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Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Decision making and impulsiveness in abstinent alcohol-dependent people and healthy individuals: a neuropsychological examination

Authors: Natalie Körner, Peggy Schmidt, Michael Soyka

Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

Alcohol dependence is associated with deficits in decision making and increased impulsiveness. Therefore, we compared decision making in abstinent alcohol-dependent people (“abstainers”) and matched healthy individuals (“comparison group”) to determine whether impulsiveness or personality traits play a role in decision making.

Methods

Abstainers (n = 40) were recruited from treatment facilities in and around Munich, Germany, and the comparison group (n = 40) through personal contacts and social media. We assessed decision making with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), impulsiveness with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and personality traits with the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI).

Results

The comparison group performed significantly better in the IGT (mean profit € 159.50, SD 977.92) than the abstainers (mean loss - € 1,400.13, SD 1,362.10; p < .001) and showed significantly less impulsiveness in the BIS-11 (comparison group: mean 56.03, SD 7.80; abstainers: mean 63.55, SD 11.47; p < .001). None of the five personality traits assessed with the NEO-FFI differed significantly between the groups.

Conclusion

The results confirm that abstinent alcohol-dependent people do not perform as well as healthy individuals in decision-making tasks and show greater impulsiveness, but in this study did not affect their decision-making ability.
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Metadata
Title
Decision making and impulsiveness in abstinent alcohol-dependent people and healthy individuals: a neuropsychological examination
Authors
Natalie Körner
Peggy Schmidt
Michael Soyka
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1747-597X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-015-0020-7

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