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Increased Sensitivity to the Disinhibiting Effects of Alcohol in Binge Drinkers

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

100 Scopus citations

Abstract

Heavy episodic alcohol use, or binge drinking, is a serious public health problem. Binge drinking is endemic in college students and has resulted in numerous alcohol-related tragedies, including acute alcohol poisonings, falls, and automobile collisions. Such negative outcomes might occur because binge drinkers are generally more impulsive, and this impulsivity might be exacerbated under alcohol. The purpose of this study was to examine this hypothesis by comparing the acute effects of alcohol on a cognitive measure of behavioral control in binge and nonbinge drinkers. The results indicated that binge drinkers act more impulsively and report feeling more stimulated under an acute 0.65 g/kg dose of alcohol compared to nonbinge drinkers. The present finding of a heightened disinhibitory reaction to alcohol in binge drinkers may help explain the link between impulsivity and problem drinking at a more fundamental level of behavioral control.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)346-354
Number of pages9
JournalPsychology of Addictive Behaviors
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2007

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institute on Drug AbuseR21DA021027

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

    Keywords

    • alcohol
    • behavioral control
    • binge
    • college students
    • impulsivity

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Medicine (miscellaneous)
    • Clinical Psychology
    • Psychiatry and Mental health

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