Reduced Social Network Drinking is Associated with Improved Response Inhibition in Women During Early Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Social support for recovery from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is associated with improvements in self-reported impulsive behavior in individuals treated for AUDs. We build on these findings using a behavioral task-based measure of response inhibition, a well-defined component of impulsivity, to examine the association of disinhibition with alcohol-specific social network characteristics during early recovery.

Methods: Women (n = 28) were recruited from treatment for AUD within 3 to 4 weeks of their last drink and were assessed at baseline and again 3 months later. Outcome measures were level of disinhibition at baseline and change in disinhibition from baseline to follow-up, measured using a computer-based continuous performance test. The primary independent variables were level of drinking in the social network at baseline and change in network drinking from baseline to follow-up.

Results: The sample [50% black, age M (SD) = 42.3 (9.5)] reported high rates of physical and sexual abuse before age 13 (43%), psychiatric disorder (71%), drug use disorder (78%), and previous treatment (71%). More drinking in participants' social networks was associated with greater disinhibition at baseline (β = 12.5, 95% CI = 6.3, 18.7). A reduction in network drinking from baseline to follow-up was associated with reduced disinhibition (β = -6.0, 95% CI = -11.3, -0.78) independent of IQ, recent alcohol consumption, and self-reported negative urgency.

Conclusions: This study extends previous findings of an association between social networks and self-reported impulsivity to a neurobehavioral phenotype, response inhibition, suggesting that abstinence-supporting social networks may play a role in cognitive change during early recovery from AUDs.

Keywords: Alcohol Use Disorder; Impulsivity; Response Inhibition; Social Networks; Substance Use.

Figure 1.

Illustration of interaction in Table 2. Plotted lines show change in disinhibition from baseline to follow-up as a function of change in network drinking score, and markers at time 1 and time 2 represent individual levels of disinhibition at each time point, adjusted for IQ, relapse, self-reported urgency, and follow-up status. Women whose network drinking score increased showed an increase in disinhibition on average. Women whose network drinking score decreased showed a decrease in disinhibition, on average.