Influence of sensation seeking on response to alcohol versus placebo: implications for the acquired preparedness model

Pregaming potentiates risk between UPPS-P impulsivity and day-level drinking behavior: A test of person-environment transactions theory

Pregaming represents a uniquely high-risk drinking event for young adults, and subfacets of impulsivity are robust predictors of alcohol use and related negative outcomes. Further, it is likely that pregame events contain social and physical stimuli that are particularly appealing for impulsive individuals, thus exacerbating risk for negative outcomes. However, no prior studies have investigated the extent to which impulsive personality traits interact with pregame events to confer alcohol-related risk. Thus, the present study examined the extent to which UPPS-P (urgency-perseverance-premeditation-sensation seeking-positive urgency) subfacets of impulsivity interact with the occurrence of pregaming to predict relations between pregaming, drinking quantity, and negative alcohol-related outcomes. College students (N = 737) completed a modified, online version of the 30-day Timeline Followback in which they reported drinking quantity, negative consequences, and whether they engaged in pregaming on a given day. Results indicated that sensation seeking and a lack of premeditation moderated relations between pregaming and drinking quantity such that those who are higher in sensation seeking and lower in their ability to plan ahead drank more on pregaming days. Sensation seeking and positive urgency moderated relations between pregaming and negative consequences such that those who are higher in positive urgency experience more consequences on pregaming days whereas those who are higher in sensation seeking experience less consequences. Future studies may benefit from more granular assessments of pregame-related risk as subfacets of impulsivity may confer momentary risk. Prevention efforts targeting the reduction of pregaming frequency, particularly among impulsive individuals, may lower overall risk for heavy drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Bridging the Gap: A Holistic View of Personality Factors in Individuals With and Without Alcohol Use

This comprehensive review examines the intricate interplay between personality factors and alcohol use, shedding light on the dynamic relationship that shapes the initiation, progression, and outcomes of alcohol-related behaviors. The exploration encompasses vital personality traits such as sensation seeking, impulsivity, neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. The bidirectional nature of this association is underscored, emphasizing how personality influences and is influenced by alcohol consumption patterns. Protective personality factors, including resilience, emotional regulation, and social support, are identified as crucial elements in mitigating the risk of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The implications for clinical practice advocate for tailored interventions that address individual personality profiles, while policy considerations highlight the need for targeted prevention efforts that acknowledge the diverse ways individuals respond to alcohol use. Furthermore, a call for future research emphasizes emerging perspectives, improved methodologies, and ongoing exploration of intervention strategies to advance our understanding of this complex relationship and refine approaches for prevention and treatment. As we navigate this evolving field, the insights gleaned hold promise for shaping more compelling and nuanced interventions to address the diverse needs of individuals affected by AUDs.

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.

Differential effects of UPPS-P impulsivity on subjective alcohol response and craving: An experimental test of acquired preparedness

Recent studies have extended the acquired preparedness model to experimental data, finding that impulsivity predicts subjective alcohol response, a related yet distinct construct from expectancies. However, studies have not tested whether specific facets of impulsivity predict subjective response, or whether impulsivity indirectly predicts alcohol craving through subjective response. Young adults who reported past-month binge drinking (N = 448) participated in a placebo-controlled alcohol administration study. Mediation models tested whether UPPS-P impulsivity facets indirectly predicted alcohol craving through subjective response on the ascending and descending limbs of the blood alcohol content (BAC). High arousal positive (e.g., sociable), low arousal positive (e.g., relaxed), high arousal negative (e.g., rude), and low arousal negative (e.g., dizzy) subjective effects were measured across limbs. Moderation by beverage condition was not detected, so models were collapsed across beverage condition. Sensation seeking indirectly predicted craving through high arousal positive subjective response on both limbs, whereas positive and negative urgency directly predicted craving. When controlling for baseline subjective response and craving, effects of sensation seeking and negative urgency on subjective response and craving became nonsignificant. The effects of positive urgency on craving remained, and an effect of positive urgency on high arousal positive effects emerged on the ascending limb. Findings suggest that relations among impulsivity, subjective response, and craving are contingent upon the specific facet of impulsivity. Interventions targeting predrink cue exposure and/or positive emotionality may be most effective for sensation seekers, whereas targeting subjective response and/or expectancies may be most efficacious for individuals high in positive urgency. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Prospective Effects of UPPS-P Impulsivity and Typical Drinking Context on Future Drinking Behavior

