Stress increases attentional bias for alcohol cues in social drinkers who drink to cope.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of stress on alcohol craving and attentional bias for alcohol-related cues in a group of heavy social drinkers.


METHODS
Forty-four heavy social drinkers were exposed to either a laboratory stressor task or a control manipulation before completing a questionnaire measure of alcohol craving and a visual probe task which measured attentional bias for alcohol-related cues. Participants were subdivided into those with high and low levels of coping motives for drinking.


RESULTS
Compared to a control manipulation, the laboratory stressor task produced increases in alcohol craving (P < 0.01). The laboratory stressor task also produced a significant attentional bias for alcohol-related cues, but only among participants who had high levels of coping motives (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Findings are broadly consistent with contemporary negative reinforcement models of substance abuse, and with models of subjective craving and attentional biases for substance-related cues.
Field
Matt
M
School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZA, UK. mfield@liverpool.ac.uk
Powell
Hannah
H
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology