Traits associated with behavioral undercontrol/disinhibition (e.g., types of impulsivity, sensation seeking, aggression) have been found to predict high-risk patterns of alcohol use. Changes in self-reported impulsivity in a college student cohort from the ages of 18-35 were significantly and positively correlated with changes in self-reported alcohol-related problems during the same time period (Littlefield et al., 2010). Sensation seeking has been found to be a prospective predictor of heavy drinking in undergraduates (Katz et al., 2000), however, associations between sensation seeking and alcohol-related problems have not been as strong (Zuckerman, 1994). Scores on a self-report measure of aggression were significantly and positively correlated with scores on the AUDIT in a national survey of young adult twin and non-twin siblings in Finland (von der Pahlen et al., 2008). The strong relationships that have been observed between behavioral undercontrol/disinhibition and high-risk alcohol use may reflect shared genetic risk among these attributes (Iacono et al., 2008; Slutske et al., 2002; von der Pahlen et al., 2008).
