Preliminary support for the role of alcohol cues in food cravings and attentional biases

This study examined whether alcohol odors, in isolation or when combined with pictures, would influence food attentional biases and cravings. Participants' cravings and attentional biases to food and alcohol pictures were assessed after exposure to alcohol or water odors ( n = 77; mean age = 30.84 years, 51.9% female, 83.1% Caucasian). Food attentional biases were increased by alcohol odors, but food cravings were increased only by a combination of alcohol odors and food pictures. These effects were related with self-reported problematic food consumption. These findings support a research program for further examining the effect of alcohol cues on problematic food consumption

Integrating Preclinical and Clinical Models of Negative Urgency

Overwhelming evidence suggests that negative urgency is robustly associated with rash, ill-advised behavior, and this trait may hamper attempts to treat patients with substance use disorder. Research applying negative urgency to clinical treatment settings has been limited, in part, due to the absence of an objective, behavioral, and translational model of negative urgency. We suggest that development of such a model will allow for determination of prime neurological and physiological treatment targets, the testing of treatment effectiveness in the preclinical and the clinical laboratory, and, ultimately, improvement in negative-urgency-related treatment response and effectiveness. In the current paper, we review the literature on measurement of negative urgency and discuss limitations of current attempts to assess this trait in human models. Then, we review the limited research on animal models of negative urgency and make suggestions for some promising models that could lead to a translational measurement model. Finally, we discuss the importance of applying objective, behavioral, and translational models of negative urgency, especially those that are easily administered in both animals and humans, to treatment development and testing and make suggestions on necessary future work in this field. Given that negative urgency is a transdiagnostic risk factor that impedes treatment success, the impact of this work could be large in reducing client suffering and societal costs

MANIPULATION OF POSITIVE EMOTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON NEGATIVE OUTCOMES OF GAMBLING BEHAVIORS AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: THE ROLE OF POSITIVE URGENCY

The current pair of experimental studies sought to further validate the role of positive urgency (acting rashly when in an extreme positive emotional state) as a risk factor for impulsive and maladaptive behavior. Previous research has supported the use of emotion-based dispositions to rash action in predicting a wide range of maladaptive acts. However, that research relied on self-reported behavior, thus lacking (1) tight experimental controls and (2) direct observation of risky behaviors. In the two experimental studies described here, I found that, among college students, (1) previous cross-sectional relationships between risk and positive urgency were supported (n = 104), (2) positive urgency significantly predicted negative outcomes on a gambling task following a positive mood manipulation (n = 94), and (3) positive urgency significantly predicted increases in beer consumption following positive mood induction (n = 33). Positive urgency\u27s role was above and beyond previously identified risk factors; these findings combined with prior cross-sectional and longitudinal field studies provide strong support for the role of positive urgency in rash action

THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A MEASURE OF POSITIVE URGENCY

The aim of the current series of studies was to begin the process of examining whether a propensity to act rashly in response to positive affective states (positive urgency) increases the likelihood of engaging in risky, maladaptive, and harmful acts. We theorized that this trait may account for some types of risky drinking behavior not explained by other risk factors, particularly for college students. In the current series of studies, an internally consistent (=.94), unidimensional scale was developed. This scale was shown to have convergent validity across methods and discriminant validity from other types of impulsivity. For both alcohol use and risky behavior, positive urgency explained variance not explained by other forms of impulsivity. Cross-sectional tests were consistent with the hypothesis that positive urgency leads to positive alcohol expectancies, which lead to increased drinking, which leads to involvement in risky behavior. This possibility should be examined prospectively

Underlying Neurobiological and Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Impulsivity in Risk-Taking Behaviors

Impulsivity has been widely implicated in many maladaptive risk-taking and clinical disorders associated with such behaviors [1,2], and may be the most frequently noted criteria in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders [3] across a wide variety of disorder classes [4] [...]

