J Epidemiol Community Health. 2008 Jun;62(6):506-12.

Links

Cognitive development in childhood and drinking behaviour over two decades in

adulthood.
Jefferis BJ, Manor O, Power C.
UCL Institute of Child Health, Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 30 Guilford
Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK. b.jefferis@pcps.ucl.ac.uk

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Childhood cognition predicts adult morbidity and mortality,

potentially working through health behaviours. This study investigates if childhood
cognition influences life course (i) non-drinking and (ii) binge drinking and
pathways through which this might act-namely, childhood behaviour problems,
adult social position and educational qualifications. METHODS: Prospective cohort of
British births in March 1958, with information on cognition at 7, 11 and 16 years
and alcohol use at 23, 33 and 42 years. Non-drinkers drank "infrequently/on special
occasions" or "never". Binge drinkers consumed >or=10 units/occasion (men) and
>or=7 units/occasion (women). RESULTS: Lower cognitive ability increased the
odds of non-drinking at each adult survey (for example, for men at 42 years OR
1.52 (95% CI 1.34 to 1.72) per SD decrease in 7-year maths). Associations
remained after adjustment for pathway factors (i) behaviour problems, (ii) adult
social position and (iii) educational qualifications. Decreased ability rank across
childhood (7-16 years) also increased odds of non-drinking at 42 years, but the
association operated via pathway factors. Lower 7-year ability elevated the odds of
42-year binge drinking, operating via pathway factors. Declining ability rank across
childhood also increased the odds of adult binge drinking; associations operated
through behavioural problems, adult social position and qualifications. In women,
the decline in risk of binge drinking from an age 23-year peak to 42 years was
associated with higher 7-year score. CONCLUSIONS: Poorer childhood cognition was
associated with non-drinking and binge drinking up to the early 40s. Associations
between childhood cognition and drinking status may mediate between childhood
cognition and adult health.

: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007 Feb;61(2):150-3.

Links

Social gradients in binge drinking and abstaining: trends in a cohort of British adults.
Jefferis BJ, Manor O, Power C.
Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford
Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK. b.jefferis@ich.ucl.ac.uk

OBJECTIVE: To investigate (1) social gradients in non-drinking and binge drinking,

and (2) changes in social gradients in drinking with increasing age. METHODS:
British men and women born during the same week in March 1958 were
prospectively followed up to adulthood. The frequency and amount of alcohol use

were recorded at age 23, 33 and 42 years. Abstainers "never" drank, binge drinkers
consumed >or=10 units (men) and >or=7 units (women) per occasion. Educational
qualifications and occupation were reported at age 23 and 33 years. Logistic and
repeated-measures models were used to investigate associations between social
position and drinking status at single and multiple ages in adulthood. RESULTS:
Less educated men and women had greater odds of being non-drinkers at each age
in adulthood, with similar gradients at ages 23-42 years. At 23 years of age, men
without qualifications had 2.94 times greater odds of non-drinking than men with
higher qualifications. Less educated men had greater odds of binge drinking, and
gradients did not change at ages 23-42 years. At age 23 years, less educated
women had lower odds of binge drinking (odds ratio (OR) 0.67 for women with no
qualifications) than women with higher qualifications. By age 42 years, the gradient
reversed, and less educated women had higher odds of binge drinking (OR 2.68).
CONCLUSIONS: Stable gradients in non-drinking and trends in gradients in binge
drinking may reinforce alcohol-related health inequalities over time.

1: Addiction. 2005 Apr;100(4):543-9.

Links

Adolescent drinking level and adult binge drinking in a national birth cohort.
Jefferis BJ, Power C, Manor O.
Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
B.Jedderis@ich.ucl.ac.uk

