Transcript Effects Of Negative Life Events And Self

EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE LIFE EVENTS AND SELF-REPORTED IMPULSIVITY ON ALCOHOL
USE IN COLLEGE FRESHMEN
J.
1
Sisante ,
1Olin
1
B.Narayanan ,
S.
3
Armeli ,
R.
1
Rosen ,
1
Jiantonio ,
1
Meda ,
1
Ginley ,
R.
S.
M.
5
6
1,2
R. Wood , S. Raskin , & G. Pearlson
H.
4
Tennen ,
C.
5
Austad ,
C. R.
5
Fallahi ,
Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT; 2Dept. of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; 3School of Psychology, Farleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ;
4University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT; 5Dept. of Psychology, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT; 6Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience Program, Trinity College, Hartford, CT ;
INTRODUCTION
- Impulsivity, the inclination to act without thought to consequences, is a
factor in alcohol and drug abuse1.
-Extensive research implicates stress and impulsivity as independent risk
factors for drinking2. Both factors have also been associated with
problem drinking in college students3,4.
- Drinking has been identified as a stress-coping mechanism5 and severity
and quantity of stressors are related to increased problem drinking6.
- Physiological studies assessing stress mechanisms implicate the role of
impulsivity-related behaviors on drinking in an adult community sample.
Few have looked at trait impulsivity and stress simultaneously7.
Variable
LESS (stress)
Mean + SD
3.88 (+ 3.1)
BIS-11 Total (impulsivity)
59.58 (+10.6)
ALI (drinking)
ALI Dysfunctional Drinking Scores
30.000
HYPOTHESES
-We will observe that higher negative life stress and self-reported
impulsivity will separately predict higher dysfunctional drinking scores.
- In conjunction, negative life stress and higher self-reported impulsivity
will predict greater dysfunctional drinking.
MATERIALS & METHODS
-160 college freshmen (95 female) between the ages of 18 and 25
(M: 18.42, SD: 0.58 years) were recruited from the ongoing NIAAAfunded BARCS study on a voluntary basis from two demographically
distinct colleges in Connecticut. Demographically, 78% of the students
reported their racial background as white; 16% black; 11% Latino; and 4%
Asian.
-The Life Event Scales for Students (LESS) is a 36-item college students life
events inventory; scoring for negative life events is calculated using
Covault et al.’s method4 which does not count eleven ambiguously
stressful events. Therefore, only twenty-five unambiguously negative
stressful life events are summed up for students’ scores.
14.88 (+ 14.1)
-There were no sex, family history, or ethnic differences in
life stress, BIS-11 total scores, or ALI scores.
Table 2. Regression Coefficients
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics
- The current study addresses the relationships between alcohol use,
stress, and impulsivity in a college sample.
-Measures of cognitive testing, monthly alcohol and drug use
assessments, and psychiatric diagnoses were obtained for all subjects at
their home colleges. Presence of a psychiatric diagnosis did not result in
study exclusion as we hoped to obtain a representative sample.
DISCUSSION
RESULTS
LESS
BIS-11 Total
LESS X BIS-11 Total
Unstandardized B
0.621**
Unique r2
.017
0.216*
.024
0.53*
.016
-We observed marginal effects of LESS X BIS-11 total on
ALI scores, such that higher self-reported impulsivity in
conjunction with more negative life stress predicted more
dysfunctional drinking.
-Future research should assess the relationship of BIS-11
subscales with negative life events. Furthermore,
assessment of specific negative life stressors may
elucidate which stressors interact with impulsivity to
predict dysfunctional drinking.
Figure 1.
Marginal Interaction of Negative Life Stress X Self-Reported Impulsivity on
Dysfunctional Drinking
-These findings suggest that negative life events and selfreported impulsivity are related to increased alcohol use;
however, other factors (e.g. motivation, coping strategies,
family/social support, etc.) may be more powerful
predictors of alcohol use.
25.000
20.000
Low BIS
15.000
REFERENCES
High BIS
1.
Perry, J.L. & Carroll, M.E. (1985). The role of impulsive behavior in drug abuse.
Psychopharmacology, 200(1): 1-26.
2.
Sinha, R. (2008). Chronic stress, drug use, and vulnerability to addiction. Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences 1141: 105-30.
3.
Baer, J.S. (2002). Student factors: understanding individual variation in college drinking.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol Supplement, 14: 40-53.
4.
Covault, J., Tennen, H., Armeli, S., Conner, T.S., Herman, A.I., Cillessen, A.H., Kranzler,
H.R. (2007). Interactive effects of the serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR polymorphism
and stressful life events on college student drinking and drug use. Biological Psychiatry,
61(5): 609-16.
5.
Wills, T.A. & Shiffman, S. (1985). Coping and substance abuse: a conceptual framework,
in Coping and Substance Use (3-24). Orlando: Academic Press.
6.
Ham, L.S. & Hope, D.A. (2003). College students and problematic drinking: a review of
the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 23(5): 719-59.
7.
Fox, H.C., Bergquist, K.L., Peihua, G., Rajita, S. (2010). Interactive effects of cumulative
stress and impulsivity on alcohol consumption. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental
Research, 34(8): 1376-85.
10.000
5.000
.000
LOW
High
LESS Negative Stressful Life Events
Figure 2.
Negative Life Stress on Dysfunctional Drinking
r2 = .017*
-There were significant predictive relationships of BIS-11
total on ALI; marginal correlation and predictive
relationship of LESS on ALI scores.
Figure 3.
Self-Reported Impulsivity on Dysfunctional Drinking
r2 = .024**
Brain and Alcohol Research in College Students
(BARCS Study ) “Mascot”
-The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Version 11 (BIS-11) is a 30-item
assessment that evaluates trait and cognitive elements of impulsivity.
-The customized Alcohol Interview (ALI) is adapted from the SemiStructured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcohol (SSAGA). This
assessment gathers drinking behavior and consequences such as recent
alcohol consumption, blackouts, pass outs, and sexual activity under the
influence. Scores are calculated for total number of points towards
drinking dysfunction (range of 0 to 120 points towards dysfunctional
drinking, and a score of ≥ 10 points classifies as dysfunctional).
-Analyses included correlation, regression, and product term calculations.
Significance threshold was ≤ 0.05.
N.B. :***: p≤.01; ** :p≤.05;
*:p
=0.1
Funded by RO1 AA016599 (BARCS Study) & RC1 AA019036
to Dr. Godfrey Pearlson.