Copyright (c) 2012 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers Recent documents in Mike Lyvers en-us Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:19:28 PST 3600 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/41 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/41 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:50:40 PDT Objective: The present investigation examined the relationship between alcohol intoxication and risky sex intentions in naturalistic settings.

Methods: Heterosexual young adults (n = 72) were approached at a campus pub and at campus parties. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured by a breath test and ranged from 0 to 0.18%. Participants rated their likely intent to have sex with 10 highly attractive unfamiliar models of the opposite gender, as depicted in photographs, if the opportunity arose. Photos varied in terms of accompanying information regarding risk, with three levels: slight risk, moderate risk and high risk.

Results: BAC was significantly positively correlated with self-reported likelihood of young adult men engaging in risky sex with highly attractive unfamiliar models at all risk levels, whereas in young adult women the relationship was significant only at the slight risk level. Men reported significantly higher intent to have risky sex than women did at all risk levels.

Conclusions: Results are discussed in terms of the framework of alcohol myopia theory as well as alternative interpretations.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/40 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/40 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:50:38 PDT The primary purpose of this meta-analysis was to explore, clarify and report the strength of the relationship between alexithymia, as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and parenting style as measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI).

Methods - Web of Science, PsycInfo, PubMed and ProQuest: Dissertations and Theses searches were undertaken, yielding nine samples with sufficient data to be included in the meta-analysis.

Results - Evidence indicated moderate to strong relationships between maternal care and alexithymia, and between maternal care and two of the three TAS-20 alexithymia facets (Difficulties Describing Feelings and Difficulties Identifying Feelings, but not Externally Oriented Thinking). Moderate relationships were observed for both maternal- and paternal-overprotection and alexithymia respectively, and for overprotection (both maternal and paternal) and Difficulties Describing Feelings.

Conclusion - This study is the first meta-analysis of the relationship between parenting styles and alexithymia, and findings confirm an especially strong association between maternal care and key elements of alexithymia. This review highlights the issues that still remain to be addressed in exploring the link between parenting style and alexithymia.

]]> F. A. Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/39 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/39 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:50:37 PDT Numerous models have been proposed in an attempt to explain both alcohol use and alcohol abuse. Many of these models propose that drinking behaviour is the result of a complex interplay of cognitive and behavioural variables including coping strategies, alcohol expectancies and motives for drinking. However few studies have explored how these elements may work together to predict drinking. The current study proposed a mediational model of alcohol use in which coping strategies are related to alcohol expectancies, which in turn are related to drinking motives. Drinking motives were then viewed as proximal predictors of drinking behaviour. There were 454 participants (55.78% female) who completed self-report questionnaires assessing the above constructs. Approximately half the participants completed the questionnaires online, while the others completed the paper and pencil versions of the same measures. Findings generally supported the hypothesised model. The relationship between avoidant coping and drinking behaviour was mediated by alcohol expectancies of increased confidence and tension reduction, which in turn were related to drinking motives. As expected, drinking motives were positively related to drinking behaviour. Negative expectancies were also directly related to drinking behaviour. The results are discussed in light of cognitive models of drinking, and implications for prevention and early intervention of alcohol-use problems.

]]> Penelope Hasking et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/38 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/38 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:50:36 PDT Excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to predisposing traits that may reflect frontal lobe functioning, an idea explored by this study. The study recruited 132 adults of both genders aged 18-68 years who completed an online questionnaire battery. Sensitivity to punishment was the primary variable associated with age of onset for weekly drinking. The relationship between disinhibition and drinking behavior, as assessed by the AUDIT, was partially mediated by sensitivity to reward. The findings of this study suggest that several interrelated and heritable personality and neurobehavioral traits may promote earlier as well as riskier alcohol consumption.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/37 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/37 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:50:34 PDT Attachment difficulties have been proposed as a key risk factor for the development of alexithymia, a multifaceted personality trait characterised by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, a lack of imagination and an externally oriented thinking style. This study investigated the relationship between attachment and alexithymia in an alcohol dependent population. Participants were 210 outpatients in a Cognitive Behavioural Treatment programme assessed on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Revised Adult Attachment Scale. Significant relationships between anxious attachment and alexithymia factors were confirmed. Furthermore, alexithymic alcoholics reported significantly higher levels of anxious attachment and significantly lower levels of closeness (secure attachment) compared to non-alexithymic alcoholics. These findings highlight the importance of assessing and targeting anxious attachment among alexithymic alcoholics in order to improve alcohol treatment outcomes.