AIMS: To assess (i) continuities in binge drinking across adulthood and (ii) the
association between adolescent drinking level and adult binge drinking. DESIGN:
Population-based prospective birth cohort. SETTING: England, Scotland and Wales.
PARTICIPANTS: All births during one week in March 1958 (n = 8520 in analysis).
MEASUREMENTS: Alcohol consumption reported at 16, 23, 33 and 42 years. Binge
drinkers were identified by dividing number of units of alcohol consumed in the last
week by usual drinking frequency, with limits of >/=10 units/occasion for men and
>/=7 for women. FINDINGS: Four in five cohort members drank alcohol at least
twice a month. Prevalences of binge drinking at 23, 33 and 42 years among men
were 37%, 28% and 31% and among women 18%, 13% and 14%. Most binge
drinkers in adulthood changed drinking status during this period. Nevertheless,
binge drinking at age 23 increased the odds of binge drinking at 42 years: odds
ratio (OR) 2.10 (95% CI 1.85, 2.39) for men; OR 1.56 (95% CI 1.29,1.89) for
women. Women who rarely or never drank aged 16 were less likely than light
drinkers (0-2 units/week) to binge drink as adults, OR at 23 years 0.65 (95% CI
0.55, 0.77). Men who were heavier drinkers (>/=7 units/week) at 16 years were
more likely than light drinkers to binge drink throughout adulthood; at 42 years, OR
1.64 (95% CI 1.33, 2.08). CONCLUSIONS: Binge drinking is common in British men
and women throughout adulthood with continuities between the 20s and 40s.
Adolescent drinking has a modest although important association with adult binge
drinking

J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007 Oct;61(10):902-7.

Links

Adult outcomes of binge drinking in adolescence: findings from a UK national birth

cohort.
Viner RM, Taylor B.
Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, London, UK. R.Viner@ich.ucl.ac.uk

AIMS: The aim of the study was to determine outcomes in adult life of binge
drinking in adolescence in a national birth cohort. DESIGN AND SETTING:
Longitudinal birth cohort: 1970 British Birth Cohort Study surveys at 16 years
(1986) and 30 years (2000). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11 622 subjects participated
at age 16 years and 11 261 subjects participated at age 30 years. MEASUREMENTS:
At the age of 16 years, data on binge drinking (defined as two or more episodes of
drinking four or more drinks in a row in the previous 2 weeks) and frequency of
habitual drinking in the previous year were collected. Thirty-year outcomes
recorded were alcohol dependence/abuse (CAGE questionnaire), regular weekly
alcohol consumption (number of units), illicit drug use, psychological morbidity
(Malaise Inventory) and educational, vocational and social history. FINDINGS:
17.7% of participants reported binge drinking in the previous 2 weeks at the age of
16 years. Adolescent binge drinking predicted an increased risk of adult alcohol
dependence (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.0), excessive regular consumption (OR 1.7,
95% CI 1.4 to 2.1), illicit drug use (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.8), psychiatric
morbidity (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.9), homelessness (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.4),
convictions (1.9, 95% CI 1.4 to 2.5), school exclusion (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.9 to 8.2),
lack of qualifications (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.6), accidents (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to
1.6) and lower adult social class, after adjustment for adolescent socioeconomic
status and adolescent baseline status of the outcome under study. These findings
were largely unchanged in models including both adolescent binge drinking and
habitual frequent drinking as main effects. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent binge
drinking is a risk behaviour associated with significant later adversity and social
exclusion. These associations appear to be distinct from those associated with
habitual frequent alcohol use. Binge drinking may contribute to the development of
health and social inequalities during the transition from adolescence to adulthood
Addiction. 2004 Dec;99(12):1489-90.

Teenage drinking and the onset of alcohol dependence: a cohort study over seven
years.
Bonomo YA, Bowes G, Coffey C, Carlin JB, Patton GC.
Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. ybonomo@bigpond.com
<ybonomo@bigpond.com>

AIM: To determine whether adolescent alcohol use and/or other adolescent health
risk behaviour predisposes to alcohol dependence in young adulthood. DESIGN:

