People who tend to act rashly when upset may be more likely to expect alcohol to affect them—both positively and negatively—and may be more likely to want to drink to improve their mood. Mood changes, whether positive, negative, or neutral, did not alter these beliefs, according to a study of college students published in a recent issue of Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. This study helps to inform further research on the relationship between impulsivity and alcohol misuse.
The study examined the influence of ‘negative urgency’ and different moods on the way people think about and value the effects of alcohol use as well as their cravings for those effects. People with negative urgency, an individual’s behavioral tendency to act impulsively in response to negative emotions, have been found in previous studies to be likely to consume more alcohol when they’re experiencing negative moods.
This online study of four hundred college students was conducted from March 2020 to June 2022. Students were assessed for negative urgency traits and answered questions about their emotional state and their beliefs and values about alcohol and craving before and after engaging in activities designed to influence their mood.
Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, changes in mood did not influence the beliefs of students with negative urgency about the effects drinking would have or their craving for those effects. Students with negative urgency characteristics were more likely to have increased positive and negative expectations around alcohol use as well as increased craving for positive and negative emotional reinforcement from alcohol use, regardless of mood.
Students with negative urgency were more likely to expect that alcohol use would affect them, both in positive ways and negative ways, but they were no more or less likely to consider those effects as good or bad. Students with negative urgency also reported greater desire for the emotional effects of drinking alcohol, such as to cope or to improve their moods.
The study was limited by a fairly homogenous participant pool of primarily White, non-Hispanic college students who were light to moderate drinkers; findings may not be applicable to a more diverse population. The study authors recommend further research to understand which beliefs and values about alcohol are most influenced by negative urgency and which are most associated with problem drinking to provide effective interventions to prevent high-risk drinking.
The influence of negative urgency and mood-inductions on alcohol cognitions. N. R. Wolkowicz, I. F. Augur, L. Ham.
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