Alcohol preload and automatic alcohol motivation: Examining the causes of dyscont

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The destructive impact of alcohol use has been well-documented. Alcohol is involved in problems such as homicides, suicides, motor vehicle crashes, heart and liver disease, cancer, increased health care costs, homelessness and decreased worker productivity. Despite the costs associated with heavy alcohol use, at-risk drinking behavior has increased over the past decade. Why do individuals engage in harmful alcohol consumption? Though some may deliberately and intentionally drink at levels that cause them harm, others do so because of impaired self-control. Dyscontrol - the difficulty in refraining from substance use despite conscious intentions to do so - is a defining element of substance use disorders. Given the personal and societal costs of dyscontrolled alcohol use, it is crucial to increase our understanding of the contexts in which dyscontrolled drinking is likely to take place and the psychological processes that support alcohol dyscontrol. In the proposed project, at-risk drinkers will be recruited to examine the effects of a priming dose of alcohol and automatic alcohol motivation on dyscontrolled drinking. Participants will begin the study by completing a baseline reaction time measure of automatic alcohol-approach associations. Participants will then receive either a priming dose of alcohol to reach a breath alcohol level of .05 or an equivalent amount of placebo beverage. After a short absorption period, automatic alcohol-approach associations will be assessed for a second time and then participants will complete a taste-test in which they drink and rate three beers on a number of adjectives for 20 minutes. We predict that the alcohol priming dose (compared to placebo) will lead to greater amount of beer consumed in the taste-test. We also predict that the influence of the alcohol priming dose on consumption in the taste-test will be mediated by the effects of the alcohol priming dose on increasing the strength of automatic alcohol-approach associations. Positive study results will provide important contributions to understanding the psychological processes that mediate compulsive, dyscontrolled alcohol consumption. Additionally, this knowledge will have clinical utility in the screening of at-risk drinkers for early intervention, in predicting relapse after an intervention, and in being used as a criterion for intervention development. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Alcohol is involved in more than 100,000 deaths per year in the United States and cost the economy $167 billion in 1995 and is involved in problems such as homicides, suicides, motor vehicle crashes, heart and liver disease, cancer, increased health care costs, homelessness and decreased worker productivity. The purpose of this research is to improve our understanding of the psychological processes that underlie and support dyscontrolled alcohol use. This novel approach to dyscontrolled drinking may have clinical utility in predicting relapse after an intervention and in being used as a criterion for intervention development.