Adolescent Heavy Drinking Does Not Affect Maturation of Basic Executive Functioning: Longitudinal Findings from the TRAILS Study.
OBJECTIVE
Excessive alcohol use is assumed to affect maturation of cognitive functioning in adolescence. However, most existing studies that have tested this hypothesis are seriously flawed due to the use of selective groups and/or cross-sectional designs, which limits the ability to draw firm conclusions. This longitudinal study investigated whether patterns of alcohol use predicted differences in maturation of executive functioning in adolescence. Additionally, gender was tested as a possible moderator.


METHODS
We used data from the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), which comprises a cohort of 2,230 Dutch adolescents. Maturation of executive functioning was measured by assessing the standardized improvement on each of four basic executive functions (i.e., inhibition, working memory, and shift- and sustained attention) between ages 11 and 19. Participants were assigned to one of six (heavy) drinking groups (i.e., non-drinkers, light drinkers, infrequent heavy drinkers, increased heavy drinkers, decreased heavy drinkers, and chronic heavy drinkers). We conducted linear regression analyses, and adjusted for relevant confounders.


RESULTS
The six drinking groups did not reveal significant differences in maturation between drinking groups. E.g., maturation executive functioning of chronic heavy drinkers in comparison to non-drinkers; inhibition: B = -0.14, 95% CI [-0.41 to 0.14], working memory: B = -0.03, 95% CI [-0.26 to 0.21], shift attention: B = 0.13, 95% CI [-0.17 to 0.41], sustained attention: B = 0.12, 95% CI [-0.60 to 0.36]. Furthermore, gender was not found to be a significant moderator.


CONCLUSIONS
Four years of weekly heavy drinking (i.e., chronic heavy drinkers) did not result in measurable impairments in four basic executive functions. Thus, regular heavy drinking in adolescence does not seem to affect these basic behavioural measures of executive functioning.
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sarai R
SR
Boelema
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Zeena
Z
Harakeh
Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Martine J E
MJ
van Zandvoort
Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Sijmen A
SA
Reijneveld
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Frank C
FC
Verhulst
Interdisciplinary Centre for Psychopathology and Emotion regulation (ICPE), University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Johan
J
Ormel
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Wilma A M
WA
Vollebergh
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000066608:Underage Drinking