Date of Graduation

5-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Ham, Lindsay S.

Committee Member

Levine, William H.

Second Committee Member

Veilleux, Jennifer C.

Keywords

Alcohol; Craving; Cue; Photographs; Subjective Reactivity

Abstract

To date, research paradigms using alcohol-related stimuli have been limited in their reliability and generalizability due to a lack of published studies examining the psychometric properties of alcohol cues. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the factor structure of a set of alcohol cues and the associated validity and reliability of examining craving for alcohol in an alcohol cue-reactivity paradigm. Participants (N = 195, 74.4% male, 56.4% Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander) completed a web-based survey in which valence, arousal, and craving ratings were obtained following presentation of picture cues. Prior to picture cues, participants completed measures to assess convergent and discriminant validity. Principal component analysis indicated that ratings of alcohol craving following the alcohol cues formed one factor including all 60 cue-elicited craving ratings. Results also supported convergent validity as craving for alcohol following alcohol cue photos were positively correlated with measures of general craving, self-reported past year hazardous alcohol use, and fun-seeking behavior and behavioral drive. Craving for alcohol was found to be significantly higher following alcohol cues compared to neutral cues and unrelated to behavioral inhibition and severity of nicotine dependence, supporting discriminant validity. These findings, taken as a whole, provide support that the set of alcohol cues created in the current study are a reliable and valid set of alcohol cues for the use in alcohol cue reactivity paradigms. Future studies may benefit from assessing reactivity to alcohol cues using this set of validated photographic cues as it may facilitate a greater understanding of the affective processes associated with alcohol use and allow for more targeted behavioral change interventions for alcohol-related problems.

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