Hostile attributional bias in severe alcohol use disorder

Abstract

Impairments in social cognition have been documented in severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) over the past two decades. They have been linked with lower social functioning and poor treatment outcomes, illustrating their key role in the disorder. However, studies investigating social cognition in SAUD have largely focused on emotional decoding and theory of mind abilities, neglecting other important processes. We expand this line of research by exploring the association between SAUD and hostile attributional biases (i.e., the tendency to attribute hostile intentions to others), another clinically relevant subcomponent of social cognition. Thirty-five patients with SAUD and thirty-five matched healthy controls completed the short version of the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire, a validated measure assessing participants’ perceived hostility, blame attribution and aggression in relation to vignettes depicting social situations with negative outcomes and ambiguous intent. Patients with SAUD attributed more hostile intentions to others than did healthy controls. Moreover, this hostile attributional bias was associated with increased interpersonal problems in SAUD, as measured through the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems. We thus evidence hostile attributional bias in SAUD and extend the growing literature on social cognition impairments in this population. Furthermore, these findings corroborate the recent proposal that patients with SAUD exhibit biases toward socially threatening information. The association between hostile attributional bias and interpersonal problems suggests that targeting this bias in treatment may reduce the relapse risk resulting from interpersonal deficits. Recommendations are made to further explore the clinical relevance of hostile attributional bias in SAUD.