Cognitive Control Moderates the Association Between Emotional Instability and Alcohol Dependence Symptoms

Previous research has linked emotional instability with problematic alcohol use. This may be a function of increased "hot" information processing (which is relatively automatic in nature and highly influenced by emotional states) for individuals with more emotional instability. According to dual-process models, cognitive control may attenuate the impact of emotional instability by preventing an overreliance on hot information processing. It was hypothesized that emotional instability would be positively associated with alcohol-related consequences, but that cognitive control would moderate this association. Participants were undergraduate students (n = 80) who endorsed drinking at moderate levels. Participants completed laboratory assessments of emotional instability, alcohol use and its consequences, and cognitive control. An observed variable path model examined the association between emotional instability and alcohol problems. Consistent with hypotheses, emotional instability was positively associated with alcohol consequences, and this relationship was moderated by cognitive control, at least for dependence symptoms. At low levels of cognitive control, there was a positive association between emotional instability and dependence symptoms (beta = 0.514, p < .001), however, this association was attenuated and no longer significant at high levels of cognitive control (beta = 0.095, p = .302). Emotional instability may promote alcohol dependence via an overreliance on hot information processing. Consistent with dual-process theory, this relationship is diminished among individuals with more cognitive control. Interventions focusing on increasing cognitive control may be effective in reducing alcohol pathology associated with emotional instability.