Affective decision-making moderates the effects of automatic associations on alcohol use among drug offenders.

BACKGROUND: This study used a dual-process model of cognition in order to investigate the possible influence of automatic and deliberative processes on lifetime alcohol use in a sample of drug offenders.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine if automatic/implicit associations in memory can exert an influence over an individual's alcohol use and if decision-making ability could potentially modify the influence of these associations.

METHODS: 168 participants completed a battery of cognitive tests measuring implicit alcohol associations in memory (verb generation) as well as their affective decision-making ability (Iowa Gambling Task). Structural equation modeling procedures were used to test the relationship between implicit associations, decision-making, and lifetime alcohol use.

RESULTS: Results revealed that among participants with lower levels of decision-making, implicit alcohol associations more strongly predicted higher lifetime alcohol use.

CONCLUSION: These findings provide further support for the interaction between a specific decision function and its influence over automatic processes in regulating alcohol use behavior in a risky population. Understanding the interaction between automatic associations and decision processes may aid in developing more effective intervention components.