Abstract
RATIONALE: Deficient inhibitory control is predictive of increased alcohol consumption in the laboratory; however, little is known about this relationship in naturalistic, real-world settings.
OBJECTIVES: In the present study, we implemented ecological momentary assessment methods to investigate the relationship between inhibitory control and alcohol consumption in the real world.
METHODS: Heavy drinkers who were motivated to reduce their alcohol consumption (N = 100) were loaned a smartphone which administered a stop signal task twice per day at random intervals between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for 2 weeks. Each day, participants also recorded their planned and actual alcohol consumption and their subjective craving and mood. We hypothesised that day-to-day fluctuations in inhibitory control (stop signal reaction time) would predict alcohol consumption, over and above planned consumption and craving.
RESULTS: Multilevel modelling demonstrated that daily alcohol consumption was predicted by planned consumption (β = .816; 95% CI .762-.870) and craving (β = .022; 95% CI .013-.031), but inhibitory control did not predict any additional variance in alcohol consumption. However, secondary analyses demonstrated that the magnitude of deterioration in inhibitory control across the day was a significant predictor of increased alcohol consumption on that day (β = .007; 95% CI .004-.011), after controlling for planned consumption and craving.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that short-term fluctuations in inhibitory control predict alcohol consumption, which suggests that transient fluctuations in inhibition may be a risk factor for heavy drinking episodes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1487–1496 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 235 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2018 |
Keywords
- Journal Article
- STOP-SIGNAL PARADIGM
- Inhibitory control
- SOCIAL DRINKERS
- SUBSTANCE USE
- RESTRAINT INVENTORY
- SELF-CONTROL
- Craving
- DEPENDENT PATIENTS
- Alcohol
- TIMELINE FOLLOW-BACK
- BEHAVIORAL IMPULSIVITY
- Stop signal task
- Ecological momentary assessment
- RESPONSE-INHIBITION
- USE DISORDERS