Behavioral components of impulsivity predict alcohol consumption in adults with ADHD and healthy controls

Abstract

Background-The degree to which distinct behavioral components of impulsivity predict alcohol consumption is as yet not well-understood. Further, the possibility that this relation might be more pronounced in groups characterized by heightened impulsivity (i.e., individuals with ADHD) has not been tested. Methods-The current study examined the degree to which three specific behavioral components of impulsivity (i.e., poor response inhibition, poor attentional inhibition, and increased risk-taking) were associated with quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption in a group of young adult social drinkers with ADHD (n = 33) and in a comparison control group (n = 21). Participants performed the delayed ocular return task (attentional inhibition), the cued go/no-go task (behavioral inhibition), and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (risk-taking).Results-Both poor behavioral inhibition and greater risk-taking were related to greater quantity of consumption in the entire sample, whereas poor attentional inhibition was related to greater quantity specifically among those with ADHD. By contrast, only risk-taking was associated with frequency of consumption, and this was found specifically in the control group.Conclusions-These findings provide important information regarding the potential role of distinct behavioral components of impulsivity in drinking behavior, and highlight unique relevance of attentional impairments to drinking behavior in those with ADHD.

The influence of groups and alcohol consumption on individual risk-taking

“…The lack of association between harmful use and motor impulsivity is comparable to previous research (Stamates & LauBarraco, 2017), although the limited predictive utility of attentional impulsiveness is inconsistent with such former work.. Differing from harmful drinking, increased scores of dependence symptoms was found to be related to non-planning impulsivity, while motor impulsiveness was the only sub-trait associated with hazardous alcohol use, providing some support for the association found between behavioural disinhibition (similar to motor impulsivity) and heavy drinking in previous studies Weafer et al, 2011). The current study therefore highlights the differential relationships between impulsivity subscales and alcohol consumption measures, whereby various impulsiveness traits may predict differing consumption behaviours.…”

“…Assessing these characteristics, disinhibition is typically tested in a laboratory using behavioural tasks such as the go/no-go task (Marczinski & Fillmore, 2003), where reaction time and frequency of failed attempts to inhibit behaviour (such as a button pressing) are measured. Accordingly, research using this behavioural task has found that alcohol consumption seems to be associated with a longer reaction time during trials requiring inhibition, and increases in inhibitory failures (false alarms) Weafer et al, 2011). However, akin to impulsivity, disinhibition is also indicated to be both a determinant, and consequence, of alcohol consumption (de Wit, 2008;Leeman et al, 2009).…”

“…Research using behavioural measures have displayed high impulsivity in heavy drinkers (Field, Christiansen, Cole, & Goudie, 2007;Weafer et al, 2011), although the causal pathway between heightened impulsivity and heavy drinking remains unclear (de Wit, 2008). However, the use of these measures in alcohol administration studies suggest that intoxication enhances impulsivity (Marczinski & Fillmore, 2003).…”

“…It has long been suggested that alcohol-induced increases in risky behaviour are a result of the pharmacological effects of alcohol on cognition, including impairments in inhibition and enhanced impulsivity (c.f., Marczinski & Fillmore, 2003;Weafer, Milich, & Fillmore Mark, 2011). Alcohol-related injuries could therefore be asserted (at least in part) to be a product of cognitive deficits which may precipitate potentially harmful/risky behaviours such as drink-driving (e.g., , sexual risk-taking (e.g., Rehm, Shield, Joharchi, & Shuper, 2012;ScottSheldon, Carey, Cunningham, Johnson, & Carey, 2016), and aggressive acts (e.g., Ito, Miller, & Pollock, 1996).…”

Impulsivity in Cocaine-Dependent Individuals with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…For instance, we did not measure cognitive inhibition, which refers to the ability to suppress competing, distracting information. As preliminary evidence suggests that drug consumption in individuals with ADHD is associated with poor attentional inhibition in particular [77], future studies may benefit from including a measure of interference control while comparing CDI with and without ADHD. …”