Numerous studies have found that alcohol dependent individuals demonstrate high rates of delay discounting compared to non-alcohol dependent individuals (Bjork, Hommer, Grant, & Danube, 2004; Finn, 2002; Mitchell, Fields, D’Esposito, & Boettiger, 2005). For example, Petry et al. (2001) compared discounting rates between money and alcohol rewards in 19 current alcohol abusers, 12 currently abstinent former alcohol abusers, and 15 controls (no history of problem drinking). They used a titration procedure to determine indifference points at various delays, for each of the following rewards: $1,000, $100, 150 bottles of an alcoholic beverage, and 15 bottles of an alcoholic beverage. Active alcohol dependent individuals exhibited the most rapid discounting across three conditions of money and alcohol rewards, whereas currently abstinent former alcohol abusers were intermediate, and discounting was lowest for controls. In sum, the data demonstrated alcohol abusers to have steeper rates of delay discounting compared to controls, and in particular, the current users demonstrated the steepest rates of discounting.
