College students' daily mind wandering is related to lower social well-being.

Objective: This study sought to examine how daily mind wandering is related to loneliness, felt connection to others, and school belonging among college students. Participants: Three samples (n = 209, n = 173, and n = 266) from two US campuses were recruited. Methods: Data were collected via ecological momentary assessment over the course of two academic quarters in one sample and an academic semester in two samples. Results: Social well-being declined throughout the academic term in all samples. Lower day-to-day mind wandering predicted lower loneliness at the next time point and was concurrently related to a higher felt connection to others and higher school belonging. Thoughts about the past and future were associated with lower social well-being than present-focused thoughts. Conclusions: This study supports the proposition that promoting present-centered attention can benefit college students' social well-being and alleviate their feelings of loneliness and isolation that they often experience.

The impact of alcohol consumption on implicit racial bias.

OBJECTIVE: Researchers and theorists studying intergroup relations have been interested in the impact of alcohol on interracial responding. Theories predict that alcohol will exacerbate expressions of racial bias by increasing reliance on stereotypes and/or by decreasing controlled processing and self-monitoring. Prior studies testing these theories have often examined alcohol's effects on implicit (i.e., indirect) measures of racial bias with inconsistent results. However, previous research in this area has suffered from several methodological limitations, including small sample sizes and doses of alcohol that may have been too low to induce substantial intoxication. METHOD: Here, in more than triple the number of alcohol participants than the largest prior study, we tested whether an intoxicating dose of alcohol (target breath alcohol concentration of .08%) exacerbated implicit racial bias. Young adults who identified as races other than Black or African American (N = 207) were randomly assigned to consume an alcoholic or placebo beverage and completed the race-based Implicit Association Test (race IAT) testing implicit preference for White (vs. Black) individuals [or, conversely, bias against Black (vs. White) individuals]. RESULTS: All participants demonstrated an implicit racial bias (i.e., linking traditionally Black names with negative/unpleasant words), with no difference in this implicit racial bias across beverage conditions. Specifically, there were no differences between alcohol participants' race IAT D scores (M = 0.55, SD = 0.39), and placebo participants' race IAT D scores (M = 0.59, SD = 0.35), b = 0.05, 95%CI [-0.07, 0.18], p = .422. CONCLUSIONS: These findings challenge theories and prior studies suggesting that alcohol increases implicit racial bias. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A systematic review of the acute effects of alcohol on emotion recognition of facial expressions.

Alcohol has been linked to both positive (e.g., sociability) and negative (e.g., aggression) social outcomes, and researchers have proposed that alcohol-induced changes in emotion recognition may partially explain these effects. Here, we systematically review alcohol administration studies to clarify the acute effects of alcohol on emotion recognition. We also investigate various moderator variables (i.e., sex, study quality, study design, alcohol dosage, emotion recognition task and outcome measure). PsycINFO, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched following a pre-registered PROSPERO protocol (CRD42021225392) and PRISMA methodology. Analyses focused on differences in emotion recognition between participants consuming alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic (i.e., placebo or no-alcohol control) beverages. Nineteen unique samples (N = 1271 participants) were derived from 17 articles (two articles included two studies, each conducted on a unique sample). Data were extracted for sample characteristics, alcohol administration methods and emotion recognition tasks and outcomes. All studies compared an alcoholic beverage to a placebo beverage and used tasks that asked participants to identify emotions from images or videos of facial expressions. Otherwise, methodologies varied substantially across studies, including the alcohol dosage(s) tested, the specific emotion recognition task(s) used and the outcome variable(s) assessed. No consistent effects of alcohol on emotion recognition emerged for any emotion. None of the moderator variables affected the findings, except for some indication that alcohol may affect males' emotion recognition abilities more so than females. Alcohol does not appear to consistently affect positive or negative emotion recognition of facial expressions, at least with the tasks currently used in the field.

The daily association between affect and alcohol use: A meta-analysis of individual participant data.

Influential psychological theories hypothesize that people consume alcohol in response to the experience of both negative and positive emotions. Despite two decades of daily diary and ecological momentary assessment research, it remains unclear whether people consume more alcohol on days they experience higher negative and positive affect in everyday life. In this preregistered meta-analysis, we synthesized the evidence for these daily associations between affect and alcohol use. We included individual participant data from 69 studies (N = 12,394), which used daily and momentary surveys to assess affect and the number of alcoholic drinks consumed. Results indicate that people are not more likely to drink on days they experience high negative affect, but are more likely to drink and drink heavily on days high in positive affect. People self-reporting a motivational tendency to drink-to-cope and drink-to-enhance consumed more alcohol, but not on days they experienced higher negative and positive affect. Results were robust across different operationalizations of affect, study designs, study populations, and individual characteristics. These findings challenge the long-held belief that people drink more alcohol following increases in negative affect. Integrating these findings under different theoretical models and limitations of this field of research, we collectively propose an agenda for future research to explore open questions surrounding affect and alcohol use.

