Role of Adverse Childhood Events and Rejection Sensitivity on Alcohol Use in Recently Withdrawn Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Cyberball task: The game consists of ball throws between animated characters lasting about 50 throws. In the rejection condition, after 2 or 3 throws, the participant no longer receives the ball (no more passes). In the control conditions ("all included"), the participant receives the ball as often as the others.

Study summary

Low utilization of addiction treatment is a public health problem. A number of factors are associated with lack of treatment, including public stigma, self-stigma, and beliefs that people with addiction should solve their problem on their own. Stigma exposes individuals to social rejection, which may sustain the anxiety of rejection, and exacerbate certain mental disorders such as addictions. Social cognition disorders have been shown to be present in addictions, but one dimension of social cognition, emotional sensitivity to rejection (ESR), has been less studied. Rejection sensitivity could be considered a critical element in access to care and the relapse process.

The study authors hypothesize a role for emotional dysregulation in rejection situations in the relapse of alcohol use disorder in recently withdrawn patients. Specifically, they hypothesize that participants with a greater change in negative experience after a rejection situation on a Cyberball task, as measured by the negative subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), will have a higher percentage of days with heavy drinking during the last four weeks to three months of follow-up.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Role of emotional reaction to social rejection (Cyberball game) — Day 0; before Cyberball task
  Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (negative affect score). Scores can range from 10 to 50 for positive and negative emotions, with lower scores representing lower levels of positive/negative emotional engagement and higher scores representing higher levels of positive/negative emotional engagement.
• Role of emotional reaction to social rejection (Cyberball game) — Day 0; after Cyberball task
  Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (negative affect score). Scores can range from 10 to 50 for positive and negative emotions, with lower scores representing lower levels of positive/negative emotional engagement and higher scores representing higher levels of positive/negative emotional engagement.
• Percentage of heavy drinking days in the past 4 weeks — Month 3
  Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) interview
• Correlation between percentage of heavy drinking days and the difference between the PANAS negative subscale scores at baseline and after the Cyberball task in the exclusion phase (=rejection situation). — Day 0; before Cyberball task
  Multiple linear regression
• Correlation between percentage of heavy drinking days and the difference between the PANAS negative subscale scores at baseline and after the Cyberball task in the exclusion phase (=rejection situation). — Day 0; after Cyberball task
  Multiple linear regression
• Correlation between percentage of heavy drinking days and the difference between the PANAS negative subscale scores at baseline and after the Cyberball task in the exclusion phase (=rejection situation). — Month 3
  Multiple linear regression

Trial sites (1)

More Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes trials in France