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Reactivity to uncertain threat as a familial vulnerability factor for alcohol use disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2016

S. M. Gorka ,
D. Hee ,
L. Lieberman ,
V. A. Mittal ,
K. L. Phan  and
S. A. Shankman
S. M. Gorka*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
D. Hee
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
L. Lieberman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
V. A. Mittal
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
K. L. Phan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Mental Health Service Line, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA
S. A. Shankman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr S. M. Gorka, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

When sober, problematic drinkers display exaggerated reactivity to threats that are uncertain (U-threat). Since this aversive affective state can be alleviated via acute alcohol intoxication, it has been posited that individuals who exhibit heightened reactivity to U-threat at baseline are motivated to use alcohol as a means of avoidance-based coping, setting the stage for excessive drinking. To date, however, no study has attempted to characterize the dispositional nature of exaggerated reactivity to U-threat and test whether it is a vulnerability factor or exclusively a disease marker of problematic alcohol use.

Method

The current investigation utilized a family study design to address these gaps by examining whether (1) reactivity to U-threat is associated with risk for problematic alcohol use, defined by family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and (2) reactivity to U-threat is correlated amongst adult biological siblings. A total of 157 families, and 458 individuals, participated in the study and two biological siblings completed a threat-of-shock task designed to probe reactivity to U-threat and predictable threat (P-threat). Startle potentiation was collected as an index of aversive responding.

Results

Within biological siblings, startle potentiation to U-threat [intraclass correlation (ICC) = 0.35] and P-threat (ICC = 0.63) was significantly correlated. In addition, independent of an individuals’ own AUD status, startle potentiation to U-threat, but not P-threat, was positively associated with risk for AUD (i.e. AUD family history).

Conclusion

This suggests that heightened reactivity to U-threat may be a familial vulnerability factor for problematic drinking and a novel prevention target for AUD.

Keywords

Alcohol use disorderstartle potentiationuncertain threatvulnerability factor
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 46 , Issue 16 , December 2016 , pp. 3349 - 3358
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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