Stress-induced Drinking in Emerging Adults: the Role of Trauma History

Completed

Conditions studied: Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

In brief

This project is the first to use a clinical laboratory method in emerging adults to test the hypothesis that a trauma history with or without concommitant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) alters response to a stressor and promotes drinking compared to normal controls. The study will be the first to explore whether trauma-exposed (TE) and PTSD groups differ on these outcomes. It will also examine the relationship between stress reactivity and subsequent stress-induced drinking in these samples. The goal of this program is to better understand the relationship between stress and factors related to the development and maintenance of alcohol problems in early adults, so that ultimately, better treatments may be developed that reduce the incidence and severity of alcohol related problems.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01363180

Run by

Medical University of South Carolina

People needed

197

Starts

2011-01-01

Expected to finish

2016-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2018-06-18

Who can join

Age: 21 and older, up to 30. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age: 21-30 years old.
• Must drink alcohol on at least 4 days in the past month.
• Must drink beer (thought not necessarily exclusively)
• Must be able to read and provide informed consent.
• Trauma history group criteria:
• To be eligible for Control group, participants must not have a history of Criteria A traumatic event(s), as defined by the DSM-IV.
• To be eligible for the Trauma-Exposed group (TE), participants must have a history of a Criteria A traumatic event that involves interpersonal violence, but not meet DSM-IV criteria for PTSD (current or lifetime)as defined by the MINI, and a PCL score 20 or below.
• To be eligible for the PTSD group, participants must have a history of exposure to a Criteria A traumatic event that involves interpersonal violence, currently meet criteria for PTSD (defined by DSM-IV) and a PCL score of 30 or above.

You may not qualify if…

• Currently taking psychoactive medication, antihistamines, or medication that alters HPA axis functioning.
• Severe obesity (BMI > 40)
• Current alcohol dependence.
• Current abuse or dependence on illicit substances (with the exceptions of caffeine and nicotine)
• Smokers who cannot abstain from smoking for at least 4 hours.
• Current major depression.
• Current or lifetime psychosis.
• Any medical condition that impacts HPA axis functioning.
• Any blood clotting disorder.
• Pregnant or nursing women, or women who suspect that may be pregnant.

Where it is running

• Medical University of South Carolina — Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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