]]> F.A. Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/36 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/36 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:45:37 PDT Extract:

Halpern and colleagues [1] have overcome some of the methodological issues raised previously [2] concerning their initial pilot study of ecstasy users [3]. Their latest study [1] found that of 15 neuropsychological tests tapping various cognitive and memory functions reported previously by others to differentiate ecstasy users from controls, only the Revised Strategy Applications Test (RSAT) showed a clear indication of poorer performance in heavy (but not moderate) ecstasy users compared to controls, ecstasy users were selected for low exposure to other illicit drugs and alcohol, whereas in most other studies of this type the influence of potentially confounding associations between the use of ecstasy and other substances could not be ruled out entirely [4-7]. Farther, the non-user controls recruited by Halpern etal.[1] were members of the ’rave’ subculture like the ecstasy users, card the analyses adjusted for demographic and other factors [e.g. attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD)] that might have also acted as confounds. For such reasons this may be the most informative retrospective study to date of cognition mid memory in ecstasy users.

]]> Michael Lyvers http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/35 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/35 Mon, 21 May 2012 20:00:33 PDT Background: Recent studies have indicated that 45–67% of those in treatment for alcohol use disorders suffer from alexithymia, a multifaceted personality trait characterized by difficulties identifying and describing emotions and an externally oriented cognitive style. The high reported prevalence rates of alexithymia among those with alcohol dependence led to speculation that alexithymia is a personality dimension that may predispose to risky or problematic alcohol use.

Methods: This notion was examined in 314 adult volunteers (54% female) aged 18–45 years (M=27.6 years), all of whom reported at least occasional alcohol consumption,who completed online surveys assessing alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale, or TAS-20), parental alcoholism(Children of Alcoholics Screening Test, or CAST), everyday signs of frontal lobe dysfunction (Frontal Systems Behavior Scale, or FrSBe) and risky alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, or AUDIT).

Results: TAS-20 scores were positively correlated with the index of parental alcoholism CAST, index of frontal lobe dysfunction FrSBe and measure of alcohol-related problems AUDIT. Chi-square test showed an association between TAS-20-defined alexithymia and being the offspring of an alcoholic parent as defined by CAST. Regression analysis showed that frontal lobe dysfunction (FrSBe) mediated the relationship between alexithymia (TAS-20
total score) and risky alcohol use (AUDIT).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that alexithymia is related to deficiencies in frontal lobe functioning that may reflect a heritable predisposition to alcohol problems.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/34 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/34 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:40:07 PDT Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/33 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/33 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:40:05 PDT Background
Up to fifty percent of alcohol dependent individuals have alexithymia, a personality trait characterised by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, a lack of imagination and an externalised cognitive style. Although studies have examined alexithymia in relation to alcohol dependence, no research exists on mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examined the mediational effect of alcohol expectancies on alexithymia and alcohol dependence.

Methods
230 outpatients completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (DEQ) and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT).

Results
Regression analysis showed that alexithymia and alcohol dependence was, in two of three cases, partially mediated through alcohol expectancy.

Conclusions
Alcohol expectancies of assertion and affective change show promise as mediators of alcohol dependence in individuals with alexithymia.

]]> Fred Arne Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/32 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/32 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:40:03 PDT Negative mood regulation (NMR) expectancies have been linked to substance problems in previous research, but the neurobiological correlates of NMR are unknown. In the present study, NMR was examined in relation to self-report indices of frontal lobe functioning, mood and alcohol use in 166 volunteers of both genders who ranged in age from 17 to 43 years. Contrary to expectations based on previous findings in addicts and problem drinkers, scores on the NMR scale did not differ between Low Risk and High Risk drinkers as defined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). However, NMR scores were significantly negatively correlated with all three indices of frontal lobe dysfunction on the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) Self-Rating Form as well as with all three indices of negative mood on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), which in turn were all positively correlated with FrSBe. Path analyses indicated that NMR partially mediated the direct effects of frontal lobe dysfunction (as indexed by FrSBe) on DASS Stress and DASS Depression. Further, the High Risk drinkers scored significantly higher on the Disinhibition and Executive Dysfunction indices of the FrSBe than did Low Risk drinkers. Results are consistent with the notion that NMR is a frontal lobe function.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/31 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/31 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:40:01 PDT Alexithymia is characterised by deficits in emotional insight and self-reflection that impact on the efficacy of psychological treatments. Given the high prevalence of alexithymia in Alcohol Use Disorders, valid assessment tools are critical. The majority of research on the relationship between alexithymia and alcohol-dependence has employed the self-administered Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), The Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS) has also been recommended. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity and reliability of the OAS and the TAS-20 in an alcohol-dependent sample. Two hundred and ten alcohol-dependent participants in an outpatient Cognitive Behavioral Treatment program were administered the TAS-20 at assessment and upon treatment completion at 12 weeks. Clinical psychologists provided observer assessment data for a subsample of f59 patients, The findings confirmed acceptable internal consistency, test-retest reliability and scale homogeneity for both the OAS and TAS-20, except for the low internal consistency of the TAS-20 EOT scale. The TAS-20 was more strongly associated with alcohol problems than the OAS.

