A model of reinforcement sensitivity, impulsivity, alcohol use, and risky sexual behavior in a sample of young adult drinkers.

This study tested a structural equation model linking reinforcement sensitivity to subsequent emotion-based impulsivity (i.e., positive and negative urgency), alcohol use, and risky sexual behavior among a sample of 753 undergraduate drinkers. A hypothesized Sensitivity to Punishment (SP) × Sensitivity to Reward (SR) interaction significantly predicted both positive and negative urgency. At low levels of SR, SP had a significant negative effect on positive urgency and a significant positive effect on negative urgency. However, at high levels of SR, SP had significant positive effects on both types of urgency. Results indicated that positive and negative urgency mediate the associations between reinforcement sensitivity and both alcohol use and risky sexual behavior. Moreover, results demonstrated that at low levels of SR, SP is indirectly associated with decreased alcohol use. However, as SR increases, SP is indirectly associated with increased alcohol use and risky sexual behavior, due to the joint effect of high SP and SR on emotion-based impulsivity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Prediction of verbal and physical aggression among young adults: A path analysis of alexithymia, impulsivity, and aggression.

Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing emotions. Previous research has identified a positive association between alexithymia and aggression, and impulsivity may account for some of that association. This study tested a path model of associations between alexithymia, five facets of impulsivity (negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking), and verbal and physical aggression in a sample of 503 undergraduate students. Alexithymia had significant positive associations with all facets of impulsivity except for sensation seeking. Negative urgency and (lack of) premeditation mediated the relationship between alexithymia and verbal aggression. Positive urgency, negative urgency, and (lack of) premeditation mediated the relationship between alexithymia and physical aggression. Positive urgency also moderated the relationship between alexithymia and both forms of aggression, increasing the strength of those associations. These results highlight the role of emotion dysregulation in the context of aggression and support the use emotion regulation skills training in anger and aggression management programs.

Can cognitive bias modification simultaneously target two behaviors? Approach bias retraining for alcohol and condom use.

This study tested the effectiveness of a cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention to simultaneously reduce approach biases toward alcohol and increase approach biases toward condoms among high-risk young adults. Participants (N = 102) were randomly assigned to either a training condition or a sham-training condition. Participants in the training condition were trained to make avoidance movements away from alcohol stimuli and approach movements toward condom stimuli over four training sessions. Approach biases and behavior were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 3-month follow-up. Approach biases changed for both stimulus categories in accordance with training condition. Condom behavior and attitudes also changed as a function of training condition, such that participants in the training condition reported fewer instances of condom nonuse and a more positive attitudes toward condoms at a three-month follow-up. Participants in both conditions had significant reductions in alcohol consumption following the intervention and did not differ by training condition.

Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism: Associations with alcohol use, alcohol problems and problem recognition.

OBJECTIVE: This study fills a gap in the literature by examining the relationship between two types of narcissism, vulnerable and grandiose, and five alcohol-related outcomes (ie, alcohol use, alcohol problems, evaluation and expectancies of problems, and readiness to change). PARTICIPANTS: 345 college students (28% men, 72% women) from a Midwestern university were recruited from undergraduate psychology courses from April 2015 to October 2016. METHODS: Participants completed an online survey with questionnaires measuring the variables of interest. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. RESULTS: Grandiose narcissism was a positive predictor of alcohol consumption and a positive (ie, good) evaluation of alcohol-related problems. Vulnerable narcissism was a positive predictor of alcohol-related problems, problem recognition (ie, readiness to change), and problem expectancies. CONCLUSIONS: The results speak to the effects that different types of narcissism have on alcohol use, alcohol problems and attitudes towards alcohol problems among young adults.