A young adult's early response to alcohol may predict future drinking problems.
A young adult's early response to alcohol may predict future drinking problems.
To assess the relationship of acute alcohol responses to future binge drinking, researchers studied 200 American volunteers, aged 21 to 35 years, who were classified as either light or heavy drinkers during an initial laboratory test.
It was found that heavy drinkers experienced greater sensitivity to the rewarding and stimulating effects of alcohol, while light drinkers reported stronger alcohol-related sluggishness and sedation.
Over two years of follow-up, the heavy drinkers fell into different groups, including those who cut back on binge drinking ("gradual maturing"), those who kept up a moderate or high frequency of binge drinking, and those who increased their binge drinking ("exacerbating").
People in the "exacerbating" group drank more alcohol, drank more often, suffered more alcohol-related problems, and were more likely to meet the criteria for diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence.
Because the study participants who exacerbated their binge drinking habits during the follow-up period were more likely to have experienced positive and stimulating effects of alcohol in the initial laboratory test, the researchers suggest that it may be possible to predict a person's future drinking behaviour.
To assess the relationship of acute alcohol responses to future binge drinking, researchers studied 200 American volunteers, aged 21 to 35 years, who were classified as either light or heavy drinkers during an initial laboratory test.
It was found that heavy drinkers experienced greater sensitivity to the rewarding and stimulating effects of alcohol, while light drinkers reported stronger alcohol-related sluggishness and sedation.
Over two years of follow-up, the heavy drinkers fell into different groups, including those who cut back on binge drinking ("gradual maturing"), those who kept up a moderate or high frequency of binge drinking, and those who increased their binge drinking ("exacerbating").
People in the "exacerbating" group drank more alcohol, drank more often, suffered more alcohol-related problems, and were more likely to meet the criteria for diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence.
Because the study participants who exacerbated their binge drinking habits during the follow-up period were more likely to have experienced positive and stimulating effects of alcohol in the initial laboratory test, the researchers suggest that it may be possible to predict a person's future drinking behaviour.
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