OBJECTIVE

Research suggests that impulsivity is a risk factor for problem drinking, but prior studies have yet to examine typical drinking context as a potential moderator of relations between impulsivity and drinking outcomes. Guided by Person-Environment Transactions Theory, the current study tested whether five facets of impulsivity (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking) interacted with typical drinking context to prospectively predict drinking quantity.

METHOD

Young adult participants (N = 448; mean age = 22.27) were recruited from a southwestern university and the surrounding community. Data from a baseline survey (Time [T] 1) and a 1-year follow-up (T2) were used for the current analyses. Impulsivity (UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale), typical drinking context, and typical drinking quantity were assessed at T1, and typical drinking quantity at T2.

RESULTS

Context items were loaded onto latent factors comprising high-arousal (e.g., at a tailgate, large house party) and low-arousal (e.g., at a restaurant, on a date) drinking contexts. In univariate (separated by UPPS-P facet) and multivariate (UPPS-P facets together) models, lack of premeditation and positive urgency interacted with high-arousal drinking contexts to predict T2 drinking, such that individuals at high/mean levels of impulsivity drank more heavily the more frequently they drank in high-arousal contexts. Only interactions in univariate models remained significant after a false discovery correction, although effect sizes were very similar across univariate and multivariate models.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals high in positive urgency and lack of premeditation may be particularly vulnerable to riskier drinking behavior in high-arousal environments. Findings advance the literature on context-specific cues that may be important intervention targets, particularly for individuals high in positive urgency and lack of premeditation.

Prospective Effects of UPPS-P Impulsivity and Typical Drinking Context on Future Drinking Behavior

OBJECTIVE

Research suggests that impulsivity is a risk factor for problem drinking, but prior studies have yet to examine typical drinking context as a potential moderator of relations between impulsivity and drinking outcomes. Guided by Person-Environment Transactions Theory, the current study tested whether five facets of impulsivity (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking) interacted with typical drinking context to prospectively predict drinking quantity.

METHOD

Young adult participants (N = 448; mean age = 22.27) were recruited from a southwestern university and the surrounding community. Data from a baseline survey (Time [T] 1) and a 1-year follow-up (T2) were used for the current analyses. Impulsivity (UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale), typical drinking context, and typical drinking quantity were assessed at T1, and typical drinking quantity at T2.

RESULTS

Context items were loaded onto latent factors comprising high-arousal (e.g., at a tailgate, large house party) and low-arousal (e.g., at a restaurant, on a date) drinking contexts. In univariate (separated by UPPS-P facet) and multivariate (UPPS-P facets together) models, lack of premeditation and positive urgency interacted with high-arousal drinking contexts to predict T2 drinking, such that individuals at high/mean levels of impulsivity drank more heavily the more frequently they drank in high-arousal contexts. Only interactions in univariate models remained significant after a false discovery correction, although effect sizes were very similar across univariate and multivariate models.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals high in positive urgency and lack of premeditation may be particularly vulnerable to riskier drinking behavior in high-arousal environments. Findings advance the literature on context-specific cues that may be important intervention targets, particularly for individuals high in positive urgency and lack of premeditation.

