Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1673-0705

Date Available

12-20-2024

Year of Publication

2024

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Psychology

Advisor

Dr. Chana K Akins

Abstract

Addiction models (e.g., iRISA model) suggest that excessive substance use can result in behavioral consequences such as decreased response inhibition and increased salience attribution toward alcohol cues. The primary goal of this project was to explore potential sex differences in these characteristics of addiction. This dissertation is comprised of two separate but related studies. Study 1 investigated sex differences in inhibitory control and attentional bias. The central hypotheses are 1) women who reported heavy-drinking would display greater disruptions in behavioral inhibitory control following alcohol-related cues, 2) men who reported heavy-drinking would display greater attentional bias toward alcohol-related cues, and 3) behavioral control performance would be positively associated with attentional bias. Results revealed complex interactions. First, heavy-drinking women experienced the greatest disruption in inhibitory control compared to heavy-drinking men, light-drinking women, and nondrinking women. However, there were no sex differences observed in attentional bias to alcohol cues, but heavy drinkers did show a greater attentional bias to alcohol cues compared to moderate drinkers. Study 2 was a pilot study that assessed inhibitory control in the presence of alcohol-related cues to assess the relationship between disinhibition, and IPV victimization history in a sample of female drinkers. The central hypothesis was that women who report heavier drinking and victimization of IPV would also display the greatest disinhibition. The results of this pilot study did not support the hypothesis, but the rationale for the proposed research is that if there is an understanding of cognitive-behavioral differences in how men and women progress at different levels of drinking advances can be made in developing treatment options that consider these characteristics. Further, understanding how these cognitive-behavioral effects may be related to a real-life experience, such as the victimization of IPV in females, would be an advancement in the application of this model of alcohol use. These results are expected to have a positive impact as they have the potential to inform researchers about individual differences that may serve as underlying risk factors, predictors of drinking, or considerations for targeted treatment.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2024.516

Funding Information

This dissertation was supported by the Robert Lipman Grant (2023), the Mary Byron Research Assistantship from the Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women (2024), and the Dennis and Sarah McCarty Alcohol and Drug Dissertation Research Fund (2024).

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