Associations of state and trait empathy with daily alcohol use.

BACKGROUND: A growing literature documents associations between lower trait empathy and heavier alcohol use and more alcohol problems in adolescent and young adult samples. Prior work linking empathy and alcohol use/problems in these populations has thus far focused on trait rather than state empathy, and researchers often do not differentiate between cognitive and affective empathy. Further, no prior studies have examined associations between daily fluctuations in state empathy and alcohol use. The goal of the current study is to advance knowledge about the associations between state (vs. trait) and cognitive (vs. affective) empathy and alcohol use. METHODS: Adult alcohol drinkers (n = 492; Mage = 22.89, SD = 5.53; 53.70% female) participated in ecological momentary assessment studies for 7 to 10 days (day n = 4683). Multilevel hurdle models were used to investigate associations between day-level state empathy and daily alcohol use at the within-person level, and associations between individual differences in trait empathy and alcohol use across days at the between-person level. RESULTS: Higher day-level state affective empathy was not associated with the likelihood of drinking on a particular day, but it was significantly associated with a greater number of drinks consumed on alcohol-consuming days, with the latter associations remaining after controlling for day-level positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). No associations were found for day-level state cognitive empathy, or trait affective or cognitive empathy. CONCLUSIONS: On drinking days, when individuals reported more affective empathy than is typical for them, they were more likely to consume a greater number of alcoholic drinks, results that remained when controlling for levels of PA and NA. Daily shifts in affective empathy may be important to consider in efforts to understand alcohol use.

Solitary-specific drinking to cope motives explain unique variance in solitary drinking behavior but not alcohol problems compared to general drinking to cope motives.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescent and young adult solitary drinking is prospectively associated with alcohol problems, and it is thus important to understand why individuals engage in this risky drinking behavior. There is substantial evidence that individuals drink alone to cope with negative affect, but all prior studies have assessed motives for alcohol use without specifying the context of such use. Here, we directly compared solitary-specific drinking to cope motives with general drinking to cope motives in their ability to predict solitary drinking behavior and alcohol problems. We hypothesized that solitary-specific drinking motives would provide additional predictive utility in each case. METHODS: Current underage drinkers (N = 307; 90% female; ages 18-20) recruited from a TurkPrime panel March-May 2016 completed online surveys querying solitary alcohol use, general and solitary-specific coping motives, and alcohol problems. RESULTS: Both solitary-specific and general coping motives were positively associated with a greater percentage of total drinking time spent alone in separate models, after controlling for solitary-specific and general enhancement motives, respectively. However, the model with solitary-specific motives accounted for greater variance than the general motives model based on adjusted R2 values (0.8 versus 0.3, respectively). Additionally, both general and solitary-specific coping motives were positively associated with alcohol problems, again controlling for enhancement motives, but the model including general motives accounted for greater variance (0.49) than the solitary-specific motives model (0.40). CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence that solitary-specific coping motives explain unique variance in solitary drinking behavior but not alcohol problems. The methodological and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Nightly sleep duration predicts grade point average in the first year of college.

Academic achievement in the first year of college is critical for setting students on a pathway toward long-term academic and life success, yet little is known about the factors that shape early college academic achievement. Given the important role sleep plays in learning and memory, here we extend this work to evaluate whether nightly sleep duration predicts change in end-of-semester grade point average (GPA). First-year college students from three independent universities provided sleep actigraphy for a month early in their winter/spring academic term across five studies. Findings showed that greater early-term total nightly sleep duration predicted higher end-of-term GPA, an effect that persisted even after controlling for previous-term GPA and daytime sleep. Specifically, every additional hour of average nightly sleep duration early in the semester was associated with an 0.07 increase in end-of-term GPA. Sensitivity analyses using sleep thresholds also indicated that sleeping less than 6 h each night was a period where sleep shifted from helpful to harmful for end-of-term GPA, relative to previous-term GPA. Notably, predictive relationships with GPA were specific to total nightly sleep duration, and not other markers of sleep, such as the midpoint of a student's nightly sleep window or bedtime timing variability. These findings across five studies establish nightly sleep duration as an important factor in academic success and highlight the potential value of testing early academic term total sleep time interventions during the formative first year of college.

