Alcohol sensitivity moderates the indirect associations between impulsive traits, impaired control over drinking, and...

The purpose of this study was to examine impaired control over drinking behavior as a mediator of unique pathways from impulsive traits to alcohol outcomes in young adults. We also sought to investigate the moderating influence of self-reported sensitivity to alcohol on these pathways.

Young adult heavy drinkers (N = 172; 82 women) recruited from the community completed self-report measures of impulsive traits (positive urgency, negative urgency, sensation seeking), alcohol sensitivity (Self-Rating of the Effects of Alcohol scale), impaired control over drinking, and alcohol use and problems. Multiple-groups path analysis was used to analyze the data.

Path coefficients between urgency and impaired control were larger for individuals with lower versus higher self-reported sensitivity to alcohol. The same was true for the association between impaired control and alcohol problems. For participants lower on alcohol sensitivity, significant indirect paths were observed from both positive and negative urgency to all alcohol outcomes (quantity, frequency, and problems) mediated via impaired control. For participants higher on alcohol sensitivity, only the paths from negative urgency (but not positive urgency) to the three alcohol outcomes via impaired control were statistically significant. Sensation seeking was not uniquely associated with impaired control.

The findings indicate that relatively low sensitivity to the pharmacological effects of alcohol may strengthen the association between urgency--especially positive urgency--and impaired control, supporting the notion that personality and level of response to alcohol may interact to increase risk for impaired control over drinking.