Matthew T. Keough

Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) predicts that the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) may relate to coping-motivated problem gambling, given its central role in anxiety. Studies examining the BIS-problem gambling association, however, are mixed. The revised RST posits that the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) may moderate the effect of the BIS on coping-motivated problem gambling. A concurrently strong BAS may highlight the negatively reinforcing effects of gambling, which may strengthen coping motives and increase gambling-related harms. We examined these interactive effects to clarify the moderators and mediators of the negative reinforcement pathway to problem gambling. Data came from a larger investigation of problem gambling among individuals with mood disorders. All participants (N = 275) met criteria for a lifetime depressive or bipolar disorder. During a two-day assessment, participants completed a diagnostic assessment and self-reports. Mediated moderation path analysis showed positive indirect effects from the BIS to problem gambling via coping motives at high, but not at low, levels of BAS-Reward Responsiveness and BAS-Fun Seeking. Enhancement motives were also found to mediate the associations of BAS-Fun Seeking and BAS-Drive with problem gambling. Reward Responsiveness and Fun Seeking facets of the BAS may strengthen coping gambling motives within the mood disorders.

Undergraduate students experience diverse problems because of alcohol use. Accordingly, the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) was developed to assess multiple domains of alcohol-related problems. A preliminary psychometric evaluation in a U.S. college sample showed support for 8 factors that were invariant across gender and that loaded onto a single higher-order alcohol-related problems factor. Supporting concurrent validity, this preliminary work also found that YAACQ total scores correlated with heavy alcohol use. While these results are promising, the factor structure of the YAACQ has yet to be replicated. This goal of this study was to test the psychometrics of the YAACQ in a large Canadian student sample. Invariance across gender, year of study, place of residence, and relative drinking level was examined. Correlations between the YAACQ subscales and alcohol use measures were investigated to test concurrent validity. Students (N = 1,103, 80% women) completed online self-reports. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported an 8-factor lower-order structure, with all factors loading onto a single higher-order alcohol-related problems factor. Multigroup CFAs supported measurement invariance across gender, year of study, place of residence, and relative drinking level. YAACQ subscales were positively correlated with weekly alcohol use and binge drinking. Our study provides an important replication of the psychometrics of the YAACQ in a new sample, and we extend previous work by presenting novel tests of measurement invariance across meaningful groups in young adulthood. Overall, our study suggests that the 48-item YAACQ is a valid measure of alcohol-related problems in Canadian students.

Our results suggest that explicit cognitions may be relevant to drinking among anxious individuals who are also reward responsive. Cognitive behavioral interventions should target reward expectancies to reduce anxiety-related drinking.

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory predicts that those with a strong behavioral inhibition system (BIS) likely experience considerable anxiety and uncertainty during the transition out of university. Accordingly, they may continue to drink heavily to cope during this time (a period associated with normative reductions in heavy drinking), but only if they also have a strong behavioral approach system (BAS) to enhance the anxiolytic effects of drinking. The purpose of this study was to test this hypothesis. Participants completed online measures prior to and at 3-month intervals over the course of the year following graduation. As hypothesized, results showed that an elevated BIS predicted impeded maturing out, but only when the impulsivity facet of BAS was also elevated. In contrast, a strong BIS predicted rapid maturing out if BAS impulsivity was weak. Study findings advance our understanding of BIS-related alcohol misuse trajectories in young adulthood and provide direction for clinical interventions.

Background: In response to conflicting reward (Behavioral Approach System [BAS]) and/or punishment cues (Fight‐Flight‐Freeze System [FFFS]) the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) inhibits behavior, leading to increased attention to threat, high anxiety, and behavioral ambivalence. The role of BIS in alcohol misuse is complex, as anxiety promotes self‐medication drinking, while attention to threat (e.g., negative outcomes of heavy drinking) may reduce risk. Theory suggests that a concurrent strong BAS may bias BIS‐conflict in favor of alcohol approach, while a concurrent strong FFFS may increase the likelihood of alcohol avoidance. However, few studies measure BIS as a conflict system, and no studies incorporate such a measure into examinations of alcohol misuse. Our study goals were to (i) test the Motivational Flanker Task (MFT) as a new laboratory measure of the BIS, BAS, and FFFS; and (ii) use the MFT, in conjunction with self‐report measures, to test BAS and FFFS as moderators of the BIS‐alcohol misuse relation. We hypothesized that an elevated BIS would predict heavy drinking and alcohol‐related problems, but only when BAS was high. Further, we expected an elevated BIS to be associated with reduced alcohol misuse, but only when FFFS was high.Methods: Students (N = 198) completed self‐reports of BIS/BAS/FFFS and drinking behavior, and 2 reaction time tasks: MFT and Point Scoring Reaction Time Task (PSRTT). The PSRTT is a published measure of the revised BIS.Results: MFT BIS conflict was associated with self‐report and PSRTT measures. MFT BAS, but not FFFS, was associated with self‐reports. As expected, elevated BIS was associated with heavy drinking, but only when BAS‐Drive and BAS‐Fun Seeking was also high. FFFS was not supported as a moderator of the BIS‐alcohol misuse association.Conclusions: Results support the MFT as a promising measure of the revised BIS. Considering the joint effects of BIS and BAS clarified risk for alcohol misuse.