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Interference in the alcohol Stroop task with college student binge drinkers
Kevin A Hallgren1, Barbara S McCrady1
1University of New Mexico.
Journal of Behavioral Health
|October 21, 2014
Summary
College students show attentional bias towards alcohol cues, especially those with higher drinking intensity. This bias may automatically influence their drinking behaviors, impacting overall alcohol consumption.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
Background:
- Heavy college drinking correlates with social, health, and legal issues.
- Attentional bias for alcohol cues may drive automatic and unaware drinking.
- Previous research on attentional bias in college drinkers yielded mixed results.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine alcohol Stroop task performance in college students.
- Investigate the relationship between attentional bias, drinking levels, and problems.
- Understand the role of attentional bias in college student drinking patterns.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the alcohol Stroop task to measure attentional bias.
- Assessed 84 college students with recent binge drinking history.
- Analyzed task performance in relation to drinking frequency, intensity, and problems.
Main Results:
- Students exhibited greater attentional interference for alcohol words versus neutral words.
- Attentional bias varied significantly with drinking intensity.
- No significant variation in Stroop task performance was found based on drinking frequency or related problems.
Conclusions:
- College students display attentional biases towards alcohol-related stimuli.
- Higher drinking intensity is linked to stronger attentional bias for alcohol cues.
- Findings suggest potential targets for prevention and treatment of heavy college drinking.
