1 Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Rd., Winnipeg R3T 2N2, MB, Canada. Electronic address: adamst@myumanitoba.ca.
2 Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Rd., Winnipeg R3T 2N2, MB, Canada. Electronic address: rapindak@myumanitoba.ca.
3 Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Rd., Winnipeg R3T 2N2, MB, Canada. Electronic address: umfrohlj@myumanitoba.ca.
4 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St., West Montreal H4B 1R6, QC, Canada. Electronic address: roisin.oconnor@concordia.ca.
5 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, York University, 4700 Keele St., North York M3J 1P3, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: keoughmt@yorku.ca.

Impulsivity moderates the effect of social anxiety on in-lab alcohol craving.

Addict Behav. 2019 May 22;97:70-76

Authors: Adams T, Rapinda KK, Frohlich JR, O'Connor RM, Keough MT

Abstract

Social anxiety (SA) is thought to relate to alcohol misuse. However, current evidence is inconsistent - especially in young adulthood. Recent non-experimental data show that trait impulsivity moderates the effect of SA on alcohol misuse. Specifically, this work suggests that concurrently elevated impulsivity may draw attention to the immediate, anxiolytic effects of drinking - thus promoting alcohol misuse among those high in SA. Otherwise, without elevated impulsivity, a socially anxious person may not drink due to focusing on alcohol's possible negative outcomes (e.g., embarrassing behaviours). The next step in this research is to examine if impulsivity impacts in-the-moment subjective craving among socially anxious individuals. This was the goal of the present experiment. After baseline measures, undergraduate participants (N?=?110) completed the Trier Social Stress Test followed by an alcohol (versus neutral) cue exposure. Subjective craving ratings were collected at both baseline and post-cue exposure. Moderation analyses revealed that socially anxious individuals endorsed strong cravings following an alcohol (but not a neutral) cue exposure, but only if they also had elevated impulsivity. In-lab craving was positively correlated with retrospective reports of alcohol misuse. Our findings demonstrate that impulsivity contributes to SA-related risk for alcohol misuse.

PMID: 31153094 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]