(PS6-A17) Alcohol Use and Executive Functioning: The Buffering Role of Physical Activity

Alcohol Use and Executive Functioning: The Buffering Role of Physical Activity

Executive functioning (EF) refers to the cognitive processes related to planning, working memory, attention, organization, and emotion regulation and is important for daily functioning. Health-related behaviors impact EF. For example, regular engagement in physical activity is associated with enhanced cognitive functioning, and more specifically, improvement in facets of executive functioning. Another health-related behavior, frequent substance use, dampens EF. The impact of these incongruent health-related behaviors on EF has not yet been examined in college students. The present study examines the interaction of physical activity and substance use on EF in college-aged students. It is hypothesized that engagement in regular physical activity will be positively associated with EF, while substance use will be negatively associated with EF, and finally that the interaction of the two health-related behaviors will be significant.

Participants (N = 823; 76.5% female; M age [SD] = 19.23 [1.37] - range 18-24 years) were students from six universities located in the United States. This study is part of a larger ongoing study collected through SONA. Participants completed an assessment battery including the 20-item Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale – Short Form (BDEFS), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The IPAQ captures how frequently a participant engages in vigorous intensity exercise, moderate intensity exercise, and walking. Higher scores on the BDEFS indicate poorer EF.

The impact of health-related behaviors on EF was examine via backwards stepwise regression using AUDIT score, weekly vigorous exercise, weekly moderate exercise, and weekly walking. Results showed that AUDIT score (β = 0.13, p < .001) predicted significantly worse EF, while engagement in weekly vigorous exercise (β = -0.17, p < .001) predicted significantly better EF. This model predicted 3.5% of the variance seen in EF. Weekly moderate exercise and weekly walking were not included in the final model, as they did not explain variance not already explained by alcohol use and weekly vigorous exercise. The interaction between vigorous exercise intensity and hazardous drinking was not significant.

Findings from this study support previous literature on the effects of physical activity on executive functioning in individuals who engage in alcohol use, by demonstrating that physical activity can potentially serve as a buffer for the negative effects alcohol use has on EF. The findings also suggest that vigorous exercise is the most protective type of exercise against worsening EF. The results illustrate the effects of these incongruent health behaviors on a college student population and highlight the malleability of EF in relation to health behavior. Results also have implications for mental and physical health promotion.