Twenty-nine percent of adults in the United States meet criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), one of the most disabling conditions worldwide, at some point during their lifetime (Grant et al., 2015; Rehm et al., 2009). AUD treatment is fraught with high dropout in early engagement, treatment failure, and high relapse risk (Hunt et al., 1971; Sinha, 2011; Stark, 1992), factors that contribute to high levels of alcohol-related morbidity and mortality (GBD Collaboration, 2018). The typical objective of treatment for AUD is that the patient will abstain, restore, or establish healthy drinking behaviors; however, patients are confronted with a multitude of obstacles, including interpersonal and situational stressors, that prevent them from reaching these goals or even initiating treatment in the first place. Thus, identifying potential therapeutic targets may help reduce the impact that stressors have on drinking behaviors and potentially increase the likelihood that patients will succeed.
