Our findings regarding sex-based differences might have some implications for approaches to diminish the risk for heavy drinking and alcohol problems in young drinkers. We recently demonstrated benefits of an LR-based prevention paradigm where subjects with a low LR showed significantly greater decreases in several alcohol-related adverse outcomes compared to low LR subjects who received the usual state-of-the-art approach to prevention [57]. The current results suggest that, in the future, optimal prevention sessions for males might place a greater emphasis on the direct impact of LR on adverse alcohol outcomes, while prevention protocols for females might also emphasize potential mediators of LR’s effects, such as positive alcohol expectancies and using alcohol to cope with stress.
