Impulsivity, Impulsive and Reflective Processes and the Development of Alcohol Use and Misuse in Adolescents and Young Adults

This paper contrasts dual-process and personality approaches in the prediction of addictive behaviors and related risk behaviors. In dual-process models, behavior is described as the joint outcome of qualitatively different “impulsive” (or associative) and “reflective” processes. There are important individual differences regarding both types of processes, and the relative strength of both in a specific situation is influenced by prior behavior and state variables (e.g., fatigue, alcohol use). From this perspective, a specific behavior (e.g., alcohol misuse) can be predicted by the combined indices of the behavior-related impulsive processes (e.g., associations with alcohol), and reflective processes, including the ability to refrain from a motivationally salient action. Personality approaches have reported that general traits such as impulsivity predict addictive behaviors. Here we contrast these two approaches, with supplementary analyses on four datasets. We hypothesized that trait impulsivity can predict specific risky behaviors, but that its predictive power disappears once specific behavior-related associations, indicators of executive functioning, and their interaction are entered into the equation. In all four studies the observed interaction between specific associations and executive control (EC) was robust: trait impulsivity did not diminish the prediction of alcohol use by the interaction. Trait impulsivity was not always related to alcohol use, and when it was, the predictive power disappeared after entering the interaction between behavior-specific associations and EC in one study, but not in the other. These findings are interpreted in relation to the validity of the measurements used, which leads to a more refined hypothesis

Prevention Education Effects on Fundamental Memory Processes

This study evaluated effects of a key session from a nationally recognized drug abuse prevention program on basic memory processes in 211 high-risk youth in Southern California. In a randomized, between-subject design, the authors manipulated assignment to a Myth and Denial program session and the time of assessment (immediate vs. 1-week delay). The authors examined program decay effects on memory accessibility and judgment errors. Those participants exposed to the program session generated more myths and facts from the program than those in the control group, suggesting that even a single program session influenced students’ memory for program information and this was retained at least 1 week and detectable with indirect tests of memory accessibility. However, consistent with basic research perspectives, participants in the program-delayed assessment group erroneously generated more fact-related information from the session to the prompt “It is a myth that_____” than the participants in the program immediate assessment group; that is, they retained more facts as myths. These types of program effects, anticipated by basic memory theory, were not detected with a traditional judgment task in the present sample. The results suggest that basic science approaches offer a novel way of conceptually recasting prevention effects to more completely understand how these effects may operate. Implications for program evaluation and conceptualization are discussed

High peak drinking levels mediate the relation between impulsive personality and injury risk in emerging adults

Abstract Background Alcohol-induced injury is one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality. We investigated the relationship between impulsive personality and physical injury (e.g. falls, sports), and whether peak drinking quantity specifically, and/or risky behaviour more generally, mediates the relationship between impulsivity and injury in undergraduates. Method We used data from the winter 2021 UniVenture survey with 1316 first- and second-year undergraduate students aged 18–25 years (79.5% female) from five Canadian Universities. Students completed an online survey regarding their demographics, personality, alcohol use, risky behaviours, and injury experiences. Impulsivity was measured with the substance use risk profile scale, past 30-day peak alcohol use with the quantity-frequency-peak Alcohol Use Index, general risky behaviour with the risky behaviour questionnaire, and past 6-month injury experience with the World Health Organization’s (2017) injury measurement questionnaire. Results Of 1316 total participants, 12.9% (n = 170) reported having sustained a physical injury in the past 6 months. Mean impulsivity, peak drinking quantity, and risky behaviour scores were significantly higher among those who reported vs. did not report injury. Impulsivity and peak drinking quantity, but not general risky behaviour, predicted injury in a multi-level generalized mixed model. Mediation analyses supported impulsivity as both a direct predictor of physical injury and an indirect predictor through increased peak drinking (both p < .05), but not through general risky behaviour. Conclusion Results imply emerging adults with impulsive tendencies should be identified for selective injury prevention programs and suggest targeting their heavy drinking to decrease their risk for physical injury

Is Anxiety Sensitivity Associated with COVID-19 Related Distress and Adherence among Emerging Adults?

We investigated whether anxiety sensitivity (AS) is associated with increased distress and adherence to public health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduates, and whether increased distress mediates the relationship between AS and increased adherence. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1318 first- and second-year undergraduates (mean age of 19.2 years; 79.5% females) from five Canadian universities. Relevant subscales of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) and the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10) were used to assess AS and neuroticism. Three measures tapped distress: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depressive symptoms, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety symptoms, and the Brief COVID-19 Stress Scales (CSS-B) for COVID-19-specific distress. The COVID-19 Adherence scale (CAD) assessed adherence to COVID-19 containment measures. AS was significantly independently associated with higher general distress (both anxiety and depressive symptoms) and higher COVID-19-specific distress, after controlling age, sex, study site, and neuroticism. Moreover, AS indirectly predicted greater adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures through higher COVID-19-specific distress. Interventions targeting higher AS might be helpful for decreasing both general and COVID-19-specific distress, whereas interventions targeting lower AS might be helpful for increasing adherence to public health containment strategies, in undergraduates.Arts and Social Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)Non UBCPsychology, Department of (Okanagan)ReviewedFacultyResearcherGraduat

Context Effects on Alcohol Cognitions

This article summarizes a symposium on context and alcohol‐related cognitions presented at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The studies reported here examine how the manipulation of contextual variables influences the availability of alcohol outcome expectancies and implicit memories for alcohol associations. The symposium illustrates the range of context variables and shows some of the potential impact of retrieval on cognitions that predict alcohol use. Two of the studies explore naturalistic drinking contexts: one examines the impact of stress induction, and one assesses within survey question placement effects. A variety of measures of alcohol cognitions were used. The results demonstrate that alcohol cognitions are more accessible in alcohol‐related contexts. Moreover, availability of alcohol associations and expectancies depended on individual differences. These results underscore the potential value of memory processes in the retrieval and measurement of alcohol cognitions. The findings have direct implications for improving methods of predicting alcohol use and in understanding the role of alcohol cognitions in various contexts associated with alcohol use