Seven-wave cohort study over 6 years. PARTICIPANT: A community sample of

almost two thousand individuals followed from ages 14-15 to 20-21 years.
OUTCOME MEASURE: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual volume IV (DSM-IV) alcohol
dependence in participants aged 20-21 years and drinking three or more times a
week. FINDINGS: Approximately 90% of participants consumed alcohol by age 20
years, 4.7% fulfilling DSM-IV alcohol dependence criteria. Alcohol dependence in
young adults was preceded by higher persisting teenage rates of frequent drinking
[odds ratio (OR) 8.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.2, 16], binge drinking (OR 6.7,
95% CI 3.6, 12), alcohol-related injuries (OR 4.5 95% CI 1.9, 11), intense drinking
(OR 4.8, 95% CI 2.6, 8.7), high dose tobacco use (OR 5.5, 95% CI 2.3, 13) and
antisocial behaviour (OR 5.9, 95% CI 3.3, 11). After adjustment for other teenage
predictors frequent drinking (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2, 7.7) and antisocial behaviour (OR
2.4, 95% CI 1.2, 5.1) held persisting independent associations with later alcohol
dependence. There were no prospective associations found with emotional
disturbance in adolescence. CONCLUSION: Teenage drinking patterns and other
health risk behaviours in adolescence predicted alcohol dependence in adulthood.
Prevention and early intervention initiatives to reduce longer-term alcohol-related
harm therefore need to address the factors, including alcohol supply, that influence
teenage consumption and in particular high-risk drinking patterns.

Addiction. 2004 Dec;99(12):1529-41.

Links

Comment in:
Addiction. 2004 Dec;99(12):1489-90.

Drinking patterns in mid-adolescence and psychosocial outcomes in late adolescence

and early adulthood.
Wells JE, Horwood LJ, Fergusson DM.
Department of Public Health and General Practice, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health
Sciences, New Zealand. elisabeth.wells@chmeds.ac.nz

AIMS: To describe the pattern of drinking at age 16 and to relate this to outcomes
at 16-21 years and 21-25 years across a number of psychosocial domains. DESIGN:
A prospective birth cohort study with annual follow-up until age 16 then at 18, 21
and 25 years. SETTING: Christchurch, New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Of 1265
subjects, 953 were interviewed at age 16. MEASUREMENTS: Multiple measures of
family background were collected from birth to 16 years. Alcohol consumption was
measured in terms of frequency, usual or last quantity drunk and most drunk per
occasion. Problems were also recorded. Questions about psychiatric symptoms
enabled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) criteria to be applied. Detailed
reports on educational outcomes, employment, sexual behaviours and offending
were collected. FINDINGS: Four latent classes were required to describe drinking at
age 16, but these appeared to lie along a single dimension which strongly predicted
outcomes at ages 16-21 and 21-25 across all domains (alcohol-related, substance
dependence, mental health, education, sexual relationships and offending). After
controlling for background and correlates only a small number of outcomes were
still related consistently to drinking at age 16 over both periods: most alcohol-

related outcomes, the number of sexual partners and the extent of violent
offending. CONCLUSIONS: Drinking at age 16 is a clear indicator of future lifecourse over most domains in late adolescence and early adulthood. Many of these
associations are due to other covariates. Outcomes specific to drinking at age 16
are alcohol outcomes, number of sexual partners and violence.
PMID: 15585044 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

: Pediatrics. 2008 Apr;121 Suppl 4:S290-310.

Links

A developmental perspective on alcohol and youths 16 to 20 years of age.

Brown SA, McGue M, Maggs J, Schulenberg J, Hingson R, Swartzwelder S,
Martin C, Chung T, Tapert SF, Sher K, Winters KC, Lowman C, Murphy S.
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, USA.
sanbrown@ucsd.edu

Late adolescence (ie, 16-20 years of age) is a period characterized by escalation of

drinking and alcohol use problems for many and by the onset of an alcohol use
disorder for some. This heightened period of vulnerability is a joint consequence of
the continuity of risk from earlier developmental stages and the unique neurologic,
cognitive, and social changes that occur in late adolescence. We review the
normative neurologic, cognitive, and social changes that typically occur in late
adolescence, and we discuss the evidence for the impact of these transitions on
individual drinking trajectories. We also describe evidence linking alcohol abuse in
late adolescence with neurologic damage and social impairments, and we discuss
whether these are the bases for the association of adolescent drinking with
increased risks of mental health, substance abuse, and social problems in
adulthood. Finally, we discuss both the challenges and successes in the treatment
and prevention of adolescent drinking problems.
Pediatrics. 2008 Apr;121 Suppl 4:S273-89.

