Gender‐Specific Effects of Mood on Alcohol‐Seeking Behaviors: Preliminary Findings Using Intravenous Alcohol Self‐Administration

Abstract

Background Although negative mood has long been implicated in differences in alcohol seeking by men and women, little research has used precise, well-controlled laboratory experiments to examine how negative mood affects alcohol seeking behaviors. Methods A total of 34 (19 Women) community-dwelling, alcohol using adults aged 21–32 (mean age=24.86, SD=3.40, 74.3% Caucasian; Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [AUDIT]= 10.1, SD= 3.4) completed two counter-balanced intravenous alcohol self-administration sessions: one under negative mood and one under neutral mood. Fourteen individuals (9 women; mean age=25.00, SD=2.77) participated in an alcohol “liking” experiment (i.e., free access drinking) and 20 individuals (10 women; mean age=24.77, SD=3.73) participated in an alcohol “wanting” experiment, in which gaining access to alcohol required progressively effortful work. There was no significant difference between men and women on the AUDIT (t(34)=−0.38, p=.71). Results Priming with negative mood induction caused a significant decrease in self-reported mood (mean change=−1.90, t(39)=−6.81, p<.001), as intended. In free access, negative mood was associated with a significantly increased peak breath alcohol concentration (BrAC; F=9.41, p=.01), with a trend toward a greater effect in men than in women (F=2.67, p=.13). Negative mood also had a significant effect on peak BrAC achieved in the progressive work paradigm (F=5.28, p=.04), with a significantly stronger effect in men (F=5.35, p=.03) than women; men also trended toward more consistent work for alcohol across both neutral and negative sessions. Conclusions These preliminary findings demonstrate a gender-specific response on how mood affects alcohol seeking and suggest gender-specific interventions to prevent mood-based alcohol consumption.

Negative urgency, mood induction, and alcohol seeking behaviors

“…Two samples were collected as part of a larger study of the effects of negative mood on alcohol self-administration across men and women (Cyders et al, in press ): the FA sample, which was able to freely self-administer alcohol up to a maximal BrAC of 150 mg/dL ( n =14), and the PW sample, which completed progressively longer work sets for alcohol rewards with a maximum BrAC of 120 mg/dL ( n =20). Inclusion/exclusion criteria for both samples included: 21–35 years old, current alcohol users, good medical and mental health, able to understand and complete questionnaires in English, no past or present alcohol dependence, not currently pregnant or intending to become pregnant, or breastfeeding.…”

“…Listening to negative songs are associated with a more negative subjective mood rating compared to neutral songs (p<0.05; Västfjäll, 2002). Music was played continuously through over the ear headphones during the writing, priming, and alcohol self-administration sessions (songs and order of presentation are shown in Cyders et al, in press , Supplemental Table 1).…”

“…The data were then examined for missing data, skewness, kurtosis, and outliers. Second, we utilized a series of two repeated measures analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) (mood: negative or neutral) × 2 (time: pre/post alcohol prime) to examine how negative urgency relates to changes in self-reported mood, alcohol craving, cortisol release, and alcohol seeking across a range of variables, controlling for sex 1 and age in all analyses (see Cyders et al, in press ). Third, we conducted a series of repeated measures ANCOVA to examine how negative urgency relates to alcohol consumption and seeking behaviors across the neutral and negative mood sessions, controlling for group (PW vs. FA), age, and gender.…”

“…There is an emerging consensus that negative urgency is a transdiagnostic endophenotype for a wide range of clinical disorders, most notably alcohol use problems (see a review by Cyders et al, in press and Verdejo-Garcia et al, 2010). Although evidence suggests negative urgency plays a predictive role in problematic alcohol-related behaviors (Coskunpinar et al, 2013; Settles et al, 2010), the mechanisms by which negative urgency imparts risk for alcohol-related problems is not yet well understood.…”

“…Although evidence suggests negative urgency plays a predictive role in problematic alcohol-related behaviors (Coskunpinar et al, 2013; Settles et al, 2010), the mechanisms by which negative urgency imparts risk for alcohol-related problems is not yet well understood. Although, negative mood influences multiple types of alcohol-related behaviors (Cyders et al, in press ), it remains unclear how negative urgency might relate to these separate aspects of mood, alcohol seeking, and consumption. This lack of understanding limits the development of effective treatment and prevention strategies that would mitigate negative urgency’s influence on clinical problems; therefore, the goal of the current study was to examine potential mood and alcohol-related mechanisms underlying negative urgency’s effects on alcohol seeking behaviors.…”