]]> Fred Arne Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/30 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/30 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:39:59 PDT Motives to drink alcohol are widely thought to be the proximal cognitive factors involved in the decision to consume alcohol beverages. However it has also been argued that the ability to restrain drinking may be a more proximal predictor of drinking behaviour. The current study aimed to examine the relationships between drinking motives, drinking restraint and both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in a sample of young adults. A sample of 221 young adults (aged 17–34 years) completed self-report measures assessing drinking behaviour, motives for drinking and drinking restraint. Multiple regression analyses revealed that coping, enhancement and social motives were related to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems, while Cognitive and Emotional Preoccupation with drinking was related to all criterion variables. Further, the relationship between coping motives and drinking behaviour was mediated by preoccupation with drinking. The results are discussed in light of the roles of drinking motives and drinking restraint in risky drinking among young people, and implications for prevention and early intervention are presented.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/29 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/29 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:25:38 PST Up to fifty per cent of individuals with Alcohol use disorders (AUD) also have alexithymia a personality construct hypothesized to be related to attachment difficulties. The relationship between alexithymia, craving, anxious attachment and alcohol-dependence severitywas examined in254 patients participating in a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) programfor alcohol-dependence. Participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS), the Revised Adult Attachment Anxiety Subscale (RAAS-Anxiety) and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). MANOVA indicated that individuals with alexithymia reported significantly higher levels of totalOCDS, obsessive thoughts about alcohol, and compulsive drinking urges and behavior, compared to the non-alexithymic group. Regression analyses found that anxious attachment partially mediated the relationship between alexithymia and craving. Anxious attachment may be a potential treatment target to reduce alcohol consumption in those with alcohol-dependence and alexithymia.

]]> Fred Arne Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/28 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/28 Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:03:58 PDT Attachment theory has been conceptualised as an affect regulation theory, proposing that attachment is associated with the expression and recognition of emotions as well as interpersonal functioning. Previous research has reported affect regulation difficulties in substance use disorders and addiction has been considered an attachment disorder. However, scarce empirical research exists on the relationship of attachment in relation to affect regulation and interpersonal functioning in those with substance use problems. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate potential associations between attachment, negative mood regulation (NMR) expectancies, fear of intimacy and self-differentiation in substance abusers. The revised adult attachment scale (RAAS), the NMR expectancies scale, the fear of intimacy scale and the differentiation of self inventory were administered to a sample of 100 substance use disorder inpatients. Attachment accounted for significant variance in NMR expectancies and was also a strong predictor of fear of intimacy. The predictive utility of attachment also extended to self-differentiation, suggesting that attachment was strongly related to overall self-differentiation score, Emotional reactivity, Emotional cut-off and I position. These findings support attachment theory suggesting that attachment is associated with and predicts affect regulation abilities and difficulties in interpersonal functioning in a sample of substance use disorder inpatients. The inclusion and assessment of attachment appears to be important in the development of treatment programmes for substance abusing individuals.

]]> Fred Arne Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/26 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/26 Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:03:57 PDT Laboratory studies have demonstrated that acute alcohol intoxication can disrupt performance on neuropsychological tests of executive cognitive functioning such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). However, the generalizability of such findings to typical self-regulated alcohol intake in social settings can be questioned. In the present study, 86 young adults were recruited at Australian bars to perform a computer version of the WCST. Participants displayed blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) across a range from 0 to 0.15%. Although self-report measures of typical alcohol consumption, impulsivity, and frontal lobe related everyday functioning were all intercorrelated in line with other recent findings, multiple regression indicated that these measures did not predict perseverative errors (PE) nor non-perseverative errors (NPE) on the WCST, whereas BAC uniquely predicted PE but not NPE. The results were consistent with a dose-dependent selective disruption of prefrontal cortical functioning by alcohol. There were no differences in performance between participants tested on the ascending limb of the BAC curve and those tested on the descending limb. Alcohol-associated perseveration may reflect the inhibitory effect of alcohol-induced dopamine release in the prefrontal cortex.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/27 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/27 Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:03:57 PDT Objective: To explore the factorial validity of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in an alcohol dependent population. Methods: Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling to evaluate the stability of the factor structure of the TAS-20. Based on previously reported factor structures, 1-factor, 2-factor and 3-factor models were examined, using maximum likelihood estimation. Results: Four of the five fit indices considered indicated a superior fit for the 3-factor model compared to the 2-factor and 1-factor models. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the original 3-factor model of the TAS-20 was a more plausible fit to the data compared to other competing models in a sample with alcohol dependence. Limitations with the EOT factor indicate a need for refinement and a possible revision of the TAS-20 in populations with alcohol dependence.

