Alcohol consumption and discountingAddiction Research & Theory Online 12 May 2008
This study addresses whether discounting of future rewards may have an impact on alcohol consumption and propensity to alcohol-related harms, by applying survey data among young people whose drinking career hardly may have affected their time preferences.
Analyses from a school survey among 17,000, over 13-17 year olds in Norway showed that discount rates were positively associated with drinking frequency and intoxication frequency when age, gender, impulsivity and disposable income were controlled for.
Moreover, the results suggested that having made choices under the influence of alcohol leading to a negative outcome (deliberate self-harm, drunk-driving, vandalism or use of narcotics) was significantly more prevalent among those with high-discount rates compared to others, also when controlling for alcohol consumption, age, gender and impulsivity.
The results are discussed in relation to the potential role of discounting in pathways to addictive behaviour.
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Analyses from a school survey among 17,000, over 13-17 year olds in Norway showed that discount rates were positively associated with drinking frequency and intoxication frequency when age, gender, impulsivity and disposable income were controlled for.
Moreover, the results suggested that having made choices under the influence of alcohol leading to a negative outcome (deliberate self-harm, drunk-driving, vandalism or use of narcotics) was significantly more prevalent among those with high-discount rates compared to others, also when controlling for alcohol consumption, age, gender and impulsivity.
The results are discussed in relation to the potential role of discounting in pathways to addictive behaviour.
Read Full Abstract
Request Reprint E-Mail: ir@sirus.no
_________________________________________________________
