Alcohol-dependent individuals discount sex at higher rates than controls

Abstract

Background: Research on delay discounting has expanded our understanding of substance dependence in many ways. Recently, orderly discounting of sexual rewards has been demonstrated in both substance-dependent individuals, and healthy controls. Less clear, however, is if rates of sexual discounting are higher than controls in alcohol-dependent-individuals.

Methods: 20 alcohol-dependent individuals and 21 healthy control participants completed two delay-discounting tasks. One task involved monetary rewards, whereas the other involved the discounting of sexual rewards (i.e., number of sex acts).

Results: Alcohol dependent individuals discounted sexual rewards at significantly higher rates than did controls. There was a trend toward, but not a similarly significant relation for the discounting of monetary rewards.

Conclusions: Rates of sexual discounting are elevated in alcohol dependent individuals. If this relation is replicated in other at risk populations, the rapid devaluation of sexual rewards may be a laboratory marker of impulsive sexual choices.

Keywords: Alcohol; Delay discounting; Dependence; Sex.