Differential neurocognitive functioning and personality traits in underage drinking

RIVAROLA MONTEJANO, GABRIELA; PILATTI, ANGELINA; PAUTASSI, RICARDO MARCOS

Congreso; Social and Affective Neuroscience Society Virtual Conference; 2021

Social and Affective Neuroscience Society

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Underage drinking is associated with negative consequences, including alterations in brain development that translate into poor cognitive functioning. Personality traits linked to drinking include impulsivity, sensation seeking and risk taking, yet there is a scarcity of studies that analyzed these associations in early adolescence, at the onset of alcohol use. This study examined, separately for pre-adolescents (11-13 years old) and adolescents (14-16 years old), the relationship between impulsivity, risk taking and cognitive flexibility and alcohol consumption. METHODS: 974 pre-adolescents and adolescents (Mage= 13.30±0.95; 55% women) from Cordoba (Argentina) completed the UPPS-P Scale (assesses 5 dimensions of trait-like impulsivity: Positive and Negative Urgency, Sensation Seeking, Lack of Premeditation and Lack of Perseverance) and reported last-year frequency of alcohol use. They also completed a neuropsychological battery: 1- Balloon Analogue Risk Task: Assesses risk taking (dependent variable [DV]= adjusted average pumps), 2-Go-No Go Task: measures inhibitory control (DV= commission errors) and inattention (DV= omission errors) and 3-Wisconsin Card Sorting Test:evaluates cognitive functioning (DV= perseverative errors). We conducted multiple regressions analysis, predicting last year frequency of alcohol use as a function of impulsivity, risk taking, inhibitory control, inattention and cognitive flexibility. RESULTS: The model accounted for 13% of the variance of frequency of alcohol use in pre-adolescents (Fchange= 9.13, p≤ .001). Negative Urgency (β= .13, p≤ .05), Sensation Seeking (β= .10, p≤ .05), Positive Urgency (β= .12, p≤ .05), Adjusted Average Pumps (β= .14, p≤ .05) and Omission Errors (β= .09, p≤ .05) were associated with a higher frequency of alcohol use. Among the adolescents, three dimensions of trait-like impulsivity and cognitive functioning significantly explained 18% of thevariance of frequency of alcohol consumption (Fchange= 10.28, p≤ .001). Specifically, Negative Urgency (β= .15, p≤ .01), Lack of Perseverance (β= .16, p≤ .01), Sensation Seeking (β=.23, p≤. 001) and Perseverative Errors (β= .11, p≤ .05) were positively associated with a higher frequency of alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that trait-like impulsivity was significantly associated to substance usebehaviors in pre-adolescents and adolescents. In the younger group, but not in the older one, higher scores in risk taking and inattention explained higher frequency of alcohol use. In contrast, alcohol use in the adolescents was associated with diminished cognitive flexibility. This study helps disentangle predictors of underage drinking at two stages of adolescence. The design of prevention and intervention strategies should attend the noted differences between pre-adolescents andadolescents.