We also conducted analyses to examine whether there are differences across sex and racial groups in the associations between positive and negative reinforcement and alcohol use outcomes. Results supporting Hypothesis 1 were observed across sex and race. That is, positive reinforcement was more strongly associated with alcohol consumption than was negative reinforcement among individuals without AD; this pattern of associations was observed for males and females, and for EAs and AAs (see Supplemental Table 1). For Hypothesis 2, no clear evidence was observed across sex and race/ethnicity. For males, females, and EAs, consistent with the results observed in the whole sample, both positive and negative reinforcement were associated with AD, with the association only being slightly stronger for negative reinforcement among males and EAs. However, for AAs, negative reinforcement, but not positive reinforcement, was significantly associated with AD, providing stronger support for Hypothesis 2 compared to results for EAs (see Supplemental Table 2). Results supporting Hypothesis 3 were observed across sex and for EAs. Consistent with the results observed in the whole sample, the association between positive reinforcement and alcohol
