Although impairments in executive function are thought to be a consequence of prolonged alcohol use and AUD (Koob & Volkow, 2010, 2016), the present study found that performance on two executive function tasks was unassociated with alcohol milestones as both predictor and outcome. Few studies have previously explored the relationship between alcohol consumption or AUD and performance on these tasks, with mixed findings (Hendriks, van de Rest, Snippe, Kieboom, & Hogenelst, 2020; Meyers et al., 2019; Pandey et al., 2018). Explanations for the present findings include the restriction of EF analyses to individuals with EF assessments that preceded milestone onsets (i.e. those that experienced milestones later, on average, may exhibit a lower constellation of risk factors) and the lack of measures of inhibitory control and other EF components more relevant to AUD.
