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Neural and psychological characteristics of college students with alcoholic parents differ depending on current alcohol use.

ABSTRACT: A significant proportion of college students are adult children of an alcoholic parent (ACoA), which can confer greater risk of depression, poor self-esteem, alcohol and drug problems, and greater levels of college attrition. However, some ACoA are resilient to these negative outcomes. The goal of this study was to better understand the psychobiological factors that distinguish resilient and vulnerable college-aged ACoAs. To do so, scholastic performance and psychological health were measured in ACoA college students not engaged in hazardous alcohol use (resilient) and those currently engaged in hazardous alcohol use (vulnerable). Neural activity (as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging) in response to performing working memory and emotion-based tasks were assessed. Furthermore, the frequency of polymorphisms in candidate genes associated with substance use, risk taking and stress reactivity were compared between the two ACoA groups. College ACoAs currently engaged in hazardous alcohol use reported more anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and increased risky nicotine and marijuana use as compared to ACoAs resistant to problem alcohol use. ACoA college students with current problem alcohol showed greater activity of the middle frontal gyrus and reduced activation of the posterior cingulate in response to visual working memory and emotional processing tasks, which may relate to increased anxiety and problem alcohol and drug behaviors. Furthermore, polymorphisms of cholinergic receptor and the serotonin transporter genes also appear to contribute a role in problem alcohol use in ACoAs. Overall, findings point to several important psychobiological variables that distinguish ACoAs based on their current alcohol use that may be used in the future for early intervention.

SUBMITTER: Brown-Rice KA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5690848 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neural and psychological characteristics of college students with alcoholic parents differ depending on current alcohol use.

Brown-Rice Kathleen A KA Scholl Jamie L JL Fercho Kelene A KA Pearson Kami K Kallsen Noah A NA Davies Gareth E GE Ehli Erik A EA Olson Seth S Schweinle Amy A Baugh Lee A LA Forster Gina L GL

Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 20170920

A significant proportion of college students are adult children of an alcoholic parent (ACoA), which can confer greater risk of depression, poor self-esteem, alcohol and drug problems, and greater levels of college attrition. However, some ACoA are resilient to these negative outcomes. The goal of this study was to better understand the psychobiological factors that distinguish resilient and vulnerable college-aged ACoAs. To do so, scholastic performance and psychological health were measured in ...[more]

PMID: 28939188

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Project description:BackgroundMatriculation from high school to college is typified by an increase in alcohol use and related harm for many students. Therefore, this transition period is an ideal time for preventive interventions to target alcohol use and related problems.PurposeThe purpose of this report is to describe the design and methods used in the Transitions Project, a randomized controlled trial of two interventions designed to prevent and reduce heavy episodic drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences among incoming college students.MethodsThis study used a 2 × 2 factorial design to investigate the effects of a two-session brief motivational intervention delivered to students and a handbook-based parent intervention. Interventions were administered to students and parents. Follow-up assessment took place at 10- and 22-months post-baseline.ResultsThe Transitions Project successfully recruited and retained participants across a major transition period (i.e., entering college), administered and compared two distinct but complementary interventions, and collected and analyzed highly skewed data. The application of a factorial design and two-part latent growth curve modeling allowed us to examine main and interactive intervention effects in terms of both initiation and growth in heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems.LimitationsWhile we conducted successful tests of our primary and secondary study hypotheses over a lengthy follow-up period, our study design did not permit full interpretation of null findings. We suggest that researchers carefully consider assessment timing, tests of assessment reactivity, and ensure objective tests of intervention efficacy when conducting clinical trials of motivational interventions.ConclusionsThe lessons we learned while conducting this trial have the potential to assist other researchers designing and conducting future preventive interventions targeting parents and college students. The data analytic procedures presented can also help guide trials that plan to analyze zero-inflated non-normal outcome data.

Dataset Information

Neural and psychological characteristics of college students with alcoholic parents differ depending on current alcohol use.

Publications

Neural and psychological characteristics of college students with alcoholic parents differ depending on current alcohol use.

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