@article{ref1,
title="Limited evidence of associations between executive functioning and alcohol involvement in UK adolescents",
journal="Alcohol and alcoholism",
year="2021",
author="Burton, Sam and Puddephatt, Jo-Anne and Baines, Laura and Sheen, Florence and Warren, Jasmine G. and Jones, Andrew",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="AIMS: Deficits in motor inhibitory control and working memory have been hypothesized to be both a cause and consequence of heavy alcohol use. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage for inhibitory control and working memory, and it is also a stage when individuals are most likely to initiate alcohol use. This study aimed to examine whether inhibitory control and working memory would predict alcohol use and involvement in a group of UK adolescents. <br><br>METHODS: We recruited 220 (N = 178, female) adolescents, aged between 16 and 18, from eight higher education settings in the Merseyside region of the UK. Alcohol use was examined using the Timeline Follow-Back and involvement (and related problems) using the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale. A reward-based inhibitory control task (Go/No-Go) was used to examine the inhibition and reward sensitivity, and a self-ordered pointing task was used to measure working memory. <br><br>RESULTS: Multiple regression demonstrated that neither inhibitory control (b = 0.02 (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.21, 0.24)) nor working memory (b = -0.12 (95% CI: -0.30, 0.07)) were significant predictors of alcohol use (units consumed). Inhibitory control (b = 0.61 (95% CI: 0.12, 1.09), specifically, in the no reward condition and school deprivation (b = 0.67 (95% CI: 0.06, 1.28) significantly predicted alcohol-related problems. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated limited evidence that deficits in specific mechanisms of executive functioning (i.e. motor inhibition and working memory) were associated with alcohol-related problems in UK adolescents. This study adds to an increasing body of literature suggesting weak or non-existent links between inhibitory control, working memory and alcohol use.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0735-0414",
doi="10.1093/alcalc/agab020",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agab020"
}