Social incentives are stronger predictors of drinking decisions than alcohol incentives in young adults: The role of alcohol use disorder

Social/Party Incentives Increase the Risk of Heavier Alcohol Use in Impulsive Individuals

BACKGROUND

Impulsivity is associated with excessive drinking and negative alcohol-related consequences. However, studies have not used an in-vivo approach (i.e., daily diary) to examine how the effect of impulsivity on excessive alcohol use could be moderated by context-specific mechanisms, such as incentives.

METHOD

The study recruited a sample of young adults (n = 102, 61.8% females), who, for two weeks, responded to questions about their total number of drinks and the incentives (alcohol incentives and social/party incentives) that influenced their decisions to drink. At baseline, participants completed a questionnaire assessing trait impulsivity.

RESULTS

The findings indicated a significant main effect of social/party incentives and alcohol incentives on the total number of drinks consumed, such that individuals decided to drink more alcohol on days when they reported higher levels of either incentive dimension. The results also revealed that only social/party incentives interacted with impulsivity, such that highly impulsive individuals decided to drink more at events with more social/party incentives.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight that highly impulsive individuals appear to be more responsive to social/party incentives at drinking events. Future research could benefit from continued exploration of social rewards as potential precursors to heavy drinking in highly impulsive individuals.

Making decisions one drink at a time and the "just one drink" effect: A fuzzy-trace theory model of harmful drinking

BACKGROUND

Understanding the decision factors that drive harmful alcohol use among young adults is of practical and theoretical importance. We apply fuzzy-trace theory (FTT) to investigate a potential danger that may arise from the arguably correct notion that a single drink carries no meaningful risk. Decisions that are mentally represented as one drink at a time could contribute to excessive drinking.

METHODS

College students (N = 351) made a series of decisions to take or decline eight hypothetical drinks presented one at a time. Outcome measures included each decision, recent alcohol consumption (weekly drinks, peak blood alcohol content, and binges), and alcohol-related harms (scores on the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). Linear regression models predicted each outcome from sex, perceived risk of a single drink, perceived risk of heavy drinking, perceived consequences of drinking, and general health-related risk sensitivity.

RESULTS

Consistent with FTT, decisions to have a first drink and up to four additional drinks in short succession were each associated with lower perceived risk of one drink-a "just-one drink" effect-independent of perceived risks of heavy drinking, perceived consequences of drinking, and general risk sensitivity. Similarly, all measures of recent alcohol consumption and consequent harms were associated with perceived risk of one drink. Participants reporting "zero risk" of a single drink had worse outcomes on all measures than those reporting at least "low risk."

CONCLUSIONS

Results are consistent with the theoretically informed premise that consumption decisions are typically made one drink at a time rather than by deciding the total number of drinks to be consumed in a sitting. When decisions about alcohol use proceed one drink at a time, a perception of zero risk in a single drink may contribute to heavy drinking.