According to experts at the University of Missouri, a new framework was constructed with the aim of identifying people overlooked for alcohol use disorder (AUD).
The findings were released in Psychological Bulletin.
“We conducted a systematic review of 144 reviews to integrate addiction constructs and theories into a comprehensive framework to identify fundamental mechanisms implicated in AUD,” researchers explained in their findings.
“The product of this effort was the Etiologic, Theory-based, Ontogenetic Hierarchical Framework of AUD mechanisms, which outlines superdomains of cognitive control, reward, and negative valence and emotionality, each of which subsume narrower, hierarchically organized components,” researchers also stated. “We also outline opponent processes and self-awareness as key moderators of AUD mechanisms.”
The framework involves 13 risk factors, which include impulsivity, reward sensitivity, and punishment sensitivity, resulting in AUD.
“The ETOH framework serves as a critical step toward conceptualizations of AUD as dimensional and heterogeneous. It has the potential to improve AUD assessment and aid in the development of evidence-based diagnostic measures that focus on key mechanisms in AUD, consequently facilitating precision medicine,” researchers concluded.