Links

Transitions into underage and problem drinking: developmental processes and

mechanisms between 10 and 15 years of age.
Windle M, Spear LP, Fuligni AJ, Angold A, Brown JD, Pine D, Smith GT, Giedd
J, Dahl RE.
Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd
NE, Room 520, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. mwindle@sph.emory.edu

Numerous developmental changes occur across levels of personal organization (eg,

changes related to puberty, brain and cognitive-affective structures and functions,
and family and peer relationships) in the age period of 10 to 15 years. Furthermore,
the onset and escalation of alcohol use commonly occur during this period. This
article uses both animal and human studies to characterize these multilevel
developmental changes. The timing of and variations in developmental changes are

related to individual differences in alcohol use. It is proposed that this integrated

developmental perspective serve as the foundation for subsequent efforts to
prevent and to treat the causes, problems, and consequences of alcohol
consumption.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Mar;32(3):375-85. Epub 2008 Jan 30.

Links
Alcohol, psychological dysregulation, and adolescent brain development.
Clark DB, Thatcher DL, Tapert SF.
Pittsburgh Adolescent Alcohol Research Center, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic,
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
clarkdb@upmc.edu

While adolescent alcohol consumption has been asserted to adversely alter brain
development, research in human adolescents has not yet provided us with sufficient
evidence to support or refute this position. Brain constituents actively developing
during adolescence include the prefrontal cortex, limbic system areas, and white
matter myelin. These areas serving cognitive, behavioral, and emotional regulation
may be particularly vulnerable to adverse alcohol effects. Alternatively, deficits or
developmental delays in these structures and their functions may underlie liability
to accelerated alcohol use trajectories in adolescence. This review will describe a
conceptual framework for considering these relationships and summarize the
available studies on the relationships among risk characteristics, alcohol
involvement and brain development during this period. The cross-sectional designs
and small samples characterizing available studies hamper definitive conclusions.
This article will describe some of the opportunities contemporary neuroimaging
techniques offer for advancing understanding of adolescent neurodevelopment and
alcohol involvement.
PMID: 18241320 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Health Econ. 2006 Jun;15(6):617-37.

Links

Alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption by adolescents.

Saffer H, Dave D.
Department of Economics, Kean University, USA. hsaffer@gc.cuny.edu

This study investigates the effects of alcohol advertising on adolescent alcohol

consumption. The theory of an industry response function and evidence from prior
studies indicate the importance of maximizing the variance in advertising measures.
Monitoring the Future (MTF) and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997
(NLSY97) data are augmented with alcohol advertising, originating on the market
level, for five media. The large sample of the MTF allows estimation of race and

gender-specific models. The longitudinal nature of the NLSY97 allows controls for
unobserved heterogeneity with state-level and individual fixed effects. Price and
advertising effects are generally larger for females relative to males. Controls for
individual heterogeneity yield larger advertising effects, implying that the MTF
results may understate the effects of alcohol advertising. Results from the NLSY97
suggest that a 28% reduction in alcohol advertising would reduce adolescent
monthly alcohol participation from 25% to between 24 and 21%. For binge
participation, the reduction would be from 12% to between 11 and 8%. The past
month price-participation elasticity is estimated at -0.26, consistent with prior
studies. The results show that reduction of alcohol advertising can produce a
modest decline in adolescent alcohol consumption, though effects may vary by race
and gender. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Affective decision-making deficits, linked to a dysfunctional ventromedial prefrontal

cortex, revealed in 10th grade Chinese adolescent binge drinkers.
Johnson CA, Xiao L, Palmer P, Sun P, Wang Q, Wei Y, Jia Y, Grenard JL,
Stacy AW, Bechara A.
Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, CA 91803, United States. carljpohn@usc.edu