Reassessing Fitness-to-Drive in Drinker Drivers: The Role of Cognition and Personality

Drunken driving is among the main challenges for road safety by causing worldwide motor-vehicle crashes with severe injuries and deaths. The reassessment of fitness-to-drive in drivers stopped for drunken driving includes mainly psychological examinations. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and the consistency of selected variables of different psychological driving-related dimensions (i.e., cognitive skills and personality) in discriminating 90 male drinker drivers (DD) from matched non-drinkers controls. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Mental Rotation Test (MRT), and the Perspective-Taking Test (PT) were administered to assess overall cognitive functioning, and object- and self-based spatial transformation abilities, respectively. Participants completed a computerized test measuring resilience of attention (DT), reaction times (RT), and perceptual speed (ATAVT). The Personality Psychopathology Five scales (i.e., PSY-5: Aggressiveness-AGGR, Psychoticism-PSYC, Disconstraint-DISC, Negative-Emotionality-NEGE, and Introversion-INTR) the validity scale (L) and the dissimulation index (F-K) were scored from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). A logistic binomial regression analysis (backward subtraction method) was used to identify discriminant predictors. A prediction analysis (ROC curve method) was performed on the final model. Results showed that the scores obtained in MRT, DT, and the personality measures of PSYC, DISC, NEGE, and INTR significantly discriminated DD from their matched controls with moderate-to-good values of accuracy (0.79), sensitivity (0.80), and specificity (0.79), as well as a good AUC value (0.89). In some cases, the personality dimensions provided—reliable—unexpected results. Low scores of PSYC, NEGE, and INTR were found to predict the membership to the DD group; results are discussed with reference to response management. Personality measures should be assessed with particular attention in a forensic context because they are more prone to be feigned than cognitive ones. Overall, the present study confirmed the relevance of integrating different driving-related psychological dimensions in the evaluation of fitness-to-drive showing the usefulness of standardized tools for the reassessment of drinker drivers.

An Evaluation of Alcohol Sensitivity in the Context of the Acquired Preparedness Model

BACKGROUND

The acquired preparedness model (APM) posits that relationships between impulsivity-related traits and alcohol use are partly mediated by the biased acquisition of positive alcohol expectancies. Additionally, alcohol administration studies implicate associations between impulsivity-related traits and sensitivity to acute alcohol effects, suggesting that impulsivity-expectancy associations could be partly explained by individual differences in alcohol response. The present study assessed a theoretical extension of the APM by testing the prediction that self-reported sensitivity to alcohol would partly mediate impulsivity-expectancy relationships, and that the addition of alcohol sensitivity variables would account for increased variance in drinking quantity and problems relative to the traditional APM.

METHOD

Young adult heavy drinkers (N = 300, 53% women) completed the Alcohol Sensitivity Questionnaire, the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, and measures of alcohol expectancies (Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire) and drinking quantity and related problems. Hypotheses were examined using path analysis.

RESULTS

Results supported significant indirect effects of sensation seeking on drinking quantity and problems via higher positive expectancies. Results also supported a significant indirect effect of negative urgency on drinking problems via negative expectancies. Although alcohol sensitivity variables showed unique associations with drinking outcomes, the addition of these variables did not improve model fit and hypothesized indirect paths involving impulsivity-related traits, alcohol sensitivity, and expectancies were not supported.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research is necessary to reconcile these results with laboratory findings suggesting that impulsive traits are frequently associated with sensitivity to alcohol's acute effects.

Using Placebo Beverages in Group Alcohol Studies

BACKGROUND

Placebo beverage conditions remain a key element in the methodological toolkit for alcohol researchers interested in evaluating pharmacological and nonpharmacological factors influencing the effects of alcohol consumption. While interest in experimentally examining alcohol in social context is on the rise, there has been little research examining the effectiveness of placebo manipulations in group settings, when just 1 suspicious participant could potentially jeopardize the effect of the placebo on group members. Moreover, research has rarely considered the association between individual difference factors (e.g., gender) and placebo manipulation effectiveness. The present study, using an uncommonly large sample of placebo-consuming participants, was well suited to investigate fundamental questions regarding placebo efficacy that have not been assessed previously. Specifically, we aimed to examine placebo efficacy and general processes of placebo functioning in a group context. We also assessed potential associations between a variety of individual difference factors and placebo response.

METHODS

A total of 240 participants (50% male) consumed placebo beverages during a triadic drinking period (across 80 three-person groups). Participants reported their subjective intoxication, stimulation, and sedation 8 minutes following drink consumption and estimated the alcohol content of their drink at the end of the study.

