptom variability was mostly attributed to state-like factors. SMA negatively predicted WA over time, while WA showed a positive cross-lagged effect on SMA.

While the symptoms of WA were more state-like, the trait-like effects were stronger in SMA. Situational influences and previous symptom severities might have to be considered in the screening process.

The United States has seen a rapid increase in the use of Δ-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC), a psychoactive compound similar to Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). This study aimed to explore themes in Δ8-THC related tweets from U.S. jurisdictions with varying cannabis regulations from 2020 to 2022.

Tweets mentioning Δ8-THC were collected using search terms: D8, Delta-8, and Delta8 THC. The tweets were date-restricted from January 21, 2020, to May 31, 2022, resulting in 139,843 tweets. The final dataset included 61,800 U.S. tweets with complete location data. A subset of 1,000 tweets (n = 250 for each legal jurisdiction) was selected for content analysis.

Three main themes related to Δ8-THC emerged across all jurisdictions: 'Sales and Advertising', 'Policy', and 'Personal Use'. In states where cannabis was legal for adult use, sales-themed tweets were most prevalent, promoting product sales and discounts. 'Policy' tweets were more common in medical CBD-only (34.5%) and fully illegal (24.8%) jurisdictions than in those with legalized medical (20.4%) and adult use (20.2%). Tweets about personal use appeared at similar rates in fully illegal (27.7%), medical (25.0%), medical CBD-only (24.5%), and fully legal jurisdictions (22.8%). Reports of adverse effects were frequent in tweets from fully illegal (28.9%), fully legal (27.7%), and medical (27.7%) jurisdictions, with the lowest frequency in medicinal CBD-only (15.6%) jurisdictions.

The current study on the public discourse on Twitter indicates that discussions about the use and marketing of Δ8-THC are present in all U.S. jurisdictions, not just those without legal recreational cannabis markets.