The association between impulsivity, emotion regulation, and symptoms of alcohol use disorder

Abstract

Emotion dysregulation and impulsivity are important factors influencing the development and course of alcohol dependence. However, few empirical studies investigate the association between different aspects of impulsivity (cognitive, attentional, behavioral), emotion regulation, and alcohol use disorder symptoms in the same model. The goal of this study was to assess the association between emotion regulation and different facets of impulsivity among patients with an alcohol use disorder and healthy controls. The sample was comprised of 273 individuals: 180 participants with an alcohol use disorder undergoing inpatient alcohol treatment and 93 healthy controls. Emotion regulation was assessed using the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test subscale. Impulsivity was assessed with Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Statistical models tested both the BIS-11 total score, as well as three secondary factors (non-planning, attentional, and motor impulsivity). Findings indicate that individuals with alcohol use disorder symptoms were characterized by poor emotion regulation and high levels of impulsivity in all analyzed domains. Moreover, path analytic models indicated that after accounting for demographic factors (i.e., biological sex, age, education) there was evidence for a significant indirect effect of alcohol use disorder symptomatology on non-planning and attentional impulsivity via emotion regulation. There was no association between emotion regulation and motor impulsivity. These findings indicate the importance of targeting emotion regulation skills as well as behavioral control when treating patients with alcohol use disorder.

Feedforward Neural Network-Based Architecture for Predicting Emotions from Speech

“…Similarly, the computer system of a car or plane can benefit from this architecture by detecting emotionally tense situations or negative emotions that are affecting the driver or the pilot and take preventive safety measures, such as stopping the car or informing the control tower [30,31]. As the emotional patterns can be used to determine different mental disorders [24][25][26] as well as physical diseases [27], the proposed architecture can be used for real-time monitoring and analysis of these patterns. The proposed architecture can also help people suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to better communicate with others and integrate into society [48][49][50].…”

“…The proposed SER system can be successfully used in HCI based on speech interaction, as well as integrated in computer-mediated education systems [47], for airplane or car accidents prevention [30,31], diagnosing mental disorders [24][25][26] and physical diseases [27], in call centers to improve the quality of customer service [22,23], and crime investigation departments by analyzing emotional patterns during suspect interrogations to find the perpetrator [28,51].…”

“…We use the most common way of defining emotions, which was first described by Clynes [20] who emphasizes the idea of pure basic sentic states, and later refined by Paul Ekman's research [21], by defining the six basic emotions: Anger, surprise, fear, happiness, sadness, and disgust. Alongside human-computer interfaces (HCI), this architecture can be used for improving the conversation in call center departments by predicting the caller's emotional state and providing advice to agents on how to best approach the caller [22,23]; diagnosing mental disorders or physical diseases based on the emotional patterns displayed by the subject over the course of time (knowing that there are proved correlations between these emotional patterns and several mental disorders [24][25][26] and physical diseases [27]); determining the perpetrator by analyzing suspects' emotions during interrogations in crime investigation departments [28,29]; or preventing plane or car accidents by analyzing driver's or pilot's speech, determining if they are affected by negative emotions, and taking preventive measures in such cases, such as stopping the car or informing the control tower [30,31]. In the following sections, we present the experimental results obtained, as well as the methods used for implementing the proposed architecture.…”

Emotion dysregulation and internalizing symptoms affect relationships between ADHD symptoms and borderline personality features among male patients with substance use disorders

“…Fifth, we did not screen for impulsivity or common comorbidities such as impulse control disorders, which may be considered as a limitation. Because, as EDR [54,67], impulsivity is also regarded as an important feature of BPD [1,53,54], adult ADHD [27,54], and SUDs [58,67]. Similarly, we did not evaluate childhood trauma, which can be considered as a common etiological factor for the subjects of interest.…”

“…Some researchers have argued that individuals who have EDR are more likely to engage in addictive behaviours in an attempt to escape from, or minimize, negative moods and/or try alleviate distressing feelings [66]. A recent studies suggested that higher levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions were found to relate to greater alcohol and drug misuse [67,68]. EDR is a possible mechanism underlying the indirect relationship between negative affectivity and SUDs [69][70][71] and between early emotional and physical maltreatment and the development of SUDs [72].…”