Differences in Implicit Associations About Alcohol Between Blacks and Whites Following Alcohol Administration

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Implicit cognitions about alcohol have been shown to be an important predictor of alcohol use. Relatively little research has been conducted on racial/ethnic differences in implicit cognitions or changes in implicit cognitions while intoxicated. This study examined differences between Blacks and Whites in positive and negative implicit associations about alcohol, as measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and tested differences in IAT scores when participants were sober and intoxicated. Method: One hundred thirty-fi ve young adults (46% of Black descent) participated in an alcohol-administration study, receiving a moderate dose of alcohol (0.72 g/kg alcohol for men, 0.65 g/kg for women). The IAT was administered in two sessions, one in which alcohol was administered (30 minutes after alcohol consumption) and one in which it was not, approximately 1 week apart.Results: Repeated-measures mixed-factorial analyses of variance were conducted separately for positive and negative IAT scores. Blacks held lower positive and negative implicit cognitions about alcohol compared with Whites. Positive and negative IAT scores did not change as a function of intoxication. Positive explicit expectancies and self-reported pastmonth drinking behavior were related to positive IAT scores. Positive and negative IAT scores were also related to acute subjective response to alcohol, and this association differed by race. Conclusions: Results extend previous studies by providing evidence for racial differences in implicit cognitions about alcohol and by showing the stability of the IAT while participants are intoxicated. Future studies are needed to determine what factors contribute to racial differences in implicit cognitions. (J.

Impulsivity moderates the relationship between implicit associations about alcohol and alcohol use.

“…Previous research has consistently found null effects for negative implicit associations predicting alcohol use (Jajodia & Earleywine, 2003;McCarthy & Thompsen, 2006;Pedersen, Treloar, Burton, & McCarthy, 2011), therefore we do not predict negative implicit associations will be related to alcohol use or interact with impulsivity to predict alcohol use.…”

“…Higher levels of negative implicit associations about alcohol have generally not been found to predict lower levels of alcohol use as one might intuitively expect (Jajodia & Earleywine, 2003;Pedersen, Treloar, Burton, & McCarthy, 2011). The reason for this consistent lack of association is not clear.…”

Tendencias en el estudio de la cognición implícita relacionada con el alcohol

“…Finally, an article estimated the effect of acute alcohol intake on IAC and asserted that it would not modify IAC (Pedersen, Treloar, Burton & McCarthy, 2011).…”

“…This section grouped the less studied topics related to IAC: differences between implicit alcohol associations according to ethnic group (Pedersen et al, 2011); implicit alcohol associations in people with gambling problems (Zack, Stewart, Klein, Loba & Fragopoulos, 2005); relationship between IAC and aggression (Brown, Lipka, Coyne, Qualter, Barlow & Taylor, 2011;Wiers, Beckers, Houben & Hofmann, 2009); influence of genetic factors on IAC (Hendershot et al, 2012;Wiers, Rinck, Dictus & van den Wildenberg, 2009); effects of IAC on social disinhibition (Freeman, Friedman, Bartholow & Wulfert, 2010); influence of implicit alcohol-related expectancies on self-perception (Hicks, Schlegel, Friedman & McCarthy, 2009); role of self-reference in the relationship between persuasive messages and implicit and explicit attitudes related to stigmatized behaviors such as alcohol consumption (Maliszewski, 2004); and relationship between heart rate acceleration induced by alcohol and IAC in heavy drinkers (Van den Wildenberg, Beckers, van Lambaart, Conrod & Wiers, 2006).…”

Comparison of subjective response to alcohol in Caucasian and Hispanic/Latino samples.

“…Although subjective response varies among individuals within a particular racial/ethnic group, there are also established differences in SR across different racial/ethnic groups, and these individual differences are associated with differences in rates of AUDs across these groups. A variety of studies have examined differences in SR between Caucasians, Asians, African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos (Pedersen et al, 2011; Pedersen & McCarthy, 2013; Schuckit et al, 2004; Duranceaux et al, 2007; Rueger et al, 2015). As an example, Rueger et al (2015) found that a high dose (0.8 g/kg) of alcohol produced greater stimulation and sedation along with less liking of alcohol effects in heavy drinking Chinese men relative to heavy drinking Caucasian men, suggesting a potentially protective profile of subjective response among Chinese drinkers.…”