Alcoholism Flashcards
Current use of Alcohol
at least one drink in the past 30 days
Binge use of Alcohol
- five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days
- pattern of drinking the brings BAC to 0.08% or above
- males- 5 or more drinks in 2 hours
- females- 4 or more drinks in 2 hours
Heavy use of Alcohol
5 or more drinks on the same occasion on at least 5 different days in the past 30 days
Drink definition
- 12-ounce can or bottle of beer or wine cooler
- 5-ounce glass of wine
- 1.5-ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits
Source of Comsumables Alcohol
- Ethanol is produced from fermentation of glucose and water in the presence of yeast
- high % needs more distillation through boiling and collection of stream
- Proof refers of % multiplied by 2
BAC
-% of alcohol in blood
-Grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood- to convert to mg % just multiply by 1000
-Legal limit in most states is 0.08 %
-Determined by:
-Amount of alcohol consumed
-Body weight
-Body fat
-Gender (women are more sensitive to alcohol) -Based on differences in levels of enzymes that break down alcohol
-Alcohol is water soluble-More fat means less water and higher BALs
-Spacing of alcohol doses - Clearance of ~ .25 - .3 ounces pure alcohol per hour
~1/2 drink per hour; 6 hrs to be rid of 3 beers
OR 0.01g %/hour
Alcohol Dehydrogenase
- Breaks down alcohol–> acetaldehyde–>CO2+H2O
- Females have less
Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase
- forms from disulfiram (Antabuse)
- Females have larger amount of body fat/kg
Behavioral Effects
Normal–> relief from anxiety–> disinhibition–> sedation–> hypnosis–> general anesthesia–> coma–> death
Tolerance
- Individuals drink large amounts of alcohol (12-20 drinks per day)
- Blood alcohol levels far beyond the legal limit
Withdrawl
- Tremor, sympathetic activation, hyperthermia
- Anxiety, dysphoria
- Delirium tremens: hallucinations, high fever
Substance taken in larger amounts than intended
-loss of control over intake
Persistent desire or unsuccessful attempt to cut down
repeated relapses to excessive drinking
Neglect of activities
-impairment in social, occupational, and recreational functioning
Time Spent
fillinf work and home with sources of alcohol so to never be without
Continued despite problems
- loss of job
- loss of spouse
- medical illness
Behavioral Toxicity
- Driving under the influence (DUI)
- Impairment in social functioning
- Impairment in occupational functioning
Physical Toxicity
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Pancreatitis
- Cancers of the tongue, mouth, esophagus, stomach and liver
- Wernicke’s / Korsakoff’s syndrome
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Positive and Negavtive Reinforcement
Positive- application of positive stimulus
Negavtive- the removal of negative stimulus
- in both cases the probability of the behavior occurring again increases
Expectancy
- expectancy of the positive effects of alcohol
- Unrealistic beliefs that alcohol only has positive effects
- Expectancy of alcohol consumption can lead to: Behavioral Disinhibition
- Sexual behavior
- Aggression
Conflicting Standards
- Standards of wanting to drink and wanting to abstain change in salience over time with regard to environmental and internal cues
- related to self-regulation failure in heavy drinkers
- to comsume or not to consume
False Consensus Effect
-Assuming that everyone else drinks
Strength
- Depletions in strength caused by exhaustion, stress, personal weakness can lead to drinking
- Underregulation
Controlling Emotion
- A person may assume that drinking is an effective means to regulate their affective state
- Affect regulation strategy may be self-defeating (Misregulation and Overgeneralization)
- Inability to cope with negative emotion (Misregulation)
Distorted Self-Knowledge
- Misplaced self-confidence that one can “handle” a large amount of alcohol
- Alcohol may serve as an important tool for increasing positive self-regard
- Alcohol may be taken to protect or enhance positive self-evaluations
- May lead ultimately to feelings of failure
Snowballing
- Stage where true failures of self-regulation occur
- Habitual intoxication is indisputably harmful
Zero-Tolerance Beliefs
- Assumes self-control has already failed following initial indulgence
- May undermine self-regulation and increase likelihood of further indulgences
Abstinence Violation Effect
- Many treatment programs emphasize abstinence
- “all-or-none” type of thinking
Psychological Inertia
- drinking becomes progressively harder to stop
- prototype for lapse-activated causal patterns
Reduction in Monitoring
- Alcohol reduces self-awareness
- Alcohol appears to decrease memory consolidation
Loss of Control of Attention
- Alcohol Myopia- general narrowing of the perceptual field
- Narrowed focus to cues that encourage alcohol consumption
- Pro-drinking cues prevalent in bars, sporting events, etc.
- Intoxicated individual focuses on the most salient aspects of the situation
- Generalizes to cues associated with aggression, sexual encounters etc.
Overgeneralization
-The reasons for drinking will multiply until alcohol is used to deal with all unpleasant states
Misguided Focusing in Mood Regulation
- Drinking for mood control can backfire as opponent processes are recruited
- Vicious cycle where bad moods prompt alcohol consumption, which is followed by a worsening of mood, which leads to further drinking
Spiraling Distress
preoccupation–> binge intoxication–> withdrawl negative affect