]]> Fred Arne Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/25 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/25 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:53:10 PDT Deficits of prefrontal cortex functioning and associated executive cognitive impairments are well-known correlates of chronic alcoholism and may reflect cumulative effects of high alcohol exposure. However, such associations may also reflect traits predating alcohol exposure which predispose to heavy drinking. In the present investigation, 60 university undergraduates aged 18-25 years were administered the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), and Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). All participants reported they were at least occasional drinkers who rarely or never used illicit drugs and had no reported history of head injury or neurological problems. All were sober at time of testing. AUDIT total scores were positively correlated with both FrSBe Disinhibition scores and SPSRQ Reward Sensitivity scores. The latter were negatively correlated with age at onset of regular alcohol use. High risk drinkers (as defined by AUDIT) had higher FrSBe Disinhibition and SPSRQ Reward Sensitivity scores compared to low risk drinkers. Findings indicate that even in a highly selected subset of young adults-undergraduates attending a prestigious private university-associations may be present between indices of prefrontal cortex dysfunction and alcohol consumption, perhaps reflecting traits that predispose to heavy drinking.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/24 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/24 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:51:51 PDT All human beings experience emotion. However a number of individuals have difficulties recognising, processing and regulating their emotions. This set of emotional “deficits’ is classified as alexithymia. The prevalence rate of alexithymia in alcohol use disorders is between 45 and 67%. The objective of this paper is to review the published research on alexithymia and alcohol use, assess the methodological quality of this evidence, and draw the findings together to present a critical update on the relationship between alexithymia and alcohol use disorders. Yet, few research studies have comprehensively investigated alexithymia in alcohol use disorders, and a number of key issues still remain to be addressed in exploring the veracity of the link between alexithymia and alcohol use. For example, limited evidence exists regarding the association between alexithymia, alcohol consumption and severity of alcohol dependence. Furthermore, there is no current knowledge about the predictive utility of alexithymia in relation to more well researched and established psychological drinking constructs. Although alexithymia is often considered a risk factor for the development of alcohol use disorders, there is little evidence to support this notion. Given that alexithymia may have the potential to interfere with treatment outcomes, a better understanding of the role of alexithymia in alcohol use is needed.

]]> Fred Arne Thorberg et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/23 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/23 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:54:18 PDT The popular notion that alcohol intoxication enhances perceptions of the physical attractiveness of the opposite sex has been inconsistently supported. The current study tested intoxicated and non-intoxicated persons of both genders in naturalistic settings after measuring their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) by a breath test. A sample of 80 heterosexual university student social drinkers was recruited at a campus pub and campus parties over a 3 month period to take a survey rating the attractiveness of unfamiliar faces of the opposite gender presented in photographs. Attractiveness ratings were positively correlated with BAC. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted on attractiveness ratings with independent variables of gender and BAC group, with three levels of the latter: non-intoxicated (BAC = 0), moderately intoxicated (BAC .01%-.09%), and highly intoxicated (BAC .10%-.19%). Both intoxicated groups gave significantly higher attractiveness ratings than nonintoxicated controls. The findings confirm the “beer goggles” phenomenon of folk psychology for both genders, although the mechanism remains unclear.

]]> Michael Lyvers et al. http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/19 http://works.bepress.com/michael_lyvers/19 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:48:14 PST Relationships between Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA), substance abuse, substance abuse relapse, depression and coping styles were examined in an Australian sample. Participants were 79 adults actively seeking treatment for substance abuse or CSA. CSA and substance use history were assessed using a purpose built questionnaire. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II), and coping styles were evaluated using the Coping Scale for Adults. Among substance abusers, self-reported CSA history was associated with (1) severe depression; (2) less optimistic coping; (3) longer duration of substance abuse; and (4) the use of drugs to alleviate negative moods. A non-substanceabusing CSA group was remarkably similar to the CSA substance-abusing group on all measures. Penetrative abuse, younger age at CSA onset, and lack of confidence in dealing with CSA were associated with more severe depression in CSA victims. Implications for therapy and suggestions for future research are discussed.

]]> Sonja Lee et al.