A Reexamination of Drinking Motives in Young Adults: The Development and Initial Validation of the Young Adult Alcohol Motives Scale.

This study reexamined the factor structure of drinking motives using 205 unique items from 18 drinking motives scales with the inclusion of social tension reduction motives, which have been largely neglected in the literature. A new scale was created and compared with the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) to predict alcohol use/problems. Young adults (N = 1,049) completed questionnaires assessing drinking motives and alcohol use/problems. A subset (N = 368) of participants completed a 6-month follow-up. Hierarchical factor analyses informed the creation of a four-factor (i.e., coping, social, enhancement, and social tension reduction) scale (i.e., the Young Adult Alcohol Motives Scale [YAAMS]). In general, the YAAMS performed similarly to the DMQ-R in predicting concurrent and prospective alcohol consumption (i.e., typical drinking quantity and frequency) and alcohol problems (i.e., Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [AUDIT] and Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire [B-YAACQ] scores), but there were some notable differences, including that the novel social tension reduction scale of the YAAMS was particularly relevant in predicting drinking frequency in those with social anxiety. Results suggest that drinking motives can be described by multiple factor structures and predict alcohol-related outcomes.

Indirect effects of personality on high-intensity drinking: The role of drinking motives.

BACKGROUND: Researchers have long been interested in identifying risk factors for binge drinking behavior (4+/5+ drinks/occasion for females/males), but many studies have demonstrated that a substantial proportion of young adults are drinking at levels far beyond (often 2 to 3 times) the standard binge threshold. The consumption of such large quantities of alcohol, typically referred to as high-intensity drinking (HID), can cause severe alcohol-related problems, such as blackouts, unintended sexual experiences, and death. This study is the first to investigate whether personality is indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via drinking motives in a large (N = 999) sample of underage young adult drinkers. We hypothesized that trait neuroticism would be indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via coping motives and that extraversion would be indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via social and enhancement motives. METHODS: To investigate these hypotheses, we used two archival data sets that recruited current underage (18- to 20-year-old) adult drinkers residing in the United States from online panel services. Participants completed self-report survey items assessing constructs of interest. To investigate the role of drinking motives in the association between personality and HID, both the direct and indirect effects were calculated via three path analyses. RESULTS: Findings revealed that neuroticism was partially indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via coping motives (b = 0.02, SE = 0.004, p < 0.01). In addition, extraversion was indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via social (b = 0.031, SE = 0.002, p < 0.01) and enhancement motives (b = 0.01, SE = 0.002, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings are an initial step in examining the interplay among personality traits, drinking motives, and HID in underage drinkers and point to the need for longitudinal studies assessing these associations.

Indirect effects of theory of mind on alcohol use and problems in underage drinkers: The role of peer pressure to drink.

Objective: Prior studies demonstrate a link between socio-cognitive deficits and alcohol problems in adolescents and young adults. Researchers have proposed that young people with such deficits may misperceive and over-value peers' attitudes about drinking and consider drinking a way to be accepted by their peer group. We test this hypothesis by investigating whether theory of mind (ToM) deficits in underage (18-20-year-old) drinkers are associated with binge drinking and alcohol problems, and whether these ToM deficits have an indirect effect on alcohol outcomes through perceived peer pressure to drink (i.e., high conformity motives and low perceived ability to refuse alcohol during social pressure). Method: Participants (N = 472; 91 % female; 71 % White; Mage = 19.28 ± 0.77) were recruited from TurkPrime and completed measures assessing ToM, conformity motives, self-efficacy to resist peer pressure to drink, alcohol problems, and binge drinking. Bivariate correlations were run to examine associations between study variables. Indirect effect models were run in SPSS, using the PROCESS add-on, to assess the indirect effects of ToM on alcohol outcomes through conformity motives and self-efficacy to refuse peer pressure to drink. Results: ToM had indirect effects on binge drinking and alcohol problems through conformity motives (but not self-efficacy to resist peer pressure to drink). Lower ToM was associated with higher conformity motives, which were then associated with more frequent binge drinking and greater alcohol problems. Conclusions: These findings highlight the role of social cognition in young adult alcohol misuse and suggest more work is needed to understand the potential influence of peer pressure in this association.

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between theory of mind and alcohol problems in non-clinical samples.

