The proposed studies will examine several important practical and theoretical questions concerning the intentional control of drinking behavior. During the first funding period, we have identified a process whereby a violation of previously successful drinking restraint can provoke """"""""overindulgence."""""""" The proposed research will use this new and versatile experimental paradigm to examine several potentially important processes involved in restraint violation, which may have considerable clinical and theoretical significance. Two studies will address whether a restraint violation can release other normally inhibited behavior, through its argued role in perceived self-control. An additional experimental study will examine whether an unrelated negative affect may exacerbate the effects of restraint violation. Results from the first funding period further suggest that the nature of the link between restraint and external sensitivity - in the context of other research demonstrating heightened external responsivity in individuals with severe self-control deficits, as evidenced by obesity and alcoholism - warrants further examination. An experimental study is proposed to address the role of external self-perception as a possible etiologic route to the development of """"""""restrained drinking"""""""" style. Finally, a survey study will address important processes in naturally occurring restraint, including a test of the presumed cyclicity of this drinking sytle. The purpose of this research is to examine styles of alcohol consumption in social drinkers that may be precursors to later problem drinking, with the goal of providing a basis for identifying and providing early treatment intervention to individuals who experience difficulty in controlling their drinking, at a point before a complete loss of control (i.e., tolerance and withdrawal symptoms) has developed. Also, the important role of alcohol in other public health problems (e.g., alcohol-related auto accidents are the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults) suggest that a style of drinking that is characterized by extreme restraint efforts punctuated by binges may be associated with problems that are worthy of attention even in the absence of a """"""""drinking problem,"""""""" again suggesting the need for early treatment intervention.
| Bensley, L S (1991) Construct validity evidence for the interpretation of drinking restraint as a response conflict. Addict Behav 16:139-50 |
| Bensley, L S; Kuna, P H; Steele, C M (1990) The role of drinking restraint success in subsequent alcohol consumption. Addict Behav 15:491-6 |
