Externalizing personality characteristics define clinically relevant subgroups of alcohol use disorder

Abstract

Aims Higher levels of externalizing characteristics, i.e. impulsivity, novelty seeking and aggression, could contribute to the development, progression and severity of alcohol use disorder (AUD). The present study aims to explore whether these externalizing characteristics together have a potential group-forming role in AUD using latent profile analysis (LPA). Methods Externalizing characteristics of 102 AUD patients were analyzed using LPA to explore the group-forming role of externalizing symptoms; groups were compared in terms of demographic and alcohol-related variables, indices of psychopathological, depressive and anxiety symptom severity. Results LPA revealed and supported a two-group model based on externalizing symptoms. The group with higher levels of externalizing symptoms showed significantly elevated levels of alcohol-related and anxio-depressive symptoms. Conclusions Externalizing characteristics converge and have a group-forming role in chronic AUD, and are associated with a more severe form of AUD. By making the diagnostic category less heterogeneous, these different subtypes within AUD may provide aid in tailoring treatments to patients’ specific needs.

Knock-out of the critical nitric oxide synthase regulator DDAH1 in mice impacts amphetamine sensitivity and dopamine metabolism

“…Still, exploration or novelty-seeking is an essential aspect of behavior and has been well-documented, for example, in the preference for a novel object over a familiar object (Ennaceur and Delacour 1988 ). Novelty-seeking has been implicated as a predictive variable for animal drug-taking tendencies (O’Connor et al 2021 ) and connected to clinical substance abuse populations (Kovács et al 2022 ). Observations in nNOS-ko animals, such as frequent crossings and increased time in the center zone of the open field as well as increased time in the open arms of the elevated plus maze, could be interpreted as a form of exploratory behavior (Weitzdoerfer et al 2004 ).…”

Genetic risk for trait aggression and alcohol use predict unique facets of alcohol-related aggression.

“…Drinking is associated with increases in physical aggression (Matuszka et al, 2017), and aggressive behavior is associated with greater alcohol consumption, heavy-drinking occasions, and alcohol-related/alcohol-involved aggression in adolescents (Tremblay & Ewart, 2005; White et al, 1993). Additionally, a latent class analysis demonstrated that individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) can be characterized into two groups, those high in externalizing behavior, including aggression, and those low in externalizing behavior (Kovács et al, 2022), further suggesting an overlap between aggression and alcohol use behavior. However, it should be noted that there may be differential relations between alcohol use and verbal and physical aggression, as some studies have shown that binge-drinking and more extreme levels of alcohol consumption are more strongly associated with physical aggression compared to verbal aggression (Kraus et al, 2015; Wells et al, 2000).…”