BACKGROUND: Deficits in theory of mind (ToM) found in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are often thought to result from prolonged heavy alcohol use. However, links between deficits in ToM and greater alcohol problems are often also present in non-clinical samples (e.g., adolescents and young adults) who may not have a similar long-lasting history of alcohol consumption as individuals with AUD. The current study is the first to systematically review and meta-analyze results from studies examining associations between lower ToM and greater alcohol problems in non-clinical samples. Evidence of reliable associations in these non-clinical samples would support the idea that deficits in ToM might also precede the emergence of AUD. METHODS: PsycINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched according to our preregistered International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) protocol (CRD42021225392) and following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. We systematically reviewed sample characteristics and ToM measures in identified articles. We then meta-analyzed the findings of association between ToM and alcohol problems in non-clinical samples using random effects models. RESULTS: Nearly all studies used a measure of ToM that assessed the ability to infer the mental states of others based on eye region cues. Meta-analytic results demonstrated that lower ToM was associated with more alcohol problems (r = -0.16, k = 6, CI = [-0.26, -0.04], p < 0.01, Q = 15.55, I2  = 67.85), and there was significant heterogeneity across studies. Gender (ß = 0.0003, CI = [-0.006, 0.007], z = 0.09, p = 0.93), age (ß = -0.008, CI = [-0.03, 0.01], z = -0.82, p = 0.42), and study quality (ß = -0.10, CI = [-0.35, 0.15], z = -0.82, p = 0.41) did not explain the heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: In non-clinical samples, lower ToM is associated with more alcohol problems, indicative of a small effect size. Future longitudinal studies are needed to explore whether socio-cognitive deficits may also serve as a risk factor for alcohol misuse.

Solitary alcohol use in adolescence predicts alcohol problems in adulthood: A 17-year longitudinal study in a large national sample of US high school students.

BACKGROUND: Identifying risk factors for alcohol use disorder (AUD) is important for public health. The social context of drinking-such as drinking alone-may be an independent and robust early risk marker for AUD symptoms later in life. We evaluated whether solitary alcohol use in adolescence (age 18) and young adulthood (age 23/24) was concurrently associated with binge drinking and prospectively predicted age 35 AUD symptoms, and whether associations differed by sex. METHODS: Longitudinal data were from the Monitoring the Future study. Surveys were completed by adolescents in 12th grade at age 18 (1976-2002), young adults at age 23/24 (1981-2008), and adults at age 35 (1993-2019). Analyses included past 12-month alcohol users (n = 4464 for adolescent models; n = 4561 for young adult models). Multivariable regression analyses tested whether adolescent and young adult solitary alcohol use was associated concurrently with binge drinking frequency and prospectively with age 35 AUD symptoms. RESULTS: Solitary alcohol use in adolescence and young adulthood was associated (a) concurrently with binge drinking and (b) prospectively with increased risk of age 35 AUD symptoms (even after controlling for earlier binge drinking, alcohol use frequency, and sociodemographic covariates). Adolescent solitary alcohol use was associated with age 35 AUD symptoms particularly among females; no interaction was observed between sex and young adult solitary alcohol use in predicting age 35 AUD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent and young adult solitary alcohol use was associated with increased adult AUD symptoms above and beyond other risk factors; adolescent female solitary alcohol users were especially at risk.

Lack of Belonging Predicts Depressive Symptomatology in College Students.

Feeling a sense of belonging is a central human motivation that has consequences for mental health and well-being, yet surprisingly little research has examined how belonging shapes mental health among young adults. In three data sets from two universities (exploratory study: N = 157; Confirmatory Study 1: N = 121; Confirmatory Study 2: n = 188 in winter term, n = 172 in spring term), we found that lower levels of daily-assessed feelings of belonging early and across the academic term predicted higher depressive symptoms at the end of the term. Furthermore, these relationships held when models controlled for baseline depressive symptoms, sense of social fit, and other social factors (loneliness and frequency of social interactions). These results highlight the relationship between feelings of belonging and depressive symptoms over and above other social factors. This work underscores the importance of daily-assessed feelings of belonging in predicting subsequent depressive symptoms and has implications for early detection and mental health interventions among young adults.

Meta-analysis of associations between empathy and alcohol use and problems in clinical and non-clinical samples.

