Burton, Sam 
ORCID: 0000-0003-3823-3275, Puddephatt, Jo-Anne, Baines, Laura, Sheen, Florence, Warren, Jasmine G ORCID: 0000-0001-6676-2954 and Jones, Andrew
(2021)
Limited Evidence of Associations Between Executive Functioning and Alcohol Involvement In UK Adolescents.
ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOLISM, 56 (6).
pp. 754-762.
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Abstract
<h4>Aims</h4>Deficits in motor inhibitory control and working memory have been hypothesized to be both a cause and consequence of heavy alcohol use. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage for inhibitory control and working memory, and it is also a stage when individuals are most likely to initiate alcohol use. This study aimed to examine whether inhibitory control and working memory would predict alcohol use and involvement in a group of UK adolescents.<h4>Methods</h4>We recruited 220 (N = 178, female) adolescents, aged between 16 and 18, from eight higher education settings in the Merseyside region of the UK. Alcohol use was examined using the Timeline Follow-Back and involvement (and related problems) using the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale. A reward-based inhibitory control task (Go/No-Go) was used to examine the inhibition and reward sensitivity, and a self-ordered pointing task was used to measure working memory.<h4>Results</h4>Multiple regression demonstrated that neither inhibitory control (b = 0.02 (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.21, 0.24)) nor working memory (b = -0.12 (95% CI: -0.30, 0.07)) were significant predictors of alcohol use (units consumed). Inhibitory control (b = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.12, 1.09), specifically, in the no reward condition and school deprivation (b = 0.67 (95% CI: 0.06, 1.28) significantly predicted alcohol-related problems.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our findings demonstrated limited evidence that deficits in specific mechanisms of executive functioning (i.e. motor inhibition and working memory) were associated with alcohol-related problems in UK adolescents. This study adds to an increasing body of literature suggesting weak or non-existent links between inhibitory control, working memory and alcohol use.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Humans, Memory, Short-Term, Reward, Neuropsychological Tests, Adolescent, Female, Male, Executive Function, Underage Drinking, United Kingdom |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Nov 2021 09:47 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 21:24 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/alcalc/agab020 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3143039 |
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