Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on May 9, 2008
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2008 43(5):551-558; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm174
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Relationships Between Alcohol-Related Memory Association and Changes in Mood: Systematic Differences Between High- and Low-Risk Drinkers
1 School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Australia
2 School of Rural Health, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: Michie Building, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, Australia. Tel.: +61 07 33656663; Fax: +61 07 33651544; E-mail a.kelly{at}uq.edu.au
Received 21 September 2007; first review notified 5 November 2007; in revised form 16 November 2007; accepted 23 November 2007
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Abstract |
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Heavy alcohol use is common in undergraduates and is associated with health-risk behaviors, negative consequences, and increased risk for future alcohol dependence. Alcohol-related memory associations (AMAs) and mood changes are independently related to student drinking, but more research on how these variables interact is needed. Aims: To examine (i) how AMAs predict drinking behavior after accounting for depression, and (ii) how changes in negative and positive mood predict AMAs among low- and high-risk drinkers. Methods: Positive and negative moods were manipulated using a musical mood induction procedure immediately prior to completion of memory association measures. A bootstrapped structural equation model was tested, permitting a sampling distribution free of the requirement of normality. Results: Negative mood changes predicted AMAs in high-risk drinkers but not in low-risk drinkers, and the opposite was found for positive mood changes. Conclusion: The negative mood–AMA association appeared related to risky drinking, and these subtle implicit cognitive processes may warrant a special focus in intervention programs for high-risk drinkers.