Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on May 24, 2005
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2005 40(5):474-481; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh165
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SALIVARY CORTISOL: A PREDICTOR OF CONVICTIONS FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL?
1 Douglas Hospital Research Center, Verdun, Quebec, Canada, 2 Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 3 Pavillon Foster Addiction Treatment Program, St Philippe de Laprairie, Quebec, Canada, 4 Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada and 5 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: Thomas G. Brown, Douglas Hospital Research Center, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Perry 4, Verdun, Quebec, Canada H4H 1R3. Tel.: +1 514 761 6131 (ext. 3415); Fax: +1 514 762 3033; E-mail: thomas.brown{at}mcgill.ca
(Received 9 February 2005; first review notified 8 March 2005; in revised form 4 April 2005; accepted 6 April 2005)
Aims: To examine the relationship between salivary cortisol and frequency of past driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) convictions. Methods: A total of 104 males with previous DUI convictions (from one to eight) and mean age of 44.7 years were assessed on measures characterizing repeat DUI offenders, including sociodemographic information, alcohol use behaviours, biological indices of the organic consequences of chronic abuse, negative consequences of excessive drinking, past DUI conviction history, impulse control, and antisocial behaviour tendencies. Saliva samples were taken approximately every 30 min over a 6 h period during an exhaustive multidimensional assessment protocol, and were then assayed to obtain cortisol responses. Results: Blunted cortisol response, typically observed in alcoholics and in high-risk non-alcoholics, was associated with increased number of past DUI convictions. This association was particularly pronounced in multiple DUI offenders, and was stronger than, and independent of, other measures of alcohol use severity and chronicity commonly used for DUI assessment. Conclusions: Cortisol response may be useful in understanding the mediators underlying repeat DUI offending and the frequent failure of intervention efforts in curbing DUI behaviour.