Understanding Alcohol Reward in Social Context

November 27, 2023 updated by: Catharine Fairbairn, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Examining the Impact of Stress on the Emotionally Reinforcing Properties of Alcohol in Heavy Social Drinkers: A Multimodal Investigation Integrating Laboratory and Ambulatory Methods

In this study, the investigators examine whether emotional and social reward from alcohol varies depending on the social context of consumption.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Objective: Although the vast majority of alcohol consumption outside the laboratory occurs in social context, experimental studies of alcohol's emotionally reinforcing effects have overwhelmingly examined individuals drinking in isolation. The current study examines motivationally salient elements of everyday social drinking contexts as moderators of alcohol-related reinforcement. More specifically, the present study examine whether alcohol is more reinforcing within the context of unfamiliar vs. familiar social interaction and, further, whether alcohol is more reinforcing within the context of low vs. high quality social relationships. The current study furthermore examine whether individuals with characteristics that put them at risk for developing an alcohol use disorder (e.g., male gender, impulsive/extraverted personality profile, heavy patterns of consumption, family history of AUD, ...) exhibit heightened emotional reinforcement from alcohol within these social drinking contexts.

The current project represents a test of competing theories of alcohol reinforcement. Alcohol myopia theory-which has heretofore represented the most prominent theory of alcohol's effects-predicts that alcohol's ability to relieve stress depends on the nature (positive or negative) of stimuli in the drinker's immediate environment. Alcohol myopia theory might thus predict that alcohol's rewarding effects will be larger within familiar interactions and within secure relationships. In contrast, the social attributional theory of alcohol reinforcement predicts that alcohol-related reinforcement will be most pronounced within the context of unfamiliar social interactions.

In addition to providing an opportunity to test contextual and individual-level moderators of alcohol reinforcement, the current study represents an opportunity to directly test the replicability of research indicating a pronounced reinforcing effect of alcohol specifically within interactions among unfamiliar individuals (Sayette et al., 2012; Fairbairn et al., 2013).

Study Population: Participants will consist of 640 male and female drinkers, aged 21-30, with no reported history of severe alcohol use disorder. Participants will be sampled such that at least 360 of these participants will classify as heavy drinkers.

Design: In the laboratory arm of the study, individuals will be randomly assigned to consume either a moderate dose of alcohol or a control beverage in the company of either familiar or unfamiliar individuals. Of these individuals, a subset will participate in additional tasks post beverage-consumption including a hyperscanning EEG task, while an additional subset will also participate in an ambulatory assessment period over the course of several weeks to examine the interaction of alcohol and social contextual factors in daily life. In the ambulatory study arm, participants will wear transdermal sensors to assess BAC and will further provide information about their mood and their social contexts in response to random prompts.

Outcome Measures: Primary outcome measures include self-reports of positive and negative mood and perceived social reinforcement. The investigators will also examine facial expressions using the Facial Action Coding System, a comprehensive, anatomically-based system for categorizing facial muscle movement. One aim of the current study is to examine whether differential reinforcement from alcohol in unfamiliar social contexts emerges only with respect to self-reports, or is also observable within facial behaviors. EEG/ERP measures will also be examined for a subset of participants engaged in a hyperscanning task.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

640

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Champaign, Illinois, United States, 61820
        • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Between the ages of 21 and 30
  • Currently drinks alcohol
  • Able to provide at least 2 same-gender friend referrals

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Female participant is pregnant or trying to become pregnant
  • Endorsed medical disorder caused by, or made worse by, alcohol
  • History of severe alcohol problems
  • Use of drugs known to interact with alcohol

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Alcohol Administration
A moderate dose of alcohol (Target BAC .08%)
Drug: Alcohol
Alcohol Target BAC .08%
No Intervention: Control Beverage Administration
Participants consume a non-alcoholic beverage

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-Reported Emotion
Time Frame: 1 day (laboratory session)
Positive and negative emotion will be assessed during the laboratory beverage-administration session via self-report on the "8-item Mood Measure."
1 day (laboratory session)
Self-Reported Social Reinforcement
Time Frame: 1 day (laboratory session)
Social reinforcement will be assessed using an index of perceived social closeness as well as a modified version of the Perceived Group Reinforcement Scale.
1 day (laboratory session)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Social Bonding
Time Frame: 1 day (laboratory session)
Social bonding will be assessed during the laboratory beverage-administration session. This will be assessed by examining the synchronization among group members of facial expressions of emotion.
1 day (laboratory session)
Self-Reported Emotion
Time Frame: 2-3 week ambulatory assessment period
Positive and negative emotion will be assessed during the ambulatory assessment period via self-report on the "8-item Mood Measure."
2-3 week ambulatory assessment period
Interpersonal Distance
Time Frame: 1 day (laboratory session)
Physical proximity to other participants during the experiment
1 day (laboratory session)
Neuro-cognitive social engagement
Time Frame: 1 day (laboratory session)
Electroencephalogram (EEG) hyperscanning methods will be employed to assess task engagement and social attention, including through the examination of event-related potentials (ERPs) during social tasks.
1 day (laboratory session)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Catharine E Fairbairn, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 4, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 5, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

July 5, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 23, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 27, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

February 28, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 28, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 27, 2023

Last Verified

January 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01AA025969 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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