Search

Impulsivity's relationships to addictive and sexual behaviours raise questions regarding the extent impulsivity may constitute a vulnerability factor for subsequent addictive and sexual behaviours and/or results from each of these. Here, we systematically reviewed empirical support for impulsivity as a precipitating factor or a consequence of addictive or sexual behaviours. We restricted ourselves to recent, human studies with assessments over time, including at least one measure of impulsivity, addictive and sexual behaviours, yielding a review including 29 published reports from 28 studies. Findings point to generalized, self-reported impulsivity as a predictor of addictive and sexual behaviours at a wide range of severity, with elements of both impulsivity and compulsivity to these acts. Alcohol consumption often increases impulsive behaviour, including inclinations towards impulsive and potentially compulsive sexual acts. Research using the Sexual Delay Discounting Task has yielded findings linking impulsivity, addictive and sexual behaviour and as such is a valuable research tool that should be used more extensively. The present review identified gaps to be addressed in further research that concurrently examines facets of impulsivity, addictive and sexual behaviours, especially because criteria for compulsive sexual behaviour disorder have been included in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases. This article is part of the theme issue 'Risk taking and impulsive behaviour: fundamental discoveries, theoretical perspectives and clinical implications'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social Learning Theory suggests how one conceptualizes time will be passed from parent to child (Bandura & Walters, 1963). Through the lens of Behavioral Economics Theory (Vuchinich & Simpson, 1998), impaired control may be characterized as consuming alcohol as a form of immediate gratification as a choice over more distal rewards. Because impaired control reflects a self-regulation failure specific to the drinking situation, it may be directly related to time-perspectives. Objectives: This investigation explored whether or not the indirect influences of perceived parenting styles on alcohol use and related problems is mediated by both facets of time-perspective (e.g. hedonism, present-fatalism, future, past-positive, past-negative) and impaired control over drinking. Methods: We examined a structural equation model with 391 (207 women; 184 men) college student drinkers. We used an asymmetric bias-corrected bootstrap technique to conduct mediational analyses (MacKinnon, 2008). Results: Higher levels of past-positive time-perspective were indirectly linked to both less alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems through less impaired control. In contrast, higher levels of present-fatalism were indirectly linked to more alcohol use through more impaired control. Higher levels of father permissiveness and mother authoritarianism were indirectly linked to both more impaired control and alcohol use through more present-fatalism. In addition, higher levels of father authoritarianism were indirectly linked to more alcohol use through more hedonism. Conclusions/Implications: Our results support the notion that drinking beyond one's self-prescribed limits is associated with time-perspectives related to negative aspects of the parent-offspring socialization process, such as fatalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recommendations that medications be considered for patients with alcohol dependence, the mainstay of treatment has been counseling. We designed a survey to assess the treatment practices of psychiatrists and family medicine (FM) physicians in an effort to identify barriers to the use of pharmacotherapy and develop strategies to increase physician knowledge and utilization of these medications. Methods: An anonymous online survey was sent to FM physicians and psychiatrists nationwide. The survey collected demographic information and assessed prescription of medications in treating AUDs, including FDA-approved medications and other medications used off-label for this purpose. We also examined factors that would lead to an increase in AUDs pharmacotherapy. Results: A total of 491 surveys were completed, with 475 responses included in the final analyses. 45.5% of participants were psychiatrists vs. 54.5% FM physicians. The 74.7% respondents had used medications to treat AUDs, with psychiatrists more likely to have prescribed acamprosate, naltrexone, and several off-label medications. FM physicians were more likely to report efficacy concerns. A majority of all physicians sampled would increase pharmacotherapy of AUDs with increased training. Discussion: In our sample, most physicians have used medications to treat AUDs. There were concerns about efficacy with all non-FDA-approved medications, but limited treatment success even with FDA-approved medications. Greater education about pharmacotherapy, including predictors for treatment response amongst patients, should help alleviate some of the uncertainties reported with medications' efficacy and lead to a more individualized treatment approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this review is to discuss recent findings related to sex differences in behavioral dyscontrol that lead to drug addiction, and clinical implications for humans are discussed. This review includes research conducted in animals and humans that reveals fundamental aspects of behavioral dyscontrol. The importance of sex differences in aspects of behavioral dyscontrol, such as impulsivity and compulsivity, is discussed as major determinants of drug addiction. Behavioral dyscontrol during adolescence is also an important consideration, as this is the time of onset for drug addiction. These vulnerability factors additively increase drug-abuse vulnerability, and they are integral aspects of addiction that covary and interact with sex differences. Sex differences in treatments for drug addiction are also reviewed in terms of their ability to modify the behavioral dyscontrol that underlies addictive behavior. Customized treatments to reduce behavioral dyscontrol are discussed, such as (1) using natural consequences such as non-drug rewards (e.g., exercise) to maintain abstinence, or using punishment as a consequence for drug use, (2) targeting factors that underlie behavioral dyscontrol, such as impulsivity or anxiety, by repurposing medications to relieve these underlying conditions, and (3) combining two or more novel behavioral or pharmacological treatments to produce additive reductions in drug seeking. Recent published work has indicated that factors contributing to behavioral dyscontrol are an important target for advancing our knowledge on the etiology of drug abuse, intervening with the drug addiction process and developing novel treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]