function of age. This finding extends the extant literature on the potential differential importance of positive and negative reinforcement across alcohol use outcomes by providing empirical evidence of within-individual change in the relationship between negative reinforcement and alcohol consumption as a function of AD status. Although our results did not support the hypothesis that the influence of positive reinforcement on alcohol consumption would decrease with the presence of AD, they are consistent with prior findings that alcohol stimulation and reward sensitivity continue to influence drinking as individuals progress in developing alcohol use disorder (King et al., 2014; King et al., 2016). These results are interesting, particularly in view of the tremendous challenges for AD intervention and treatment, which may be because once individuals become alcohol dependent, both positive and negative reinforcing factors are operating. Our findings imply that both positive and negative reinforcement need to be targeted for individuals with AD.
