Addictive Behaviors Reports最新文献

{"title":"Online harms: Problematic technology use is a public health concern and requires a multistakeholder approach","authors":"Daria J. Kuss","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100602","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100602","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Modern technologies are inherently ubiquitous and mobile, making internet use the status quo. As our daily lives become increasingly mediated, social media have become ways of being and relating and impact on what we do and who we are. Despite the numerous benefits technology use offers to users, there is accumulating empirical evidence suggesting that problematic technology use is associated with online harms, which can impact the users’ mental health and wellbeing detrimentally. Online harms are a public health concern and must be addressed from a multistakeholder perspective, engaging governments, parents, schools, the industry, and healthcare services on an international scale. Governments are working on improving user safety, parents are calling for support by educational establishments to prevent online harms, whilst the technology industry is advised to increase their corporate social responsibility efforts. Meanwhile, healthcare services must be accessible to provide professional support for those affected.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100602"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143800245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel, multi-component contingency management intervention in the context of a syndemic of drug-related harms in Glasgow, Scotland: First year of the ‘WAND’ initiative","authors":"S. Smith ,&nbsp;K.M.A. Trayner ,&nbsp;J. Campbell ,&nbsp;A. McAuley ,&nbsp;J. Craik ,&nbsp;C. Hunter ,&nbsp;S. Priyadarshi ,&nbsp;S.J. Hutchinson","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>To address high levels of drug-related harms among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Glasgow, a novel contingency management intervention was developed to engage high-risk PWID with four harm reduction measures (known as the WAND initiative: <strong>W</strong>ound care, <strong>A</strong>ssessment of injecting, <strong>N</strong>aloxone, and <strong>D</strong>ried blood-spot test). Our aims were to assess if WAND engaged and re-engaged high-risk PWID.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Baseline data of WAND participants (n = 831) from 1st Sept-2020 to 30th Aug-2021 were analysed. For those who took part in the first six months, extent of re-engagement was determined and, among those re-engaged, intervention coverage was compared between baseline and final engagement.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Among those who first engaged in WAND from Sept 2020-Feb 2021 (n = 546), 40 % re-engaged by Aug 2021. Compared to those who engaged once (n = 321), those who re-engaged (n = 215) within one year had higher baseline prevalence of injecting risk behaviours such as injecting daily (56 % vs 64 %, p = 0.032), injecting away from home (42 % vs 52 %, p = 0.0179), injecting cocaine (56 % vs 75 %, p &lt; 0.001), having an SSTI (40 % vs 60 %, p &lt; 0.001), and been prescribed naloxone (57 % vs 72 %, p &lt; 0.001). For those who re-engaged six months to one year after initial engagement (n = 107), there was a significant increase in having a BBV test in the last six months (61 % to 81 %, p = 0.003) and carrying naloxone (22 % to 32 %, p = 0.011).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>WAND was able to engage and re-engage large numbers of high-risk PWID with multiple harm reduction initiatives. These findings suggest contingency management could be a useful tool for harm reduction services.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100580"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11761270/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143048188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychotherapy research for compulsive buying-shopping disorder: Quo vadis?","authors":"Astrid Müller ,&nbsp;Patrick Trotzke ,&nbsp;Patricia Schaar ,&nbsp;Tobias A. Thomas ,&nbsp;Ekaterini Georgiadou ,&nbsp;Sabine Steins-Loeber","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100591","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100591","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aim The aim of this position paper is to address the question of how psychotherapy research for compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) should develop further. <em>Method:</em> After a brief summary of existing psychotherapy research, this paper concentrates on the advantages and shortcomings of previous psychotherapy studies and offers recommendations for future psychotherapy research in the domain of CBSD. <em>Results:</em> Systematic reviews indicate that cognitive behavioural therapy is the most researched form of psychotherapy and presents a helpful intervention for reducing the symptom severity of CBSD. Notwithstanding the positive outcomes, the psychotherapy studies to date are limited by methodological shortcomings, which reduce their validity and generalizability. While research into the psychological mechanisms of offline and online CBSD has expanded considerably, psychotherapy research has not kept pace with this growth. Although the majority of individuals with CBSD engage in online shopping, the problematic usage of shopping websites has not been considered in any of the treatment studies to date. <em>Conclusion:</em> The application of the experimental medicine framework to psychotherapy research for CBSD may enhance the integration of findings on psychological mechanisms of CBSD with existing