Impulsivity, working memory, and impaired control over alcohol: A latent variable analysis.

Hwang

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

Early life stress (ELS) leads to increased susceptibility to serious psychiatric problems such as alcohol dependence, but the mechanisms through which ELS affects alcohol dependence are unclear. We investigated the mediating role of multi-dimensional impulsivity in the associations between ELS and alcohol dependence. 330 male patients with alcohol dependence (mean age = 48.39) completed self-rating scales of ELS and several self-report measures of impulsivity as well as balloon analogue risk task (BART). After classifying different dimensions of impulsivity using factor analysis, structural equation modeling was conducted to test the mediation effects of impulsivity between ELS and alcohol dependence severity and social onset of hazardous drinking. Among the participants, 64.8%, 42.1% and 47.9% reported at least one episode of childhood maltreatment, sexual abuse and parental conflict, respectively. Response impulsivity-sensation seeking, reflection impulsivity and aggression partially mediated the association between ELS and severity of alcohol dependence (CFI = 0.902 and RMSEA = 0.079). Reflection impulsivity dimension partially mediated the association between ELS and social onset of hazardous drinking (CFI = 0.939, RMSEA = 0.091). These finding imply that stabilizing vulnerabilities such as reflection impulsivity via intervention programs that target young individuals with ELS may be helpful in delaying the onset of hazardous drinking and prevent alcohol dependence.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multidimensional impulsivity as a mediator of early life stress and alcohol dependence

Hwang

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

“…One important risk mechanism, heightened behavioral impulsivity, has received particularly intensive study (Coskunpinar et al, 2013, Klein et al, 2016, Sanchez-Roige et al, 2016, Stephan et al, 2016, Wardell et al, 2016). Impulsivity can be characterized by questionnaire assessment or laboratory test.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in the interacting roles of impulsivity and positive alcohol expectancy in problem drinking: A structural brain imaging study

Ide

Zhornitsky

et al. 2017

NeuroImage: Clinical

Alcohol expectancy and impulsivity are implicated in alcohol misuse. However, how these two risk factors interact to determine problem drinking and whether men and women differ in these risk processes remain unclear. In 158 social drinkers (86 women) assessed for Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), positive alcohol expectancy, and Barratt impulsivity, we examined sex differences in these risk processes. Further, with structural brain imaging, we examined the neural bases underlying the relationship between these risk factors and problem drinking. The results of general linear modeling showed that alcohol expectancy best predicted problem drinking in women, whereas in men as well as in the combined group alcohol expectancy and impulsivity interacted to best predict problem drinking. Alcohol expectancy was associated with decreased gray matter volume (GMV) of the right posterior insula in women and the interaction of alcohol expectancy and impulsivity was associated with decreased GMV of the left thalamus in women and men combined and in men alone, albeit less significantly. These risk factors mediated the correlation between GMV and problem drinking. Conversely, models where GMV resulted from problem drinking were not supported. These new findings reveal distinct psychological factors that dispose men and women to problem drinking. Although mediation analyses did not determine a causal link, GMV reduction in the insula and thalamus may represent neural phenotype of these risk processes rather than the consequence of alcohol consumption in non-dependent social drinkers. The results add to the alcohol imaging literature which has largely focused on dependent individuals and help elucidate alterations in brain structures that may contribute to the transition from social to habitual drinking.

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

“…Moreover, the impulsivity inherent in ADHD and a tendency to overestimate how much time has passed (Barkley et al., ) are 2 qualities which may result in rapid consumption of alcoholic beverages. For example, individuals with higher impulsivity report more loss of control over drinking (Wardell et al., ). Research measuring in‐the‐moment drinking behaviors among adults with and without histories of ADHD is needed to test these possibilities.…”

Section: Adhd and Alcohol Use Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In‐the‐Moment Drinking Characteristics: An Examination Across Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder History and Race

McKone

Kennedy

Piasecki

et al. 2019

Background: Adults with a history of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Black drinkers are at elevated risk for alcohol problems and alcohol use disorder. Processes that increase risk for these distinct populations have not focused on in-the-moment behaviors that occur while drinking. The present study examined in-the-moment drinking characteristics (i.e., location, social context, day, time, drink type, speed of consumption) that may differ for individuals with and without ADHD histories or for Black and White drinkers. We also examined the interplay among these in-themoment drinking characteristics to further understanding of contexts when risk may be momentarily increased.Methods: As part of a larger study, 135 individuals (M age = 27.81, 69.6% male, 45.9% ADHD, 69.6% White) completed a 10-day ecological momentary assessment protocol that included self-initiated reports following consumption of an alcoholic drink. Hypotheses were tested using multilevel modeling.Results: Controlling for multiple demographic covariates, Black drinkers drank significantly more quickly than White drinkers and were more likely to consume hard liquor-containing beverages. Differences in drinking speed remained significant when adjusting for Black drinkers' greater likelihood to consume liquor-containing beverages and momentary experience of discrimination; however, Black drinkers' increased likelihood to consume liquor-containing beverages was no longer significant when adjusting for momentary experience of discrimination. Individuals with ADHD histories did not differ from those without ADHD histories in any in-the-moment drinking characteristics. ADHD and race did not interact to predict any drinking characteristic.Conclusions: Differences in speed of alcohol consumption and propensity to consume liquor-containing beverages may contribute to increased risk for alcohol problems experienced by Black drinkers compared to White drinkers.