RESULTS

Participants consuming placebo beverages in groups were nearly universal in reporting that they had consumed alcohol (>99%) and had experienced an increase in feelings of intoxication [t(239) = 22.03, p < 0.001] and stimulation [t(239) = 5.53, p < 0.001], levels that were similar to those observed in prior studies conducted with participants drinking placebos in isolation. Further, participants' placebo responses were independent of their 2 group members and were largely unaffected by a variety of individual difference factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Placebo response generally operated independently of group-member influences, suggesting that researchers can successfully conduct placebo beverage studies utilizing group drinking designs.

Drinking Motives Predict Subjective Effects of Alcohol and Alcohol Wanting and Liking During Laboratory Alcohol Administration: A Mediated Pathway Analysis

BACKGROUND

Motivational models of alcohol use suggest that individual differences in sensitivity to the acute subjective effects of alcohol play an important role in motivational pathways to alcohol use. However, few studies have examined the link between drinking motives and subjective responses to alcohol. This study investigated the associations of coping and enhancement drinking motives with subjective stimulant and sedative effects during a laboratory alcohol administration session. We also examined whether stimulation and sedation following alcohol administration mediated the relationships between drinking motives and postalcohol ratings of alcohol wanting and liking.

METHODS

Heavy episodic drinkers (n = 147, ages 19 to 25) at 2 sites participated in an intravenous alcohol administration session in which blood alcohol concentration was raised to a target of 80 mg% over 20 minutes. Participants completed measures of stimulation and sedation at baseline and 20 minutes and also rated alcohol liking and wanting at 20 minutes. Drinking motives and alcohol use were assessed during a previous laboratory visit.

RESULTS

A path analysis controlling for baseline stimulation and sedation showed that enhancement motives were positively associated with postalcohol stimulation and negatively associated with postalcohol sedation. In contrast, coping motives were positively associated with postalcohol sedation. In turn, postalcohol stimulation, but not sedation, was associated with alcohol wanting and liking. Further, indirect pathways from enhancement motives to postalcohol wanting and liking mediated through postalcohol stimulation were statistically significant. Coping motives, on the other hand, were directly associated with increased postalcohol wanting and liking.

CONCLUSIONS

The results demonstrate that drinking motives are linked with individual differences in sensitivity to the effects of alcohol, which may serve as a mechanism underlying alcohol reinforcement and the motivation to consume more alcohol during a drinking episode.

Acute subjective response to alcohol as a function of reward and punishment sensitivity

Individual differences in subjective response to alcohol play a crucial role in the development of heavy drinking and related problems. In light of this, a growing focus of research has been identifying factors that contribute to differences in response. The aim of the present study was to determine whether individual differences in the subjective experience of rewarding and aversive effects of alcohol are a specific manifestation of general differences in reward and punishment sensitivity. Eighty-nine participants (M age=22.4, SD=1.9; 47.2% women) consumed a moderate dose of alcohol, i.e., peak breath alcohol concentration (BrAC)≈0.080g%, and rated their level of stimulation and sedation at seven timepoints over the BrAC curve. Sensitivity to reward and punishment were assessed by a self-report questionnaire prior to consumption. Multilevel growth models showed that post-consumption changes in stimulation ratings varied as a function of participants' level of reward and punishment sensitivity. Drinkers more sensitive to reward reported feeling more stimulated shortly after drinking and exhibited an attenuated rate of decline in stimulation over the blood alcohol curve, relative to drinkers with less strong reward sensitivity. Reward sensitivity was not related to subjective ratings of sedation, and punishment sensitivity was not related to either stimulation or sedation ratings. Findings suggest that reward sensitivity may increase risk for alcohol misuse among young adult social drinkers by increasing their subjective feelings of stimulation while drinking.

