Psychophysiological and self-reported emotional responding in alcohol-dependent college students: the impact of brief acceptance/mindfulness instruction.
Drinking motivated by the desire to cope with painful emotions has been shown to be strongly related to alcohol dependence; the resulting maladaptive pattern of substance use can, therefore, be conceptualized as a form of experiential avoidance (an attempt to decrease contact with unpleasant internal states). Acceptance-based interventions, which specifically address experiential avoidance, are multifaceted, and the mechanisms of action are only beginning to be understood. Using a treatment analogue design to look at the underlying components of acceptance-based interventions, the authors tested the effects of brief mindfulness instructions on the emotional responding of alcohol-dependent college students and compared these results with those from a sample of nondependent students. Multidimensional self-reported and psychophysiological emotional responses to pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictorial stimuli did not differ between alcohol-dependent and nondependent participants or between the alcohol-dependent participants receiving the mindfulness versus neutral condition. Alcohol-dependent participants' severity of alcohol dependence was found to be related to both self-reported and psychophysiological responses to the unpleasant pictures; these results support the notion that alcohol-dependent participants may use alcohol to cope with unpleasant emotions.
Vernig
Peter M
PM
Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02114, USA. peter.vernig@suffolk.edu
Orsillo
Susan M
SM
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011603:Psychophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching; D055815:Young Adult