a risk mechanism via diminished ability to inhibit urges to drink, thus increasing liability for AUD (Sharbanee et al. 2014). Similarly, low behavioral control may decrease one’s tendency to initiate adaptive activities when a depressed mood is present, thus increasing liability for MDD (Dimidjian et al. 2011). Alternatively, cognitive/attentional control may increase attentional biases toward stimuli high in emotional valence, such as fixations on potential reward (e.g. craving; Field et al. 2006) or loss/threat (e.g. rumination; Ouimet et al. 2009). Finally, behavioral control may confer risk broadly via maladaptive decision making, resulting in problematic alcohol use, as well as negative life circumstances that make depressive episodes more likely. It will be important for future research to elucidate how control-based processes are associated with MDD and AUD, and potentially general psychopathology (Caspi et al. 2013).
