Distractibility moderates the relation between automatic alcohol motivation and drinking behavior.

Research suggests that alcohol use is influenced by (a) the strength of automatic motivational responses to alcohol cues and (b) individual differences in self-control. The current study was designed to examine whether the self-control skill of inhibiting response to distracting stimuli would moderate the relation between automatic alcohol motivation and alcohol use. Eighty-seven hazardous drinkers completed baseline measures of automatic alcohol motivation and trait self-control and reported their drinking at a follow-up session 6 weeks later. Regression analyses demonstrated an interaction such that greater distractibility strengthens a positive relation between alcohol use and automatic alcohol motivation. These results contribute to a growing body of work indicating that self-control resources may help to inhibit the influence of automatic processes on alcohol behavior.