RELATION BETWEEN EXECUTIVE COGNITIVE-FUNCTIONING AND THE ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES OF ALCOHOL-USE IN SOCIAL DRINKERS

The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between Executive Cognitive Functioning (ECF) and the adverse consequences of alcohol c onsumption. ECF encompasses ''higher order'' cognitive abilities invol ved in goal-directed behavior, such as attentional control, mental fle xibility, planning, and self-monitoring. Impaired ECF has been shown t o result in a variety of negative consequences, including excessive dr ug and alcohol use. Subjects were 79 nonalcoholic male social drinkers between 17 to 30 years of age. ECF was measured using three neuropsyc hological tests:the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Conditiona l Associative learning Test (CAT), and the Sequential Matching Memory Test (SMMT). Adverse drinking consequences were measured using the Dri nker Inventory of Consequences (DrinC). The DrinC assesses drinking co nsequences in five domains: Physical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, So cial Responsibility, and Impulse Control. Scores from the neuropsychol ogical tests were reduced into two latent variables: one representing the WCST and the other representing the CAT and SMMT. The results indi cated that errors on the CAT/SMMT variable were positively related to adverse consequences in each domain, except for physical consequences. A similar association was found between the WCST variable and impulse control consequences. These findings indicate that performance on tes ts measuring ECF is related to the severity of drinking consequences. Therefore, prevention and treatment outcomes may be improved by incorp orating cognitive habilitation into current interventions.