Citation

Tucker JA, Cheong JW, Chandler SD, Lambert BH, Kwok H, Pietrzak B. Addiction 2016; 111(11): 1956-1965.

Affiliation

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/add.13492

PMID

27318078

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research using different behavioral economic (BE) and time perspective (TP) measures suggests that substance misusers show greater sensitivity to shorter term contingencies than normal controls, but multiple measures have seldom been investigated together. This study evaluated the extent to which multiple BE and TP measures were associated with drinking problem severity, distinguished initial outcomes of natural recovery attempts, and shared common variance. Hypotheses were (1) greater problem severity would be associated with greater impulsivity and demand for alcohol and shorter TPs; and (2) low-risk drinking would be associated with greater sensitivity to longer term contingencies compared with abstinence.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional naturalistic field study. SETTING: Southern United States. PARTICIPANTS: Problem drinkers, recently resolved without treatment (N = 191 [76.4% male], M age = 50.1 years) recruited using media advertisements. MEASUREMENTS: Drinking practices, dependence levels, and alcohol-related problems prior to stopping problem drinking were assessed during structured field interviews. Measures included the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory; BE analogue choice tasks (Delay Discounting [DD], Melioration-Maximization [MM], Alcohol Purchase Task [APT]); and the Alcohol-Savings Discretionary Expenditure (ASDE) index, derived from real spending on alcohol and voluntary savings during the year before problem cessation.

FINDINGS: Measures of demand based on real (ASDE) and hypothetical (APT) spending on alcohol were associated with problem severity (ps < .05), but DD, MM, and TP measures were not. More balanced pre-resolution spending on alcohol versus saving for the future distinguished low-risk drinking from abstinent resolutions (ASDE OR = 5.59; p < .001). BE measures did not share common variance.

CONCLUSIONS: Two behavioural assessment tools that measure spending on alcohol, the Alcohol Purchase Task and the Alcohol-Savings Discretionary Expenditure index, appear to be reliable in assessing the severity of drinking problems.

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Language: en