Citation

Gullo MJ, St John N, McD Young R, Saunders JB, Noble EP, Connor JP. Addict. Behav. 2014; 39(11): 1663-1669.

Affiliation

Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, The University of Queensland, K Floor, Mental Health Centre, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia; Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, K Floor, Mental Health Centre, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.02.004

PMID

24629326

Abstract

Perceived impaired control over alcohol use is a key cognitive construct in alcohol dependence that has been related prospectively to treatment outcome and may mediate the risk for problem drinking conveyed by impulsivity in non-dependent drinkers. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether perceived impaired control may mediate the association between impulsivity-related measures (derived from the Short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised) and alcohol-dependence severity in alcohol-dependent drinkers. Furthermore, the extent to which this hypothesized relationship was moderated by genetic risk (Taq1A polymorphism in the DRD2/ANKK1 gene cluster) and verbal fluency as an indicator of executive cognitive ability (Controlled Oral Word Association Test) was also examined. A sample of 143 alcohol-dependent inpatients provided an extensive clinical history of their alcohol use, gave 10ml of blood for DNA analysis, and completed self-report measures relating to impulsivity, impaired control and severity of dependence. As hypothesized, perceived impaired control (partially) mediated the association between impulsivity-related measures and alcohol-dependence severity. This relationship was not moderated by the DRD2/ANKK1 polymorphism or verbal fluency. These results suggest that, in alcohol dependence, perceived impaired control is a cognitive mediator of impulsivity-related constructs that may be unaffected by DRD2/ANKK1 and neurocognitive processes underlying the retrieval of verbal information.

Language: en