The primary aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that adolescent binge
drinkers, but not lighter drinkers, would show signs of impairment on tasks of
affective decision-making as measured by the Iowa Gambling Test (IGT), when
compared to adolescents who never drank. We tested 207 10th grade adolescents
in Chengdu City, China, using two versions of the IGT, the original and a variant, in
which the reward/punishment contingencies were reversed. This enables one to
distinguish among different possibilities of impaired decision-making, such as
insensitivity to long-term consequences, or hypersensitivity to reward. Furthermore,
we tested working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT).
Paper and pencil questionnaires were used to assess drinking behaviors and school
academic performance. Results indicated that relative to never-drinkers, adolescent
binge drinkers, but not other (ever, past 30-day) drinkers, showed significantly
lower net scores on the original version of the IGT especially in the latter trials.
Furthermore, the profiles of behavioral performance from the original and variant
versions of the IGT were consistent with a decision-making impairment attributed
to hypersensitivity to reward. In addition, working memory and school academic
performance revealed no differences between drinkers (at all levels) and neverdrinkers. Logistic regression analysis showed that after controlling for demographic
variables, working memory, and school academic performance, the IGT significantly
predicted binge-drinking. These findings suggest that a "myopia" for future
consequences linked to hypersensitivity to reward is a key characteristic of
adolescents with binge-drinking behavior, and that underlying neural mechanisms
for this "myopia" for future consequences may serve as a predisposing factor that
renders some adolescents more susceptible to future addictive behaviors.

Decision making and binge drinking: a longitudinal study.

Goudriaan AE, Grekin ER, Sher KJ.

University of Missouri-Columbia, and the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia,
Missouri 65211, USA. goudriaana@missouri.edu

BACKGROUND: Behavioral decision making, as measured by the Iowa Gambling

Task (IGT) is found to be diminished in individuals with substance dependence and
other types of disinhibitory psychopathology. However, little is known regarding the
relation between heavy alcohol use and decision-making skills in young adults. This
study therefore investigated whether binge drinking is related to disadvantageous
decision making, as measured by the IGT. We also examined the relation between
decision making and impulsivity. METHODS: Latent class growth analysis was used
to classify college students into 4 groups (each group n=50, 50% male), based on
their binge drinking trajectories over a 2-year time period (precollege through
second year of college). Participants were 200 college students, divided in 4
subgroups: (1) low binge drinkers, (2) stable moderate binge drinkers, (3)
increasing binge drinkers, and (4) stable high binge drinkers. A measure of decision
making, the IGT, impulsivity questionnaires, and multiple indicators of heavy
alcohol use were included. RESULTS: The stable high binge-drinking group made
less advantageous choices on the IGT than the low binge-drinking group.
Impulsivity was not related to decision-making performance. Decision-making
performance did not differ by gender, but deck preferences and decision time
patterns did differ; women preferred low frequency, high amount punishments to a
greater extent than men. CONCLUSIONS: Although disadvantageous decision
making is related to binge-drinking patterns in emerging adulthood, this relation is
independent of impulsivity. Additionally, the association appears attributable to
those who engage in heavy (binge) drinking at an early age, but not to age of onset
of drinking in general.
: Addict Behav. 2008 Feb;33(2):225-34. Epub 2007 Sep 8.

Links

Beyond the "Binge" threshold: heavy drinking patterns and their association with
alcohol involvement indices in college students.
Read JP, Beattie M, Chamberlain R, Merrill JE.
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY,
USA.

Despite its ubiquity, the term "Binge" drinking has been controversial. Among other
things, the grouping of drinkers into a single risk category based on a relatively low
threshold may not capture adequately the nature of problem drinking behaviors.
The present study is an initial examination of the utility of delineating heavy
drinkers into three groups; those who typically drink below the traditional "Binge"
cutoff (less than 4+/5+ drinks per occasion for women/men), those who met
traditional "Binge" drinking criteria, and a higher "Binge" cutoff of 6+/7+ (women,
men). We examined differences in drunkenness, drinking frequency, and unique
types of alcohol problems. Participants (N=356; 184 women) were regularly
drinking college students at a mid-sized U.S. university who completed a battery of
self-report measures including a calendar of daily alcohol consumption, and the 8-

domain Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ). Estimated Blood

Alcohol Levels (eBALs) were calculated. We found that the standard 4+/5+ drink
"Binge" cutoff distinguishes drinkers across some but not all indices of alcohol
involvement. "Binge" drinkers differed from their "Non-Binge" counterparts on
eBAL, but for other indicators (drinking frequency, total alcohol consequences), only
"Heavy Binge" drinkers differed significantly from "Non-Binge" drinkers.
Importantly, "Heavy Binge" drinkers experienced higher levels of those specific
consequences associated with more problematic alcohol involvement. Findings
suggest that not all "Binge" drinkers drink alike, are equally drunk, or experience
similar consequences. As such, there may be utility in distinguishing among heavy
drinkers, in order to focus appropriately on those at greatest risk for different types
of consequences
: Addict Behav. 2004 Jan;29(1):159-79.

