Examining the Relationships Among Adverse Experiences, Impulsivity, and Alcohol Use: A Scoping Review of Recent Literature

Alcohol use and associated consequences are among the top preventable causes of death in the USA. Research links high impulsivity and adverse and traumatic experiences (ATEs) to increased alcohol use/misuse, as all three similarly affect brain functioning and development. Yet, studies measuring different specific domains yield differing results. This scoping review examined research articles (N = 35) that examine relations among domains of impulsivity, ATEs, and alcohol use.

Overall, findings indicate that both childhood and lifetime ATEs and all three domains of impulsivity (generalized, choice, and action) are significantly associated with various alcohol and other concurrent substance use measures across age groups. However, variations in results indicate that factors such as timing of assessment, methods, and heterogeneity of construct domains are critical components of these relationships.

Several research gaps remain. Future research should incorporate multiple domains of the three constructs, and additional longitudinal studies are needed to determine the true nature of the relationships.