treatment concepts for CBSD. Moreover, it is necessary to consider the impact of technological factors and e-marketing in the context of treatment. There is a need for 1) proof-of-concept studies to test specific interventions that target specific psychological processes and mechanisms of CBSD, and 2) high-quality psychotherapy studies to test the efficacy and effectiveness of new treatment approaches in accordance with the scientific standards for randomised controlled trials</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100591"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143509243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Latent profiles of problematic internet use and their six-month subsequent psychopathology outcomes","authors":"Yi Wang ,&nbsp;Brian J. Hall ,&nbsp;Yuran Chen ,&nbsp;Chun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100607","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100607","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has many adverse effects on youth mental health, including heightened risks of depression and anxiety. However, few studies have systematically investigated the internal heterogeneity of PIU symptoms among rural Chinese adolescents. Data was collected from 5,271 rural Chinese adolescents from two secondary schools in Guizhou and Sichuan at two waves. This study aimed to identify PIU profiles at T1 and examine their relationships with subsequent anxiety, depression, and stress after six months at T2.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted to first identify PIU symptom profiles. Then, a “three-step” logistic regression mixed model was conducted to explore the association between PIU patterns and demographic correlates. Anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms collected at the second wave were compared across PIU profiles by using a Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars (BCH) approach.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The study found that (1) The patterns of PIU among rural adolescents could be divided into four subgroups: low PIU group (57.18%), medium PIU group (15.65%), high PIU group (9.01%), and self-blame group (18.16%), which is a uniquely identified group. (2) Being female, an ethnic minority, living off-campus, having left-behind experiences, and having fewer siblings were risk factors for high PIU group membership. (3) The order of severity for anxiety, depression, and stress was as follows: high PIU, medium PIU, self-blame, and low PIU groups. (4) The self-blame group had relatively lower anxiety, depression, and stress scores than the medium PIU group, despite the fact that the self-blame group had higher PIU scores than the medium PIU group, which further strengthens the importance of using a person-centered approach.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Addressing the profiles of PIU is vital for rural Chinese adolescent mental health, necessitating tailored interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100607"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143843897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the relationship between proactive e-alcohol therapy and symptoms of anxiety or/and depression: Post-hoc analyses from a randomized controlled trial","authors":"Kia Kejlskov Egan ,&nbsp;Veronica Pisinger ,&nbsp;Ulrik Becker ,&nbsp;Janne Schurmann Tolstrup","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100576","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100576","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Individuals with problematic alcohol use often face anxiety and depressive symptoms, which can hinder treatment engagement, compliance, and effectiveness. Psychosocial therapy through video conference (e-alcohol therapy) may reduce these barriers. We explored whether 1) anxiety or/and depressive symptoms modify the effect of proactive e-alcohol therapy on treatment initiation, compliance, and alcohol intake, 2) proactive e-alcohol therapy impacts anxiety or/and depressive symptoms compared to standard care.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Participants with problematic alcohol use were recruited online and randomly assigned to proactive e-alcohol therapy or standard care. Problematic alcohol use was defined by an 8+ score on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>356 individuals participated; 133 showed moderate-severe symptoms of anxiety and depression at baseline. There were no significant differences between individuals with and without moderate-severe anxiety or/and depressive symptoms in the effect of proactive e-alcohol therapy versus standard care on treatment initiation (3 mo: p = 0.64; 12 mo: p = 0.97), compliance (3 mo: p = 0.40; 12 mo: p = 0.58), or alcohol intake (3 mo: p = 0.86; 12 mo: p = 0.90). No significant differences were found in the proportion of participants with moderate-severe anxiety and depressive symptoms between the two intervention groups after 3 months (OR 0.6; 95 % CI 0.3 to 1.4; p = 0.27).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>We found no evidence that anxiety or/and depressive symptoms modify the effect of proactive e-alcohol therapy on treatment initiation, compliance, or alcohol intake. Proactive e-alcohol therapy matched standard care in reducing anxiety or/and depressive symptoms over a 3-month follow-up.