Diagnostic validity of alcohol demand and monetary delay discounting in relation to alcohol use disorder.

Background A reinforcer pathology approach to alcohol use disorder (AUD) proposes that high alcohol reinforcing value (high alcohol demand) and overvaluation of immediate rewards (high discounting of future rewards) are critical determinants of problematic drinking. Applied to clinical settings, the...

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Publicado en:Alcohol & Alcoholism Vol. 61; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
Autores principales: Najdzionek, Peter, Amlung, Michael, Sweet, Lawrence, MacKillop, James
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Jan2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jan2026
      vid: 61
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        atl: Diagnostic validity of alcohol demand and monetary delay discounting in relation to alcohol use disorder.
      aug:
        au:
          Najdzionek, Peter
          Amlung, Michael
          Sweet, Lawrence
          MacKillop, James
        affil: Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, 100 West 5th Street, Hamilton, ON L8P 3R2, CanadaPeter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Hamilton, ON L8P 3R2, Canada
      sug:
        subj:
          Alcoholism Diagnosis
          Alcohol Drinking
          Delay Discounting
          Drinking Behavior
          Reinforcement (Psychology)
          Benchmarking
          Diagnostic Tests, Routine Methods
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Young Adult
          Adult
          Canada
          Case Control Studies
          Funding Source
          Reward
          DSM
          Behavioral Sciences Economics
          Motivation
          Cues
          Decision Making, Shared
          Alcohols Adverse Effects
          Ethanol
          Sensitivity and Specificity
          Questionnaires
          Factor Analysis
          Income
          Models, Psychological
          Alcoholism Economics
          Risk Taking Behavior
          Brain Physiology
          Descriptive Statistics
          Comparative Studies
          Self Report
          Interviews
          Scales
          Task Performance and Analysis
          T-Tests
          Chi Square Test
          Analysis of Covariance
          ROC Curve
          Data Analysis Software
          Alcoholism Risk Factors
          Risk Assessment
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background A reinforcer pathology approach to alcohol use disorder (AUD) proposes that high alcohol reinforcing value (high alcohol demand) and overvaluation of immediate rewards (high discounting of future rewards) are critical determinants of problematic drinking. Applied to clinical settings, these indicators have not been examined as potential assessments for use in clinical practice. Toward that end, the current study examined whether reinforcer pathology indicators accurately classify individuals with AUD from recreational drinkers without AUD at levels that would meet clinical accuracy benchmarks. Methods In a case-control sample of 267 Canadian adults (180 meeting DSM-5 criteria for AUD), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed using reinforcer pathology indicators from an alcohol purchase task and a monetary delay discounting tasks. Results Analysis of the ROC curves revealed that three alcohol demand indices from the alcohol purchase task [i.e. Intensity (observed consumption when free), Omax (observed maximum expenditure), and α (a derived index of price-sensitivity)] significantly differed by groups and met established clinical benchmarks for diagnostic differentiation. While delay discounting significantly differed between groups, it did not meet benchmarks as a clinical differentiator. Conclusions This study provides evidence that behavioral economic measures of alcohol valuation accurately diagnostically discriminate individuals with AUD from recreational drinkers. Future work should consider utilizing other behavioral economic indices and validating these results in more diverse populations.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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