title: A prospective study of stress and alcohol craving in heavy drinkers.
abstract: Recent work has examined the relationship between stress and relapse to alcohol use in clinical populations. Few prospective studies, however, have examined stress as a precipitant of alcohol problems. The present study is a longitudinal examination of the role of stress reactivity and alcohol craving in the etiology of alcohol problems in a sample of 41 (mean age=20.8), heavy-drinking, young adults. Participants completed a guided imagery exposure to stressful life events, followed by exposure to a neutral imagery control. Following the exposure, participants completed an alcohol cue exposure paradigm. Measures of negative mood (Profile of Mood States (POMS) depression/dejection scale), tension (POMS tension/anxiety scale) and alcohol craving (measured by the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ)) were used as indicators of reactivity to stress and to alcohol cues. Polymorphisms of the corticotropin-releasing hormone binding protein (CRH-BP) gene and of the μ-opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene were examined as moderators of this relationship. Results revealed that stress-induced negative mood predicted negative consequences of drinking (scores on the Drinker's Inventory of Consequences (DrInC-2R)), whereas stress and cue-induced alcohol craving did not predict alcohol use or problems. Additionally, the CRH-BP genotype was found to moderate the relationship between stress-induced negative affect and the negative consequences of drinking. The current study supports and extends laboratory research describing phenotypes of stress-induced alcohol craving.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Molly A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tartter
authors.forename: Lara A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ray
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C485764:OPRM1 protein, human; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; C067133:corticotropin releasing factor-binding protein