title: Reduced Social Network Drinking is Associated with Improved Response Inhibition in Women During Early Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders: A Pilot Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social support for recovery from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is associated with improvements in self-reported impulsive behavior in individuals treated for AUDs. We build on these findings using a behavioral task-based measure of response inhibition, a well-defined component of impulsivity, to examine the association of disinhibition with alcohol-specific social network characteristics during early recovery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women (n = 28) were recruited from treatment for AUD within 3 to 4 weeks of their last drink and were assessed at baseline and again 3 months later. Outcome measures were level of disinhibition at baseline and change in disinhibition from baseline to follow-up, measured using a computer-based continuous performance test. The primary independent variables were level of drinking in the social network at baseline and change in network drinking from baseline to follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample [50% black, age M (SD) = 42.3 (9.5)] reported high rates of physical and sexual abuse before age 13 (43%), psychiatric disorder (71%), drug use disorder (78%), and previous treatment (71%). More drinking in participants' social networks was associated with greater disinhibition at baseline (β = 12.5, 95% CI = 6.3, 18.7). A reduction in network drinking from baseline to follow-up was associated with reduced disinhibition (β = -6.0, 95% CI = -11.3, -0.78) independent of IQ, recent alcohol consumption, and self-reported negative urgency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study extends previous findings of an association between social networks and self-reported impulsivity to a neurobehavioral phenotype, response inhibition, suggesting that abstinence-supporting social networks may play a role in cognitive change during early recovery from AUDs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Vivia V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: McCutcheon
authors.affiliation: Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Luke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Christina N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Lessov-Schlaggar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012944:Social Support; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder; Impulsivity; Response Inhibition; Social Networks; Substance Use