Attention bias and alcohol craving: Differential effects via biological sex and mood.

BACKGROUND: Attentional bias (AB) has been linked to alcohol use, mood, and alcohol craving, with key differences across different types of mood and biological sex. However, further exploration of the role of AB across these alcohol variables is needed. The current study examined the relationship between mood and AB as predictors of alcohol craving using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Exploratory analysis examined these effects as a function of biological sex. METHODS: Participants (n = 69) from a Midwestern University carried a mobile device for 15 days and provided ratings of momentary mood (positive mood, anxious mood, and sad mood), alcohol craving, and AB. Data were analyzed using a two-level multilevel regression model, with associations between craving, mood, and AB examined at both the momentary and between-subjects levels. RESULTS: Across assessments, positive and negative moods were positively associated with momentary craving, with AB found to operate differently between men and women. At the within-subjects level, increases in positive mood among men strengthened the AB-craving association, while women showed stronger AB-craving associations when positive mood decreased. At the between-subjects level, trait-like sadness led to positive AB-craving associations for men, however, this was the opposite for women. Similarly, AB-craving associations were positive and robust for men with trait-like positive mood but again the opposite was observed for women. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance and nuances of biological sex in the context of mood, AB, and craving. Interventions targeting AB and/or emotion regulation may yield different outcomes for men and women.

Protective behavioral strategies as a protective factor against suicidal ideation among college student drinkers.

Objective: Research shows that alcohol use is linked to suicidal ideation (SI), while depression is strongly associated with SI. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are safe drinking strategies. PBS are broadly protective across alcohol-related problems; however, it is unclear if these effects extend to those at risk for SI. We hypothesized that alcohol use and depressive symptoms would be risk factors for SI, and that these factors would moderate the effects of PBS. PBS was hypothesized to be protective for individuals with elevated depressive symptoms and alcohol use. Participants: College student drinkers (n = 990; M age = 19.97, SD = 3.75) from a Southeastern University. Methods: Participants completed an online survey inquiring about demographics, depressive symptoms, SI, alcohol use, and PBS use. Results: Depressive symptoms were associated with an increased likelihood of SI; however, alcohol use was not. PBS were most protective for individuals with high levels of alcohol use and/or depressive symptoms. Conclusions: PBS may be protective for heavier drinkers who are at heightened risk for SI.

Psychopathy and Protective Behavioral Strategies: PBS Mediates the Relationships between Primary and Secondary Psychopathy and Alcohol Consumption and Problems.

Objective: The most common conceptualization of psychopathy is a two-factor model of primary psychopathy and secondary psychopathy. Primary psychopathy consists of interpersonally abusive behavior, and callousness. Secondary psychopathy includes impulsive and risky decision making. Past research has found that psychopathy is related to negative outcomes, including increased alcohol consumption and problems, and is inversely related to harm reduction behaviors. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS), behaviors designed to reduce alcohol consumption and associated problems, may mediate the relationship between psychopathy and alcohol pathology. The current study examined the relationship between psychopathy, each subtype of PBS use (serious harm reduction (SHR), manner of drinking (MD) and stopping/limiting drinking (SLD)), alcohol consumption, and alcohol problems.Method: Participants were n = 967 (61.22% female) college students. Participants completed measures assessing psychopathy, PBS use, alcohol consumption, and alcohol problems. A path analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between psychopathy, subtypes of PBS, and alcohol consumption and problems.Results: Results indicated an inverse relationship between primary psychopathy and both SHR PBS and MD PBS, while secondary psychopathy was inversely associated with all three PBS subtypes. SHR PBS was inversely associated with alcohol problems while MD PBS was inversely associated with alcohol consumption.Conclusion: These findings suggest specific PBS subtypes mediate the relationship between primary and secondary psychopathy and alcohol consumption and problems. It may be clinically pertinent to consider targeting PBS use, such as with motivational interviewing, when working with patients exhibiting psychopathy traits. Future research should consider these findings when examining alcohol use.

A comprehensive review of measures of protective behavioral strategies across various risk factors and associated PBS-related interventions.

Harm reduction is a framework that places substance use on a spectrum from total abstinence to continued controlled use. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are a set of individually implemented harm reduction strategies that have shown to reduce the rate of use and severity of consequences from risky behaviors. Previous research has shown that PBS use effectively reduces negative consequences. The present study provides an overview of the literature on PBS measures for various risk behaviors, and common interventions used in conjunction with PBS. Of the articles reviewed, 15 validated PBS measures were found and eight distinct categories of PBS interventions. The 15 measures reviewed included risk factors such as alcohol use/consequences (n = 8), dating and sexual behaviors (n = 4), gambling (n = 1), cannabis (n = 1), and condom use (n = 1). A survey of the literature produced eight distinct categories of interventions with varying degrees of effectiveness: (a) Brief Motivational Interventions, (b) Personalized Normative Feedback, (c) PBS Skills Training, (d) PBS Instruction, (e) Deviance Regulation Theory Interventions, (f) Behavioral Economic Based Interventions, (g) Counterfactual Thinking and (h) Episodic Future Thinking. Findings from the present study corroborate the notion that PBS effectively reduce negative consequences associated with behaviors, such as negative alcohol-related consequences, harmful cannabis use, and adverse sexual outcomes. Research on interventions targeting PBS is lacking in areas outside of alcohol use. Within alcohol use, the utility of interventions varies widely. Understanding the reason for this discrepancy is an important area for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).