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A cognitive model of binge drinking: the influence of alcohol expectancies and

drinking refusal self-efficacy.
Oei TP, Morawska A.
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia. oei@psy.uq.edu.au

While binge drinking-episodic or irregular consumption of excessive amounts of

alcohol-is recognised as a serious problem affecting our youth, to date there has
been a lack of psychological theory and thus theoretically driven research into this
problem. The current paper develops a cognitive model using the key constructs of
alcohol expectancies (AEs) and drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) to explain the
acquisition and maintenance of binge drinking. It is suggested that the four
combinations of the AE and DRSE can explain the four drinking styles. These are
normal/social drinkers, binge drinkers, regular heavy drinkers, and problem
drinkers or alcoholics. Since AE and DRSE are cognitive constructs and therefore
modifiable, the cognitive model can thus facilitate the design of intervention and
prevention strategies for binge drinking.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2003 Jan;165(3):306-12. Epub 2002 Nov 19.

Links
Acute alcohol effects on cognitive function in social drinkers: their relationship to
drinking habits.
Weissenborn R, Duka T.
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK.

RATIONALE: Several studies suggest that cognitive deficits seen in late stages of
alcoholism are related to executive function. However, little is known about the
acute effects of alcohol on cognitive executive functions. AIMS: The present
investigation examined the acute effects of a moderate alcohol dose on tests of
planning and spatial working memory as well as on tests of spatial and pattern
recognition. The relationship between the acute alcohol effects on performance in

these tasks and extreme drinking patterns were also studied. METHODS: Alcohol
(0.8 g/kg) or placebo was administered to 95 social drinkers. In the planning task,
alcohol decreased the number of solutions with the minimum moves. Alcohol also
decreased the thinking time before initiating a response, while it increased the
subsequent thinking time in the same task. Under alcohol, participants recognised
fewer items in the spatial recognition task; however no effect of alcohol was found
in a spatial working memory task and in a pattern recognition task. Among the
participants with moderate to heavy use of alcohol, those who were 'bingers'
performed worse in the spatial working memory and in the pattern recognition task
than 'non-bingers'; no interaction between treatment and drinking pattern was
found. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that alcohol given acutely impairs
executive-type cognitive functions and that binge drinking may be associated with
impaired cognitive function in a working memory and a pattern recognition task.

Binge drinking, cognitive performance and mood in a population of young social

drinkers.
Townshend JM, Duka T.
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG.

BACKGROUND: Binge drinking may lead to brain damage and have implications for
the development of alcohol dependence. The aims of the present study were to
determine individual characteristics as well as to compare mood states and
cognitive function between binge and nonbinge drinkers and thus further validate
the new tool used to identify these populations among social drinkers. METHODS:
The lowest and the highest 33.3% from a database of 245 social drinkers' binge
scores derived from the Alcohol Use Questionnaire (AUQ) were used as cutoff points
to identify nonbinge drinkers and binge drinkers in a further population of 100
young healthy volunteers. Personality characteristics, expectations of the effects of
alcohol and current mood were evaluated. Cognitive performance was tested with a
Matching to Sample Visual Search task (MTS) and a Spatial Working Memory task
(SWM) both from the CANTAB battery, and a Vigilance task from the Gordon
Diagnostic System. RESULTS: The binge drinkers had less positive mood than the
nonbinge drinkers. In the MTS choice time on an 8-pattern condition and movement
time on an 8- and 4-pattern condition was found to be faster in the binge drinkers
compared to nonbinge drinkers. A gender by binge drinking interaction in the SWM
and the Gordon Diagnostic System task revealed that female binge drinkers were
worse on both these tasks than the female nonbinge drinkers. CONCLUSIONS:
These results confirm previous findings in binge drinkers and suggest that in a
nondependent alcohol-drinking group, differences can be seen in mood and
cognitive performance between those that binge drink and those that do not.