Urgency traits, emotions, and mood states might increase the salience and subjective value of alcohol (e.g., Field and Powell, 2007; Niaura et al., 1988). Cyders and colleagues (2009) found that positive urgency predicted increased alcohol consumption following positive mood induction, whereas negative urgency predicted lower consumption in the positive mood condition. A recent meta-analysis found a small but significant relationship between impulsivity and substance-related attentional biases although the specific relationship between urgency and attentional biases could not be examined because of the paucity of such studies (Coskunpinar & Cyders, in press). More specifically, Coskunpinar and colleagues (in press) found that negative (but not positive) urgency predicted increased attentional biases to alcohol in response to alcohol aroma cues, after controlling for demographics, previous drinking history, current emotional state, and other impulsivity-related traits. Two recent studies have also supported a role of urgency in increasing craving for alcohol following alcohol cue exposure (Karyadi & Cyders, under review; Pavlick, 2007).
