Ocular Imaging of Attentional Bias Among College Students: Automatic and Controlled Processing of Alcohol-Related Scenes

Abstract
Objective: Heavy episodic drinking in college is an issue of major concern in our society. In the college setting, where alcohol misuse is prevalent, alcohol-related perceptions and automatic attentional biases may be important determinants in students' decisions to engage in risking drinking behaviors. The current study examined college students' attention to alcohol-related beverages in real time using ocular-imaging techniques. The authors hypothesized that alcohol-consumption characteristics such as quantity-frequency of alcohol consumption would predict ocular-imaging indices of attentional bias to alcohol-related images. Method: Twenty-six college students successfully completed questionnaires assessing basic demographics and alcohol-consumption characteristics, followed by an eye-tracking task in which they viewed pictorial stimuli consisting of photographs of alcohol-related scenes, household objects, or a combination of these items. Results: Quantity-frequency index (QFI) of alcohol consumption was positively related to the percentage of initial ocular fixations on the alcohol-related items (r = .62, p = .001), whereas QFI negatively predicted the percentage of initial ocular fixations on the control images (r = −.60, p = .002). In addition, QFI positively predicted participants' dwell time on alcohol-related images (r = .57, p = .005), and negatively predicted dwell time on control images (r = −.41, p = .05). Age at first drink and days since last alcohol consumption were not related to eye-tracking metrics. Conclusions: Ocular-imaging methods are a valuable tool for use in the study of attentional bias to alcohol-related images in college drinkers. Further research is needed to determine the potential application of these methods to the prevention and treatment of alcohol misuse on college campuses. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 70: 652-659, 2009)