Influence of Parental Monitoring, Sensation Seeking, Expected Social Benefits, and Refusal Efficacy on Tobacco and Alcohol Use in Chinese Adolescents

The relationships between parental monitoring (PM), sensation seeking (SS), expected social benefits (ESB), refusal efficacy (RE), and tobacco and alcohol use (TAU) have been well documented among adolescents. However, the mechanisms by which these 4 determinants affect TAU remain unclear. Based on the Theory of Triadic Influence, this study aimed to explore how PM, SS, ESB, and RE simultaneously influenced TAU in Chinese adolescents. From September 2013 to June 2014, we used multistage cluster sampling to select 6269 students from 179 classes of 7 vocational high schools in 3 cities of China. Each student completed a battery of 5 measures: PM, SS, ESB, RE, and TAU. Then, we used structural equation modeling techniques and mediation analyses to investigate the relationships among these 5 measures, with TAU as the final dependent variable. Results demonstrated that the relationship between PM and TAU was fully mediated by ESB and RE (b = -0.18, P < 0.001), that SS influenced TAU directly (b = 0.10, P < 0.001) and indirectly through ESB and RE (b = 0.15, P < 0.001), and that ESB influenced TAU directly (b = 0.09, P < 0.001) and indirectly through RE (b = 0.28, P < 0.001).These findings indicate that the link between PM and SS to TAU among Chinese adolescents can be explained by ESB and RE. These 4 precursory determinants can play an important role in TAU prevention among adolescents in China.

Integrating acquired preparedness and dual process models of risk for heavy drinking and related problems

The acquired preparedness model (APM) posits that alcohol expectancies mediate effects of personality traits on drinking outcomes, whereas the dual process model (DPM) suggests that top-down behavioral control (e.g., self-control) moderates the impact of bottom-up risk factors such as alcohol expectancies. This study sought to integrate the APM and DPM by examining the extent to which indirect effects of impulsive sensation seeking on drinking outcomes are moderated by self-control. We hypothesized that the APM may hold more strongly for people who are higher in self-control, as they may engage in alcohol use for the explicit purpose of meeting sensation-seeking goals. Data were from 462 participants (ages 15-63 years; 58.4% male) who completed 1 of 5 studies affiliated with the Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism. Consistent with the APM, higher levels of impulsive sensation seeking were associated with stronger positive expectancies, which, in turn, contributed to heavier drinking and related problems. Consistent with the DPM, among nondependent drinkers, indirect effects of impulsive sensation seeking on alcohol use were present only among those who were high in self-control. These findings suggest that expectancy challenges may be most effective for those with high levels of self-control prior to the development of alcohol dependence. However, future studies integrating the APM and DPM should include both implicit and explicit measures of expectancies to address the possibility that individuals with lower levels of self-control may be more influenced by automatic or implicit influences and may, therefore, respond well to implicit expectancy challenges.

Application of an alcohol clamp paradigm to examine inhibitory control, subjective responses, and acute tolerance in late adolescence

Individual differences in acute alcohol effects on cognitive control and subjective responses--and acute tolerance to these effects--are implicated in the risk for heavy drinking and alcohol-related harms. Few studies have examined these effects in drinkers under age 21. Additionally, studies of acute tolerance typically involve bolus oral alcohol administration, such that estimates of tolerance are confounded with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limb. The current study examined cognitive control and subjective responses in young heavy drinkers (n = 88; M = 19.8 years old, SD = 0.8) during a single-session alcohol clamp protocol. Participants completed an intravenous alcohol session comprising an ascending limb (0 to 80 mg% in 20 min) and a BAC plateau (80 mg% for 80 min). Serial assessments included a cued go/no-go task and measures of stimulation, sedation, and craving. Relevant individual difference factors (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] symptoms and sensation seeking) were examined as moderators. Multilevel modeling demonstrated that response inhibition worsened following initial rise in BAC and showed increasing impairment during the BAC plateau. ADHD symptoms and sensation seeking moderated this effect. Significant within-person associations between stimulation and craving were evident on the ascending limb only. Participants with higher ADHD symptoms reported steeper increases in stimulation during the ascending limb. These findings provide initial information about subjective and behavioral responses during pseudoconstant BAC, and potential moderators of these outcomes, in late adolescence. Additional studies with placebo-controlled designs are necessary to confirm these findings.