Pathways of personality and learning risk for addictive behaviors: A systematic review of mediational research on the Acquired Preparedness model

Differentiating action from inaction: Longitudinal relations among impulsive personality traits, internalizing symptoms, and drinking behavior

BACKGROUND

Impulsive personality traits are strong, consistent risk factors for heavy drinking, and modern theories suggest that impulsive traits may also confer risk for internalizing symptoms. However, it remains unclear which specific impulsive traits are linked with heavy drinking versus internalizing symptoms, and whether heavy drinking and internalizing symptoms are mechanisms of risk for negative alcohol consequences in impulsive individuals.

METHOD

Data are from a longitudinal study of young adults (N = 448, Mage = 22.27, 43.5 % female) assessed at baseline (T1), 6 months (T2), and one year later (T3). Longitudinal path models tested whether T1 impulsive traits (i.e., lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, sensation seeking, positive urgency, negative urgency) were indirectly associated with T3 negative alcohol consequences through heavy T2 drinking and T2 internalizing symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). Separate models were tested for positive and negative urgency given strong correlations between these measures.

RESULTS

Across models, T1 lack of premeditation indirectly predicted more T3 negative alcohol consequences through heavy T2 drinking. When tested separately, T1 negative urgency indirectly predicted more T3 negative consequences through higher T2 stress and depressive (but not anxiety) symptoms, and T1 positive urgency predicted higher T2 anxiety symptoms, but T2 anxiety was unrelated to T3 negative consequences. Across models, T1 sensation seeking indirectly predicted less T3 negative consequences through decreased T2 depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Distinct impulsive traits prospectively predicted heavy drinking and internalizing symptoms, both of which conferred risk for negative alcohol consequences. Findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions based on personality and suggest that decreases in drinking may be more effective prevention for those who lack premeditation, whereas decreases in internalizing, particularly depression/stress, may be critical for those high in negative urgency.

Neural Correlates of Positive Outcome Expectancy for Aggression: Evidence from Voxel-Based Morphometry and Resting-State Functional Connectivity Analysis

Positive outcome expectancy is a crucial cognitive factor influencing aggression, yet its neural basis remains unclear. Therefore, the present study combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with a resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analysis to investigate the brain correlates of positive outcome expectancy in aggression in young people. In the VBM analysis, multiple linear regression was conducted to explore the relationship between individual differences in aggressive positive outcome expectancy and regional gray matter volume (GMV) among 325 undergraduate students. For the RSFC analysis, seed regions were selected based on the results of the VBM analysis. Subsequently, multiple linear regression was employed to examine whether a significant correlation existed between individual differences in aggressive positive outcome expectancy and the RSFC of seed regions with other brain regions in 304 undergraduate students. The findings indicated that aggressive positive outcome expectancy was positively correlated with GMV in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Moreover, it was also positively associated with RSFC between the PCC and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The prediction analysis indicated robust relationships between aggressive positive outcome expectancy and the GMV in the PCC, right TPJ, as well as the RSFC between the PCC and the left DLPFC. Our research provides the initial evidence for the neural basis of positive outcome expectancy in aggression, suggesting the potential role of the PCC as a hub in its neural network.

Integrating aspects of affect, reward, and cognition to develop more comprehensive models of binge-eating pathology

Reward-related processes are an increasing focus of eating disorders research. Although evidence suggests that numerous distinct reward processes may contribute to eating pathology (e.g., reward learning and delay discounting), existing etiological models of reward dysfunction tend to focus on only a limited number of reward processes, and frequently lack specificity when identifying the individual reward processes hypothesized to contribute to dysregulated eating behavior. Moreover, existing theories have been limited in their integration of reward-related processes with other demonstrated risk and maintenance factors for eating disorders (e.g., affect and cognition), potentially contributing to underdeveloped models of eating pathology. In this article, we highlight five distinct reward processes with theorized or demonstrated relevance to eating disorders involving binge-eating, followed by a review of two well-established risk/maintenance factors for binge-eating pathology. We then introduce two novel models of binge eating onset and maintenance that integrate these factors (i.e., the Affect, Reward, Cognition models), and discuss methods for testing each of the models in future research. Ultimately, we hope that the proposed models provide a springboard for the continued evolution of more precise and comprehensive theories of reward dysfunction in the eating disorders, as well as the development of novel intervention approaches. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Eating disorders are associated with abnormalities in multiple domains of reward functioning. However, models of reward dysfunction within the eating disorders have not been well-integrated with prominent models of affect and cognition. This article presents two novel models of onset and maintenance for binge-eating pathology, which attempt to integrate observed reward abnormalities with other affective and cognitive processes implicated in binge-type eating disorders.

Multilevel longitudinal relations among impulsive traits, positive expectancies, and binge drinking from late adolescence to adulthood: A developmental test of acquired preparedness

BACKGROUND

The Acquired Preparedness Model (APM) posits that highly impulsive individuals develop stronger positive alcohol expectancies, which in turn predicts heavier drinking. However, most acquired preparedness studies have focused solely on between-person relations, despite the theory suggesting that there are potential developmental-specific within-person relations. Thus, the current study tested the APM from late adolescence into adulthood, while disaggregating within- from between-person relations.

METHODS

Data come from a multigenerational study of familial alcohol use disorder (N=653) spanning three waves 5 years apart. Participants reported their lack of conscientiousness, sensation seeking, positive alcohol expectancies, and binge drinking at each wave. First, missing data techniques were used to create a "ghost timepoint," allowing the specification of four developmental-specific timepoints representing late adolescence (age 18 to 20), emerging adulthood (age 21 to 25), young adulthood (age 26 to 29), and adulthood (age 30 to 39). Second, a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model tested between-person and within-person relations among variables.

RESULTS

At the between-person level, lower conscientiousness and sensation seeking were correlated with higher positive expectancies, and positive expectancies were correlated with more binge drinking. There were no within-person prospective relations among conscientiousness, sensation seeking, and positive expectancies. However, within-person increases in lack of conscientiousness during late adolescence predicted within-person increases in emerging adult binge drinking, and within-person increases in late adolescent and emerging adult binge drinking predicted within-person increases in lack of conscientiousness during emerging and young adulthood, respectively. Similarly, within-person increases in late adolescent and young adult sensation seeking predicted within-person increases in binge drinking during emerging adulthood and adulthood, respectively. Binge drinking did not reciprocally predict sensation seeking.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that acquired preparedness effects may be between persons rather than within persons. However, several within-person developmental-specific relations among conscientiousness, sensation seeking, and binge drinking were observed, outside of expectancies. Findings are discussed in terms of theory and prevention.