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

Abstract

Implicit associations about alcohol are strong predictors of alcohol use, as is the personality trait of impulsivity. This study examines the role of impulsivity as a moderator of the association between implicit associations about alcohol and alcohol use. Two hundred and nineteen participants completed measures of positive and negative implicit associations, as measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and self-report questionnaires of impulsivity and alcohol use in the past month. Trait impulsivity was broken down into five facets identified in previous research. All facets of impulsivity and positive implicit associations about alcohol were positively correlated with past month alcohol use. The urgency facets (positive and negative) of impulsivity (acting rashly in response to strong positive or negative mood) moderated the relationship between positive implicit associations about alcohol and alcohol use. Compared to individuals low on positive or negative urgency, individuals high on positive or negative urgency tended to report acting more in line with their positive implicit associations by reporting more drinking in the past month.

Differential Associations Between Alcohol Expectancies and Adolescent Alcohol Use as a Function of Childhood ADHD

“…In addition, implicit cognitions were found to be more related to alcohol for the individuals with low working memory (Thush et al, 2008). Individuals high in positive and negative urgency, facets of impulsivity, have also been found to act more in line with their implicit alcohol cognitions than individuals with lower levels of these traits (Burton et al, 2012). Research has shown that explicit expectancies and alcohol use reciprocally infl uence one another (e.g., Smith et al, 1995).…”

“…Studies conducted in nonclinical populations have shown that, for individuals low in response inhibition (Houben and Wiers, 2009) or high in positive and negative urgency (Burton et al, 2012), automatic or implicit cognitions about alcohol use were more strongly related to drinking behavior than for individuals with lower levels of disinhibition. A similar process may be occurring for individuals with ADHD: Implicit alcohol-related cognitions may be more strongly driving drinking behavior compared to explicit cognitions measured with paper-and-pencil questionnaires that require insightful access to cognitive schemas that guide behavior.…”

Self-Control and Implicit Drinking Identity as Predictors of Alcohol Consumption, Problems, and Cravings

“…Stated simply, self-control has been proposed as a moderator of the impact of implicit processes, including implicit associations, on alcohol use. Indeed, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that implicit alcohol associations predicted drinking behavior in individuals with low self-control but not in individuals with high self-control (e.g., Burton et al, 2012;Farris et al, 2010;Friese and Hofmann, 2009). Experimental studies have also demonstrated that there is a stronger (positive) relationship between implicit associations and drinking among participants whose self-control has been depleted compared with participants whose self-control has not been depleted (e.g., Friese et al, 2008, Study 3).…”

“…That is, studies to date have used measures that assess participants' success (or lack thereof) in keeping from doing something but that do not specify what that something is (emphasis added). Such studies and measures are extremely useful for investigating general individual differences in self-control and have helped to elucidate which aspects of general self-control are infl uential (e.g., Burton et al, 2012), but they cannot address questions regarding the infl uence or associations of domain-specifi c self-control. For example, it is unknown whether one's capability (or lack thereof) to control one's drinking (alcohol-specifi c self-control) might be a moderator of implicit associations.…”

“…As research interest in implicit associations has developed, there has been increased attention focused on elucidating the conditions under which implicit associations have more or less infl uence on impulsive behaviors, including drinking (Hofmann et al, , 2009a(Hofmann et al, , 2009b. The present study examined individual differences in self-control, which not only are important predictors of drinking (e.g., Lapp, 1991, 1992;Connors et al, 1998) but also have been shown to moderate the relationship between implicit associations and drinking (e.g., Burton et al, 2012;Friese and Hofmann, 2009;Hofmann et al, 2008). We focused on the constructs of general or trait self-control and alcohol-specifi c ("alcohol") self-control and investigated their roles in predicting alcohol-related variables (consumption, problems, and cravings).…”