Executive functions mediate the association between alcohol use and declarative memory symptoms in daily life

ABSTRACT

Alcohol use is associated with memory problems in young adults with HIV, but the cognitive mechanisms of that association are not known. Sixty adults (aged 19–24 years) living with HIV were administered the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test to assess alcohol use, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for self-reported executive functions, and the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) for dailiy memory functioning. Controlling for mood, self-reported executive functions fully mediated the relationship between alcohol use and memory (indirect effect b=.568, 95%CI [.209,.888]). Findings suggest that self-reported executive dysregulation of memory processes (e.g., Strategic encoding and retrieval) may drive the effects of alcohol use on daily memory symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• Substance use
• neuropsychological assessment
• everyday functioning
• cognitive symptoms
• infectious disease

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by NIH grant R01-DA034497, as well as resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations, Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment, and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by NIH grant R01-DA034497, as well as resources from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations, Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment, and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington. National Institute on Drug Abuse.