Alcohol dependent patients have weak negative rather than strong positive implicit alcohol associations.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Alcohol dependence is characterised by motivational conflict (or ambivalence) in controlled cognitive processes, but it is unclear if ambivalence also exists within automatic cognitive processes, and if ambivalence operates between controlled and automatic processes.

Objective

To investigate ambivalence operating within and between controlled and automatic processes in alcohol dependence.

Method

Alcohol-dependent patients who had recently completed inpatient alcohol detoxification (N = 47) and social drinking controls (N = 40) completed unipolar implicit association tests and self-report measures of alcohol approach and avoidance motivation and alcohol outcome expectancies.

Results

As predicted, both positive and negative alcohol outcome expectancies

SUBMITTER: Dickson JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3726926 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature