Crucial to the DM is the notion that at-risk individuals experience the positively reinforcing effects of alcohol more strongly but the aversive effects more weakly. Thus, another hypothesis generated from the DM but not the LLRM is that FH+ groups should respond more to the stimulant effects of alcohol relative to FH− groups. In the samples that assessed subjective stimulation (across the BAC curve), however, there was a moderate—but not significantly different from zero—effect in the opposite direction, with FH+ participants reporting less stimulation, g = −0.46 (95% CI: −0.94, 0.02). This effect was similar to that found in samples assessing subjective sedation, g = −0.32 (95% CI: −0.70, 0.06). There was significant heterogeneity in effect sizes for both stimulation and sedation across studies, Qwithin(5) = 13.62, p = .02, I2 = 63.30 and Qwithin(10) = 34.83, p < .001, I2 = 71.29, respectively.
