Desire and Craving ratings vary significantly for healthy alcohol consumers: Differences in semantic interpretation?

Abstract

Craving is a central concept in alcohol, and other substance, research. Beginning in 1955 the World Health Organization outlined a working definition of the term to be used in research and clinical settings. However, the semantic interpretation of craving as a concept is not widely agreed upon. Since the publication of this first craving definition, a handful of studies have been conducted to investigate differences in operational definitions of craving, and have demonstrated a lack of agreement between studies and across research subjects. With this background as evidence, our research group investigated, when left to their own semantic understanding of the terms, if regular alcohol consumers would rate craving for alcohol and desire for alcohol in similar ways using related descriptors. Thirty-nine healthy, non-binging regular alcohol consumers were studied across periods of their typical alcohol consumption and imposed alcohol abstinence, collecting ratings of desire and craving for alcohol approximately every two hours across the two experimental periods, and during neutral and alcohol related imagery viewing. Among these non-binging regular drinkers, ratings of desire and craving for alcohol are consistently different while drinking according to a persons typical routine or abstaining, throughout the day, and when viewing alcohol cue imagery.

Childhood neglect is associated with low affect and high stress in habitual alcohol drinkers

“…Stress and affect have been widely assessed using EMA methods across a wide array of areas of study including eating behaviors and disorders, stress-related diseases, weight loss and management, and substance abstinence (Engelberg et al, 2005;Fanning et al, 2020;Focht et al, 2002;Goldschmidt et al, 2014;Haedt-Matt & Keel, 2011;Hausenblas et al, 2010;Kanning & Schlicht, 2010;Reichenberger et al, 2018;Shiffman et al, 2008;Smyth et al, 2008;Yoshiuchi et al, 2008). Although alcohol research has traditionally assessed alcohol craving, desire for alcohol has been found to be a more meaningful metric in this non-AUD population (Peterson et al, 2021). Response scales were presented as a horizontal line with vertical rungs.…”

“…Stress and desire for alcohol are also strongly associated with levels of drinking (Breese et al, 2006;Miller et al, 1974;Seo et al, 2011;Uhart & Wand, 2008). Desire for alcohol is used in this study as a more relevant marker of "alcohol craving", as desire has been shown to be a more relevant rating in these non-AUD drinkers than craving (Peterson et al, 2021). Stress reduction is a motivator for alcohol consumption; drinking has been shown to decrease acute ratings of stress, and even the expectancy of alcohol lowers stress in alcohol users (Anthenelii & Grandison, 2012;Cooper et al, 1992;de Wit et al, 2006;Keyes et al, 2012;Pohorecky, 1991).…”