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100576"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11696633/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142932746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mental imagery in the context of online compulsive buying-shopping disorder: The role of pleasure and relief","authors":"Annika Brandtner ,&nbsp;Matthias Brand ,&nbsp;Astrid Müller","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100586","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100586","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The rise of e-commerce has led to an increase in online compulsive buying-shopping disorder (OCBSD), an addictive disorder potentially driven by preoccupations like mental imagery, yet their occurrence and predictors have not been thoroughly explored.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study investigated the expression of and associations with mental imagery in women with pathological (<em>n</em> = 56) or non-problematic buying-shopping (<em>n</em> = 56) applying hierarchical regression analyses. Participants were classified based on a structured diagnostic interview, completed self-report questionnaires assessing experiences of gratification and compensation during shopping, and a 14-day end-of-day ambulatory assessment, evaluating mental imagery intensity.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Women with pathological buying-shopping reported significantly more intense shopping-specific mental imagery compared to women with non-problematic buying-shopping. Mental imagery was significantly predicted only by compensatory experiences in the pathological buying-shopping group with medium effect sizes.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>The findings suggest that in OCBSD, mental images likely arise from to the anticipated effects of relief, possibly indicating a maladaptive coping strategy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100586"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143137811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence and determinants of tobacco use among school-going adolescents in 53 African countries: Evidence from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey","authors":"Retselisitsoe Pokothoane ,&nbsp;Terefe Gelibo Agerfa ,&nbsp;Christus Cito Miderho ,&nbsp;Noreen Dadirai Mdege","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100581","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100581","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Tobacco use typically begins during adolescence. There is a lack of comprehensive evidence on the use of different tobacco products among adolescents in Africa.</div></div><div><h3>Aims and Methods</h3><div>We used the most recent Global Youth Tobacco Surveys from 53 African countries, covering 2003–2020, to estimate the overall and gender-specific prevalence of each type of tobacco product by country, Africa region, World Bank income group, and age group among adolescents aged 11–17 years. We further used Logit regressions to assess the determinants of<!--> <!-->using different<!--> <!-->tobacco products.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The overall prevalence of any tobacco use among<!--> <!-->adolescents was 14.3 % [95 % CI: 13.5, 15.3]. Specifically, the prevalence for cigarettes<!--> <!-->was 6.4 % [95 % CI: 5.9, 7.0], for other smoked tobacco was 6.7 % [95 % CI: 6.0, 7.4], for smokeless tobacco use was 6.4 % [95 % CI: 5.9, 6.9], and for shisha smoking was 5.2 % [95 % CI: 4.4, 6.1]. The prevalence of dual use of smoked and smokeless tobacco was 3.0 % [95 % CI: 2.8, 3.2], and that of shisha and cigarettes was 1.5 % [95 % CI: 1.2, 2.0]. Any<!--> <!-->tobacco use prevalence was higher among boys (17.4 %) than girls (10.6 %). Seeing health warnings about tobacco dangers, exposure to smoking at home and school, the age restriction to tobacco purchases, and peer pressure were positively associated with the<!--> <!-->use of all tobacco<!--> <!-->products. Being a female was negatively associated with tobacco use across all products.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Policymakers should prioritize implementing large pictorial health warnings about tobacco dangers covering the entire packaging of different products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100581"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11774806/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143068403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association of gambling activities and modalities with problem gambling in Japan: A nationwide cross-sectional online survey-based study","authors":"Takashi Yoshioka ,&nbsp;Ryuhei So ,&nbsp;Tatsuya Noda ,&nbsp;Moritoshi Kido ,&nbsp;Chieko Ito ,&nbsp;Tomoki Nakaya ,&nbsp;Satoshi Funada ,&nbsp;Shiori Tsutsumi ,&nbsp;Takahiro Tabuchi","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100595","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100595","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and Aims</h3><div>Problem gambling (PG) is a relevant public health concern. Thus, this study aimed to identify the association of specific gambling activities and modalities with PG in Japan.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A cross-sectional study using data from a large-scale online survey was conducted in Japan between February 6 and 27, 2023. Candidate gambling activities and modalities include sports betting (offline/online), casinos (offline/online), lotteries (offline/online), electronic gaming machines, and trading activities. PG was defined as a score ≥ 8 on the Problem Gambling Severity Index. All estimates were weighted using a nationally representative survey conducted in Japan in 2019. To estimate the association between gambling engagement and the prevalence of PG, multivariable logistic regression models were fitted after adjusting for 13 confounding factors representing demographic, socioeconomic, health-related, and geographic characteristics.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 12,955 respondents aged 15–82 years who had gambled in the past year were included. Among the respondents, 12.2 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 11.4–13.1) were reported PG. The weighted multivariable logistic regression models revealed significant associations of PG with online sports betting (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.41, 95 % CI 1.86–3.13), offline casinos (aOR 1.53, 95 % CI 1.16–2.02), online casinos (aOR 4.25, 95 % CI 3.09–5.86), and cryptocurrency trading (aOR 1.60, 95 % CI 1.22–2.10).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Experiences in online sports betting, online and offline casinos, and cryptocurrency trading demonstrated statistically significant associations with the prevalence of PG. These findings emphasize the need for legal awareness of casinos and restrictions on gambling access and betting amounts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100595"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143534514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychological risk factors for problematic social network use: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses","authors":"Giulia Fioravanti ,&nbsp;Sara Bocci Benucci ,&nbsp;Simon Ghinassi","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100600","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100600","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Problematic Social Network Use (PSNU) is a widespread and harmful public health issue. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the literature has focused on identifying possible risk factors contributing to this behavior. However, most identified factors were found to be shared with other problematic online behaviors. Therefore, the present overview aims to identify the psychological risk factors consistently associated with PSNU and evaluate whether the emerging risk factors were shared across Internet Gaming Disorder, Problematic Pornography Use, and Compulsive Online Shopping. A systematic search of four databases was conducted to identify systematic reviews/<em>meta</em>-analyses investigating the relationship between PSNU and psychological risk factors. Then, a bibliometric analysis was performed to examine whether the identified factors were shared across other problematic online behaviors. Thirty-five systematic reviews/<em>meta</em>-analyses were included, examining general and behavior-specific predisposing factors. General predisposing factors associated with PSNU included insecure attachment, high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, stress, social anxiety, loneliness, and fear of missing out. Behavior-specific factors, though less frequently studied, highlighted the role of unmet psychological needs, Preference for Online Social Interaction, and motives related to emotion regulation and socialization. The bibliometric analysis revealed that many risk factors for PSNSU are shared with other problematic online behaviors. However, certain specificities emerged, including distinct motivations driving these behaviors. Findings suggest that PSNU shares a spectrum of risk factors with other problematic online behaviors, yet specific etiological and motivational differences remain. Overall, the findings underscore integrating shared and specific risk factors to improve tailored prevention and intervention strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100600"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143715606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mini-review: Harm reduction strategies among people who intentionally use fentanyl","authors":"Jacob Paredes,&nbsp;Ashish Sandhu,&nbsp;Shutong Huo,&nbsp;David S. Timberlake","doi":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100615","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100615","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Most published studies aimed at curtailing the morbidity and mortality associated with the current U.S. opioid epidemic have focused on unintentional exposure to fentanyl through heroin, cocaine, and other substances. Yet, there is mounting evidence that the intentional use of fentanyl is a key contributor to the current epidemic. In this mini-review we will discuss the harm reduction methods employed by people who intentionally use fentanyl (PWIUF) from a handful of articles found through PubMed that included PWIUF that were published between January 2013 to January 2024.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The perceived harm reduction strategies included co-use of stimulants, dose reduction, buying from a trusted dealer, drug checking, conducting a test shot, carrying naloxone, using fentanyl with others, and switching from injection to another route of administration (e.g., smoking). Some of these harm reduction strategies are frequently used by persons who inject heroin but future research on the efficacy of these harm reduction strategies for fentanyl use is warranted. It is important to note that co-use of stimulants has been associated with an increase in overdose.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Future research is needed to understand intentional fentanyl use, perceived harm reduction strategies and the efficacy of these strategies with the advent of stronger opioids. Future research about PWIUF should consider novel study designs such as the ecological momentary assessment for more granular observation of the use of harm reduction strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38040,"journal":{"name":"Addictive Behaviors Reports","volume":"21 ","pages":"Article 100615"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144134311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}