Alcohol Expectancies and Drinking Refusal Self‐Efficacy Mediate the Association of Impulsivity With Alcohol Misuse

Abstract

The hypothesized model was confirmed on a large sample of young adults and replicated on a sample of treatment-seeking substance abusers. Taken together, these findings shed further light on the mechanisms through which an impulsive temperament may convey risk for alcohol misuse.

Impulsivity-related cognition in alcohol dependence: Is it moderated by DRD2/ANKK1 gene status and executive dysfunction?

“…Factor analytic studies have shown psychoticism to load with other measures of rash impulsiveness, supporting its construct validity Gullo et al, 2010;Zelenski & Larsen, 1999). The short-form psychoticism scale has a 2-year test-retest reliability of .61 -.72 (Heath, Cloninger, & Martin, 1994).…”

“…Impulsive drinkers hold different beliefs about alcohol compared to non-impulsive drinkers, believing it to be both more rewarding and more difficult to resist (Gullo, Dawe, Kambouropoulos, Staiger, & Jackson, 2010). Indeed, mediational analyses have demonstrated that the influence of impulsivity on alcohol use is mediated, in part, through cognition (Gullo et al, 2010;Kabbani & Kambouropoulos, 2013;Leeman et al, 2012), although these have mostly been with non-dependent college drinkers.…”

“…Perceived impaired control (partially) mediates the risk conveyed by rash impulsiveness, the component of impulsivity related to poor inhibitory control and acting without forethought Kabbani & Kambouropoulos, 2013;Leeman et al, 2012). By 5 contrast, reward drive, the other major component of trait impulsivity related to reward sensitivity and appetitive motivation, conveys risk through heightened positive alcohol expectancies (Dawe, Gullo, & Loxton, 2004;Gullo et al, 2010;Kabbani & Kambouropoulos, 2013).…”

“…Indeed, mediational analyses have demonstrated that the influence of impulsivity on alcohol use is mediated, in part, through cognition (Gullo et al, 2010;Kabbani & Kambouropoulos, 2013;Leeman et al, 2012), although these have mostly been with non-dependent college drinkers. A greater understanding of the role of impulsive cognition in alcohol dependence is likely to have important implications for improving treatment for impulsive drinkers.…”

“…Perceived impaired control and poor drinking refusal self-efficacy are key cognitive mechanisms through which impulsivity conveys risk for alcohol problems (Gullo et al, 2010;Kabbani & Kambouropoulos, 2013;Leeman et al, 2012). Impulsivity consists of two core components, rash impulsiveness and reward drive .…”