Does Altered State of Awareness Mediate the Relationship Between the Unusual Experiences Trait and Alcohol Cue-Reactivity?

Alcohol craving is often investigated using cue-reactivity experiments which evaluate responses to environmental stimuli or "cues" (e.g., an individual's favorite alcoholic beverage), such as changes in physiology and "urge to drink." We suggest that certain individuals who are exposed to an alcohol cue may re-experience, rather than merely remember, the altered state of awareness (e.g., intoxication) associated with previous alcohol consumption and this may, in turn, facilitate increases in one's urge to drink. Further, it is arguable that the unusual experiences factor of a personality trait referred to as mental boundaries may be a general trait tendency to experience altered states of awareness. We aimed to investigate the relationship between unusual experiences and urge to drink and whether altered state of awareness mediated (i.e., contributed to) this relationship. Fifty eight participants were administered the Boundary Questionnaire Short Form to quantify the unusual experiences trait. Participants were then exposed to counterbalanced sequences of a neutral (i.e., a glass of water) and alcohol cue (i.e., the participant's favorite alcoholic beverage), and urge and altered state of awareness responses were measured. The results suggested that altered state of awareness did not function as a mediator variable; however, a significant positive relationship was found between altered state of awareness and urge to drink during alcohol cue presentation. Furthermore, a significant indirect pathway was found from the unusual experiences factor to urge to drink through altered state of awareness. Altered state of awareness is an important state variable which appears to promote urge to drink during exposure to an alcohol cue.