AIMS: To (1) measure the aggregated effect size of empathy deficits in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) compared with healthy controls, (2) measure the aggregated effect sizes for associations between lower empathy and heavier alcohol consumption and more alcohol problems in non-clinical samples and (3) identify potential moderators on the variability of effect sizes across studies in these meta-analyses. METHOD: PsycINFO, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched following a pre-registered International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) protocol (CRD42021225392) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. We meta-analyzed (using random-effects models) mean differences in empathy between individuals with AUD compared with healthy controls and associations between empathy and alcohol consumption and alcohol problems in non-clinical samples. A total of 714 participants were included in the meta-analysis on clinical samples; 3955 were included in the meta-analyses on non-clinical samples. RESULTS: Individuals with AUD reported significantly lower empathy than healthy controls [Hedges' g = -0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.91, -0.16, k = 9, P < 0.01, Q = 40.09, I2 = 80.04]. Study quality [Q = 1.88, degrees of freedom (d.f.) = 1, P = 0.17] and gender (ß = -0.006, Z = -0.60, P = 0.55) were not moderators. Increases in age corresponded to an increase in effect size (ß = 0.095, Z = 3.34, P < 0.001). Individuals with AUD (versus healthy controls) had significantly lower cognitive (Hedges' g = -0.44, CI = -0.79, -0.10, P < 0.05), but not affective empathy (Hedges' g = -0.19, CI = -0.51, 0.14, P = 0.27), and the difference between these was significant (Z = 2.34, k = 6, P < 0.01). In non-clinical samples, individuals with lower (versus higher) empathy reported heavier alcohol consumption (r = -0.12, CI = -0.15, -0.09, k = 11, P < 0.001, Q = 9.68, I2 = 0.00) and more alcohol problems (r = -0.08, CI = -0.14, -0.01, k = 7, P = 0.021, Q = 6.55, I2 = 8.34). There was no significant heterogeneity across studies. CONCLUSION: Individuals with alcohol use disorder appear to show deficits in empathy compared with healthy controls. Deficits are particularly pronounced for older individuals and for cognitive (versus affective) empathy. In non-clinical samples, lower empathy appears to be associated with heavier alcohol consumption and more alcohol problems.

How laboratory studies of cigarette craving can inform the experimental alcohol craving literature.

Interest in alcohol and other drug craving has flourished over the past two decades, and evidence has accumulated showing that craving can be meaningfully linked to both drug use and relapse. Considerable human experimental alcohol craving research since 2000 has focused on craving as a clinical phenomenon. Self-reported craving to drink typically has served as a catch-all for the craving construct in these studies, whereas few studies have considered craving as a process (or hypothetical construct) that interacts with other phenomena to affect use. In contrast to alcohol, we believe that recently there has been more mechanistic work targeting cigarette craving-related processes. Here, we briefly present a narrative review of studies of acute alcohol craving in humans that have been conducted during the past two decades. We then specify important ways in which alcohol and tobacco differ (e.g., the role of withdrawal), and we note the unique challenges in inducing robust alcohol craving states in the laboratory. Finally, we offer recommendations for how the alcohol field might advance its conceptual understanding of craving by adopting ideas and methods drawn from the smoking research literature. Specifically, we suggest that researchers extend their studies to not only examine the link between alcohol craving and relapse but also to focus on why and, in some instances, how alcohol cravings matter clinically, and the circumstances under which craving especially matters. We propose research to investigate the shifts in alcohol-related cognitive and affective processing that occur during alcohol craving states. Furthermore, we highlight the value of research examining the level of insight that individuals with varying levels of alcohol involvement possess about their own craving-related processing shifts. We believe that laboratory studies can provide rich opportunities to examine conceptual questions about alcohol craving that are central to addiction.

Predicting smoking and nicotine dependence from the DSM-5 alternative model for personality pathology.

Individuals with personality disorders (PDs) have higher morbidity and mortality than the general population, which may be due to maladaptive health behaviors such as smoking. Previous studies have examined the links between categorical PD diagnoses/personality traits and smoking/nicotine dependence, but little is known about how the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition alternative model for personality disorders relates to smoking and nicotine dependence. The current study examined this question in a sample of 500 participants using the Levels of Personality Functioning Scale to assess general personality pathology, the Personality Inventory for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition to measure specific traits, the Fagerström test for Nicotine Dependence to assess nicotine dependence, and questions about current and past smoking to assess smoking status (i.e., current, former, never). Multinomial logistic regression results demonstrated that general personality pathology (Criterion A) was not related to smoking status, and there were no reliable associations between traits (Criterion B) and smoking status. However, correlations showed that higher negative affectivity and disinhibition were related to higher levels of nicotine dependence within smokers. Findings are discussed in regard to previous findings linking personality pathology to smoking/nicotine dependence as well as the general validity of this new personality disorder diagnostic system. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Mixing Misery and Gin: The Effect of Alcohol Administration on Ostracism Response.

