Development/Progression – Page 3

Sensation Seeking and Social Support Partially Mediate Polygenic Influences on Adult Alcohol Use Disorder Symptoms

Posted on January 19, 2023 (January 19, 2023) by Ricki Arvesen

Genetic predispositions play an important role in the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Understanding the psychosocial mechanisms through which genetic risk unfolds to influence AUD is critical for identifying modifiable targets and developing prevention and intervention efforts. In this study, we examined the role of sensation seeking and social support from family and friends […]

Binge and High-Intensity Drinking – Laboratory Assessment and Underlying Risk Factors

Posted on January 10, 2023 (January 10, 2023) by Ricki Arvesen

Some patterns of alcohol consumption are riskier than others. How rapid consumption of alcohol contributes to the increased risk of alcohol use disorder is unclear. We developed an experiment in which participants specific control over how quickly their breath alcohol concentration changes and tested for relationships to risky drinking patterns. How fast participants reached the […]

The Role of Adolescent Social Relationships in Promoting Alcohol Resistance: Interrupting the Intergenerational Transmission of Alcohol Misuse

Posted on January 10, 2023 (January 10, 2023) by Ricki Arvesen

Genes play an important role in whether someone develops alcohol use disorder or engages in other risky alcohol behaviors, but not all individuals who are at-risk due to genetic factors go on to misuse alcohol. Yet, little is known about what the “active ingredients” are for promoting resistance to alcohol misuse. In this study, we […]

Genetic Nurture Effects for Alcohol Use Disorder

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Ricki Arvesen

Genetic factors play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of alcohol use disorder. Typically, when we think about how genetic risk is passed from generation to generation, we think about the genotypes that children inherit from their parents. Yet, this represents only one potential way that genetic risk may be transmitted in families. This […]

Parsing Genetically Influenced Risk Pathways: Genetic Loci Impact Problematic Alcohol Use Via Externalizing and Specific Risk

Posted on December 13, 2022 (December 14, 2022) by Ricki Arvesen

In this analysis, we parsed the genetic variance of problematic alcohol use (ALCP) into that which is shared with other externalizing traits and that which is not. The genetic correlations for the ALCP-specific variance differ for correlations with ALCP that includes variance which overlaps with externalizing. The ALCP-specific variance is primarily associated with alcohol […]

How Do Our Genes Influence Risk for Alcohol Problems?

Posted on November 29, 2022 (November 29, 2022) by Ricki Arvesen

Some people are more at risk for developing alcohol problems than others and part of the reason lies in our genes. Researchers are working on finding the specific genes associated with alcohol problems, and then mapping the complex pathways by which these genes influence alcohol use outcomes and interact with the environment. Check out Translational […]

Alcohol Use Disorder, Psychiatric Comorbidities, Marriage and Divorce in a High-risk Sample

Posted on November 14, 2022 (November 15, 2022) by Ricki Arvesen

Previous studies demonstrate the associations between alcohol use disorders (AUD) and marital outcomes in general population samples, and the associations between AUD and marital outcomes have tangible costs, because a body of work shows links between marriage with better health and well-being. This study made use of data from the Collaborative Study on the […]

Binge and High-Intensity Drinking – Laboratory Assessment and Underlying Risk Factors

Posted on November 1, 2022 (December 21, 2022) by Ricki Arvesen

Some patterns of alcohol consumption are riskier than others. How rapid consumption of alcohol contributes to the increased risk of alcohol use disorder is unclear. We developed an experiment in which participants were given specific control over how quickly their breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) changes, and then tested for relationships to risky drinking patterns. […]

The Research is In: It’s Nature AND Nurture

Posted on October 25, 2022 (November 1, 2022) by Ricki Arvesen

Science tells us that both our genes AND our environments shape the likelihood that we will develop problems with alcohol use. Because the COGA study has a wealth of data on both genetics and environments, our investigators are uniquely positioned to explore both simultaneously. See the summaries of a few recent publications to better understand […]

The Importance of Genes When Determining Risk

Posted on October 24, 2022 (November 1, 2022) by Ricki Arvesen

Alcohol use disorder is genetically influenced, but there’s no one gene that influences risk. We can now measure one’s genetic vulnerability to some common disorders using polygenic risk scores (PRS), which combine the effects of many genes into a single risk score. At the moment, PRS summarize only a small portion of an individual’s […]