Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: Boredom is state of cognitive and emotional discomfort that has been associated with a variety of addictive behaviors. While boredom has been shown to increase the likelihood of subjective cravings for substance use, research has found that explicit self-report of cravings is insufficient to predict relapse. It has been suggested that attentional bias, the implicit allocation of spatial attention to substance related cues, is a positive predictor of risk for relapse. Aim: To investigate the effect of state boredom on attentional bias to alcohol related cues in light and heavy drinkers. To examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and both state and trait boredom. Method: A boredom induction task and a control task were given to a random sample of 60 light and heavy drinkers from ages 18- 30 prior to completion of a visual-probe attentional bias task. All participants completed a State Boredom Measure, the Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS), the Lifetime Drinking History (LDH) and the Timeline Followback (TLFB) for alcohol consumption. Results: Heavy drinkers were found to have significantly higher attentional bias scores than light drinkers in the boredom induction group. Boredom proneness was positively correlated with alcohol consumption over the lifetime, while high state boredom scores were positively correlated with alcohol intake over the past three months. Conclusion: The state of boredom in a population of social drinkers is a predictor of increased implicit attention to alcohol related stimuli. Boredom is an important factor for consideration when assessing risk for alcohol relapse

Biography

Tracey M. Rogovin received her Bachelors Degree from The New School University  Eugene Lang College. She is a Masters Degree candidate in psychology for the 2012 year at the New School for Social Research and has recently been accepted to the New School for Social Research Doctoral Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology. Steven J. Freed received his Bachelors Degree from Oberlin College. He is a Masters Degree candidate in psychology at the New School for Social Research for the 2012 year and has recently been accepted to the New School for Social Research Doctoral Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology. Patrick M. Fannon is a Bachelors Degree candidate in psychology at the New School University  Eugene Lang College for the 2012 year. McWelling Todman received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research in 1986. He is currently Associate Professor of Clinical Practice, Department Chair, and the Director Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling Program at the New School for Social Research. In addition, he is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Psychology at the New School University  Eugene Lang College