Williams's need-threat model proposes that ostracism responses are reflexive and, because of their evolutionary significance, difficult to diminish. Alcohol is widely consumed in social contexts and for reasons of coping with social stress, and major theories of alcohol propose that intoxication disrupts cognitive appraisal of environmental threats, leading to stress relief. Surprisingly, though, no well-powered experimental research has examined the impact of alcohol intoxication on distress from social ostracism. In three studies across two independent laboratories (N = 438), participants were randomly assigned to receive either an alcoholic or nonalcoholic (i.e., no-alcohol control or placebo) beverage and were exposed to an ostracism (or social inclusion) manipulation. Results, which emerged as remarkably consistent across all studies, indicated strong and consistent effects of ostracism on mood and needs satisfaction among both intoxicated and sober participants. Findings have important implications for ostracism theory and speak to boundary conditions for alcohol's ability to relieve stress.

Role of pregaming motives in accounting for links between maladaptive personality traits and drinking consequences.

College students are at heightened risk of engaging in unhealthy alcohol use that leads to negative consequences (e.g., motor vehicle accidents, poor academic performance). Understanding how individual differences, such as maladaptive personality traits, contribute to that risk could improve intervention efforts. A potential pathway through which personality confers risk for consequences is by influencing students' motivation to drink. In this study of 441 college students, we investigated whether different motivations to pregame, a particularly risky and common drinking practice on college campuses, accounts for links between maladaptive traits and alcohol-related consequences. Results of bivariate analyses showed that all pregaming motives and maladaptive traits (except detachment) were strongly correlated with negative consequences. In path analytic models that adjusted for shared variance between pregaming motives and between maladaptive traits, results showed that traits had indirect effects on total drinking consequences via individual differences in pregaming motives as well as direct effects that were independent of motives. Specifically, antagonism, disinhibition, and negative affectivity predicted more drinking consequences via stronger motives to pregame for instrumental reasons over and above the general motivation to pregame, whereas detachment predicted fewer consequences via weaker instrumental pregaming motives. Antagonism and disinhibition were also associated with more drinking consequences, and detachment with fewer consequences, over and above pregaming motives and general personality problems. Our study indicates that one way maladaptive personality traits may shape alcohol-related consequences in college students is by associations with their motivations to pregame. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Influence of Smoking Motivation on the Associations Among Cigarette Craving, Attentional Bias to Smoking Cues, and Smoking Behavior.

INTRODUCTION: Theory and data suggest that attentional bias (AB) to drug-related cues should be associated with craving when smoking motivation is high, and that AB should be predictive of drug use when immediate use is possible. The current study is the first to test these propositions in smokers in a controlled laboratory environment. AIMS AND METHODS: Ninety daily smokers were randomly assigned to a high smoking motivation (nicotine-deprived and/or smoking cue exposure) or low smoking motivation (non-deprived and/or control cue exposure) condition. Participants engaged in an AB task in which they viewed smoking and matched control pictures while their eye movements were continuously monitored. Participants were then given the option to smoke, and latency to first puff and number of puffs were coded. RESULTS: High motivation smokers had significantly higher urges to smoke (p < .001) and shorter latencies to smoke (p = .001) than low motivation smokers, but AB measures (ie, dwell time and initial fixation bias scores) and number of puffs did not differ across groups (ps > .45). As predicted, the association between dwell time bias scores and urge to smoke was stronger in the high (r = .47) than low (r = .18) smoking motivation condition, but this difference failed to reach significance (p = .068). Contrary to predictions, neither AB measure was significantly associated with smoking behavior (SB). Internal reliability was excellent for dwell time bias scores (alpha = .90) but very low for initial fixation bias scores (alpha = .20). CONCLUSIONS: Maintenance of attention on drug-related cues may be a valid index of incentive motivation. Importantly, however, these dwell time bias scores were not predictive of actual SB. IMPLICATIONS: This study tested key predictions made by theoretical accounts of addiction that emphasize AB to drug-related cues as fundamental components of the development and maintenance of drug use. Namely, this is the first experimental study in smokers to test whether AB to smoking-related cues is associated with craving when smoking motivation is high and whether AB predicts SB assessed immediately after the AB task. As predicted, the association between AB and craving was stronger in smokers randomly assigned to a high rather than a low smoking motivation condition. Contrary to predictions, AB did not predict SB.