Key result
Greater lifetime trauma linked to reduced alcohol self-efficacy, partially mediated by alcohol attentional bias.
Observational (n=58)
In alcohol dependent inpatients, attentional bias to alcohol cues partially mediates the link between lifetime trauma and reduced alcohol self-efficacy.
Hypothesis-generating for attentional bias interventions in trauma-exposed alcohol-dependent patients; prospective studies needed before practice change.
Objective: Self-medication with alcohol has been documented among individuals exposed to chronic trauma who may be unable to resist urges to drink in high-risk situations. Persistent alcohol use can result in attentional bias (AB) toward alcohol cues and psychophysiological reactivity such as changes in cue-elicited heart rate variability (HRV). The present study tested the hypothesis that individual differences in alcohol AB and HRV mediate the association between lifetime exposure to traumatic events and alcohol-related self-efficacy among a sample of alcohol dependent adults in inpatient treatment.Method: This paper details a secondary data analysis from a sample of alcohol dependent adults (N = 58) who completed standardized psychosocial instruments, an affect-modulated cue reactivity protocol, and a spatial cueing task.Results: Path analyses indicated statistically significant direct effects of levels of lifetime trauma exposure on Low Frequency/High Frequency-HRV cue-reactivity, alcohol AB, and alcohol self-efficacy. A statistically significant indirect effect was found from lifetime trauma exposure to alcohol-related self-efficacy through alcohol AB.Conclusions: Results suggest that alcohol AB partially mediates the relationship between greater lifetime trauma exposure and reduced alcohol self-efficacy. Hence, alcohol dependent individuals with more extensive trauma histories may benefit from therapies aimed at increasing self-awareness and self-regulation of attentional and autonomic reactivity to prevent risk of relapse.
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Garland et al. (2015) conducted an observational in Alcohol dependence (n=58). Lifetime exposure to traumatic events was evaluated on Alcohol-related self-efficacy and its mediation by alcohol attentional bias and heart rate variability. Greater lifetime trauma exposure was significantly associated with reduced alcohol self-efficacy, a relationship that was partially mediated by alcohol attentional bias.
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