Early subjective response and acquired tolerance as predictors of alcohol use and related problems in a clinical sample.
BACKGROUND
Previous studies have demonstrated that a low subjective response (SR) to alcohol is a risk factor for alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and a recent study suggests that acquired tolerance can be differentiated from initial SR and is also significantly associated with drinking problems. Because the prior study of SR and tolerance focused on a sample of moderate drinkers, the goal of the current study was to examine relations between early SR, acquired tolerance, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems in a sample of young adults with clinically significant alcohol problems.


METHODS
The current study examined associations between early SR and acquired tolerance and both drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems within a sample of 113 heavy drinking young adults (66.1% male) volunteering for a clinical trial of naltrexone in combination with brief motivational counseling.


RESULTS
Consistent with the 1 prior study examining simultaneous effects of early SR and tolerance, both early SR and acquired tolerance were positively associated with typical drinking behavior, although tolerance was a much stronger predictor within this clinical sample. In contrast to the prior study, early SR was inversely associated with risk for alcohol-related problems, and tolerance was not a significant predictor of problems.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggested that, controlling for weekly drinking, a low early SR protected against acute negative consequences within a sample of heavy drinkers who had acquired significant tolerance to alcohol effects. It is possible that this protective effect may eventually shift to a risk factor by allowing individuals with a low SR to persist in a pattern of hazardous drinking.
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1104, USA. wcorbin@asu.edu
William R
WR
Corbin
Caitlin
C
Scott
Robert F
RF
Leeman
Lisa M
LM
Fucito
Benjamin A
BA
Toll
Stephanie S
SS
O'Malley
D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult