The moderating role of trait impulsivity on reward sensitivity and alcohol craving

Alcohol use is associated with an increased risk of negative consequences for young adults due to their disproportionately high rates of alcohol use. Alcohol craving (i.e., the strong desire to consume alcohol) is related to increased use for clinical populations, but scant research has examined craving and its associated factors among young adults. Reward sensitivity (i.e., the desire to obtain appetitive stimuli) and impulsivity (i.e., rash action without considering the consequences) have been independently linked to alcohol craving, but few studies examine how these factors interact with alcohol craving among young adults. Consequently, the current study sought to examine these associations via five moderation models using one of the five facets of impulsivity (i.e., positive and negative urgency, perseverance, premeditation, and sensation seeking) as the variable moderating the relationship between reward sensitivity and craving.

Two hundred and ninety-one college students completed an online survey regarding their use of alcohol, trait impulsivity, reward sensitivity, and alcohol craving.

There was a significant negative interaction between levels of reward sensitivity and negative urgency. The negative associations were significant at one SD above mean levels of negative urgency.

Individuals who experienced lower levels of reward sensitivity had increased craving when they also experienced greater levels of negative urgency. Young adults who experience a combination of low reward sensitivity and heightened negative urgency may be at the greatest risk for alcohol craving.