Implicit and Explicit Attitudes to Alcohol in Alcohol Dependent and Non-Alcohol Dependent Samples

Measures of implicit and explicit attitudes to alcohol have been used to predict drinking behavior. Early studies with the bipolar Implicit Association Test (IAT) indicated that heavy drinkers hold negative implicit attitudes to alcohol. More recent studies using the unipolar IAT have found that positive implicit attitudes to alcohol are associated with drinking behavior in samples of university students. The present study is the first to use a unipolar single target IAT to assess positive alcohol-related attitudes in two samples with alcohol dependency compared to a non-alcohol dependent control group. A group of recently detoxed alcohol dependent adults entering a treatment program (n = 22), a group of alcohol dependent adults who had been in treatment for 3 months (n = 22), and a group of age matched adults who had no history of alcohol dependence (n = 22) were compared on a positive unipolar single target IAT and an explicit attitude measure. Results indicated that alcohol dependent participants showed stronger positive implicit attitudes, and stronger negative explicit associations compared to non-alcohol dependent participants, but there were no differences between the two groups with alcohol dependency. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of the IAT as an assessment tool for those undertaking treatment for alcohol problems and the implications for targeting unconscious attitudes to alcohol in a clinical setting.