Heavy Episodic Drinking
Conditions
Keywords
couples, emerging adults, young adults, binge drinking, alcohol use, conflict
Brief summary
Emerging Adults (EA) engage in heavy episodic drinking (HED) at a greater quantity and frequency than any other time in their lives, which may lead to significant short- and long-term consequences. Although much is known about the influence of peers in EA alcohol use, there is a dearth of research examining the ways in which romantic partners influence EA drinking behaviors. The proposed study bridges a crucial gap in the existing literature by examining behavioral and physiological risk and resilience factors in the acute link between EA relationship conflict and alcohol consumption. EA couples will engage in two conflict resolution tasks interspersed with two puzzle tasks and two alcohol administration procedures. Because high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) is associated with alcohol use and emotion regulation during stressful experiences, HF-HRV and other physiological data will be collected throughout the laboratory procedures.
Interventions
In this study, participants complete two tasks, then are administered alcohol. Next, they repeat the tasks.
Sponsors
New York University
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 29 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Age 21-29 years old 2. Must be in a committed romantic relationship of at least 3 months duration 3. Must report at least 2 HED episodes in the past 30 days (5 or more drinks within 2 hours for males, 4 or more drinks within 2 hours for females) 4. Must self-report that they have - on at least three occasions during the past year - consumed a quantity of alcohol that is equal to or greater than the standard dose administered for their weight in the laboratory
Exclusion criteria
1. Meeting DSM-5 criteria for a history of or current neurological, psychotic, or bipolar disorders 2. History of self-reported head trauma requiring medical treatment 3. Body weight exceeding 250 pounds 4. Current enrollment in treatment or seeking treatment for a substance or alcohol use disorder 5. Current suicidal or homicidal intent 6. Serious cardiovascular health conditions (e.g. pacemaker, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension) that may alter normative cardiac functioning 7. Treatment on medications such as lithium, methadone, alpha or beta blockers or cholinergic/anticholinergic medications likely to confound normative cardiovascular responding or response to alcohol administration. Stimulant or benzodiazepine medication use is permissible provided participants do not take medication on the day of study participation 8. Severe and/or unilateral physical IPV with your current partner at any time 9. Sexual IPV with current partner at any time 10. Fear of current partner 11. Pregnancy or breastfeeding 12. Severe Alcohol Use Disorder (as defined by the DSM-5) 13. Current diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol consumption | ~20 minutes | Amount of alcohol consumed during the study |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| High frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) | ~3 hours | High frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) is a neurally-derived measure of parasympathetic activity that may partially explain the association between stressful relationship conflict and alcohol misuse. HF-HRV is a measure of the variability in interbeat intervals, or the time in between beats of the heart. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed