SARG success at SSA Annual Conference 2023

PhD student and SARG team member Anna Butters was awarded the prize for the best overall student poster at this year's Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) Annual Conference which took place in Newcastle in November 2023.
Anna's poster presented some of the findings from a series of interviews she conducted with people who took part in Dry January to understand more about the way in which they negotiated challenges during the month and how these approaches developed post-January.
The interviews form part of her PhD research which aims to understand the psychological and social changes which underpin long-term reductions in alcohol consumption following participation in Dry January.
The SARG team was well-represented at the Conference with contributions on a wide range of topics including:
- PhD student Anna Butters presented her prize-winning poster "Progress not perfection: Understanding how Dry January participants negotiate the potential for 'failure'"
- Lecturer Dr Inge Kersbergen chaired a panel discussion about the Gambling White Paper
- Research Associate Dr Parvati-Perman Howe presented a poster on the "Characteristics of no- and low-alcohol consumers in Great Britain"
- PhD student Lucy Burke spoke about the mediating effect of drinking motives between socio-demographic characteristics and consumption of no- and low-alcohol
- Psychology Lecturer Dr Merve Mollaahmetoglu presented a poster on the effect of alcohol-free advertising on alcohol cravings
- Research Associate Dr Amber Copeland presented a poster on "A diffusion model decomposition of value-based decision-making in regular cannabis users and non-users"
-
Professor John Holmes contributes to major new report outlining actions to tackle alcohol harm
SARG Director Professor John Holmes was part of an expert panel that supported the development of 'A Healthier Future: A long-term vision to tackle alcohol harm in the UK', a significant new report published by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) this week.
-
SARG researchers present on economic modelling and wastewater surveillance at European Public Health Conference
Two researchers from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG), Dr Charlotte Head and Dr Esther Chanakira, will showcase innovative local-level tools for policy design, including economic modelling and wastewater surveillance, at the European Public Health (EPH) Conference in Helsinki from 11–14 November 2025.
-
SARG to present latest research on alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks at SSA Annual Conference 2025
Researchers from the Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) are set to present their latest findings on alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks at the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) Annual Conference 2025.
-
New SARG report details alcohol-related health and financial burden in Northern Ireland
The Sheffield Addictions Research Group (SARG) has published new analysis estimating the substantial health and financial toll of alcohol consumption in Northern Ireland, using the most recent available post-pandemic data.
You might also be interested in…
-
SARG team to present at UK Society for Behavioural Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting
Luke Wilson, Anna Butters and Maddy Henney will present on no- and low-alcohol drinks, Dry January and food insecurity.
-
Reinforcer-specific value-based decision-making in persistence of and recovery from alcohol use disorder
This project investigates the cognitive and motivational processes underlying alcohol use disorder (AUD) using a computational approach. By analysing individual differences in value-based decision-making (VBDM), it aims to identify the specific mechanisms that contribute to the development and persistence of AUD.
-
Policy Research Unit in Addictions
NIHR Policy Research Units (PRUs) undertake research to inform government and arms-length bodies making policy decisions about health and social care. The units create a critical mass of experts for research in priority areas for health and social care policy.
