Reduced Social Network Drinking is Associated with Improved Response Inhibition in Women During Early Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorders: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Social support for recovery from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is associated with better drinking outcomes and with improvements in self-reported impulsive behavior in individuals treated for AUDs. We build on these findings by using a behavioral task-based measure of response inhibition, a well-defined component of impulsivity, to examine the association of disinhibition with alcohol-specific social network characteristics during early recovery. METHODS: Women (n=28) were recruited from treatment for AUD within 3–4 weeks of their last drink and were assessed at baseline and again 3 months later. Outcome measures were level of disinhibition at baseline and change in disinhibition from baseline to follow-up, measured using a computer-based continuous performance test. The primary independent variables were level of drinking in the social network at baseline, and change in network drinking from baseline to follow-up. Control variables included participants’ recent alcohol consumption, IQ, and self-reported negative urgency. RESULTS: The sample (50% black, age M(SD)=42.3 (9.5)) reported high rates of physical and sexual abuse before age 13 (43%), psychiatric disorder (60%), and previous treatment (71%); these variables were not associated with disinhibition. More drinking in participants’ social networks was associated with greater disinhibition at baseline (β= 11.8, 95% CI= 6.0, 17.6). A reduction in network drinking from baseline to follow-up was associated with reduced disinhibition (interaction of network drinking x time on disinhibition: β = −5.4, 95% CI=−10.1, −.59), adjusted for control variables. CONCLUSIONS: This study extends previous findings of an association between social networks and self-reported impulsivity to a neurobehavioral phenotype, response inhibition. Replication of these findings would support the potential role of social network drinking in cognitive change during early recovery from AUDs.