Essentially, All Models are Wrong, but Some Are Useful": A Preliminary Conceptual Model Of Co-Occurring E-Cig and Alcohol Use

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: As prevalence rates of electronic cigarette (e-cig) use increase, researchers and clinicians should not only be paying careful attention to the direct health effects of e-cigs, but also the potential impact e-cigs may have on alcohol use behaviors. We review the current state of the literature and propose a conceptual model for the relationship between e-cig and alcohol use, including important consequences, mechanisms, and moderators of this relationship. RECENT FINDINGS: The model is based in emerging literature examining the direct relationship between e-cig and alcohol use, as well as indirect evidence concerning potential mechanisms from research on cigarette and alcohol use. Overall, research indicates a robust relationship between e-cig and alcohol use. SUMMARY: We suggest that a relationship between e-cig use and alcohol use could be particularly problematic, especially for adolescents and for those with or at risk for alcohol use disorders. We hope the presented conceptual model can stimulate research in this area. We make research recommendations, including the need for more methodological rigor, including improved measurement of e-cig use, and expanding research to longitudinal and experimental designs

THE DIFFERENT ALCOHOL USE AMONG ASIAN POPULATION IN U.S.: THE ROLE OF RACE IN THE RELATINOSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY/SOCIAL LEARNING AND ALCOHOL USE

poster abstractAlthough extensive research on alcohol use among Caucasian population has been conducted, there are only a few studies to explore an underlying mechanism of alcohol use on Asian population in U.S. Because of the risks associated with alcohol, it is important to understand the different alcohol use behaviors among Asian group in terms of personality and social learning. Extensive studies have suggested that drinking motives and alcohol expec-tancy are good proxy predictors of social and cultural learning, and impul-sivity is related to personality traits. However, there is only a few data that examine impulsivity, drinking motives, and alcohol expectancy difference by race. No studies have ever examined the mediating and moderating role of race in the relationship between impulsivity and drinking motives/alcohol expectancy on alcohol use. The goal of this poster is to review the different impulsivity, drinking motives, and alcohol expectancy among Asian popula-tion in order to elucidate the unknown mechanism of alcohol use and devel-op a theoretical model of Asian drinking. Our review of the literature indi-cates that Asians particularly endorsed high impulsive coping strategies compared to Caucasians, engaged in problematic drinking due to conformity drinking motives, and alcohol expectancies mediated the relationship be-tween impulsivity and alcohol use only for Asian group. These findings sug-gest that the role of culture and race has crucial influence on Asian drinking pattern in U.S. and needs to be empirically examined in the future studies

MODERATED-MEDIATION MODEL OF PERSONALITY AND ALCOHOL

poster abstractPrevious work has shown that both positive (PUR) and negative urgency (NUR) (tendency to act rashly in the face of extreme emotions), predict problematic alcohol consumption (Cyders et al., 2009), and that this relationship is mediated through enhancement and coping motives (Settles et al., 2010). Moreover, research shows that there is a negative relationship between risk and involvement, and that there is a positive relationship between benefit and involvement (Siegel et al., 1994). However, there has not been a lot of research done that looks at the moderational role of risk and perception benefit on the relationship between personality and alcohol, as well as motives and alcohol consumption. Thus, we hypothesize that (1) the relationship between PUR and NUR will be mediated by enhancement and coping motives (respectively); (2) the relationship between coping and enhancement motives and alcohol consumption will be moderated by perception of risk and benefit. 447 first year students participated in the study (75.3% female; mean age=21.02, SD=4.96), and the majority of the sample was Caucasian. We conducted a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses (according to Cohen et al., 2003), as well as the moderated-mediation analyses (Preacher et al., 2007). Both NUR and PUR significantly predicted alcohol consumption (NUR: β=.330, p<.000; PUR: β=.317, p<.000), and this relationships were mediated by coping (β=.415, p<.000) and enhancement motives (β=.507, p<.000) respectively. The indirect relationship between PUR and alcohol, mediated through enhancement motives, was moderated through perception of benefit (t=2.03, p=.044) and risk (t= -2.67, p=.01) (benefit: from z=4.73, p=.000 when PUR is 1 SD below the mean to z=5.64, p=.000 when PUR is 1 SD above the mean; risk: from z= -1.04, p=.30 when PUR is 1 SD below the mean to z= -3.63, p=.000 when PUR is 1 SD above the mean), whereas only perception of benefit significantly moderated the indirect relationship between NUR and alcohol use (t=1.68, p=.09) mediated through coping motives (from z=3.96, p=.000 when PUR is 1 SD below the mean to z=5.62, p=.000 when PUR is 1 SD above the mean). Therefore, the mediational relationship between urgency and alcohol use through motives seem to be moderated by one’s perception of benefit and risk