NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING IN YOUNG PROFESSIONALS WHO USE ALCOHOL AS A LEISURE ACTIVITY

Abstract

Nowadays it is common for young professionals, after their weekly working hours, to carry out recreational activities that involve the consumption of alcohol. In this sense, the article reports a study that analyzed the impact on the neuropsychological functioning of 30 young professionals who consume alcohol weekly (M_age = 29.07, SD = 5.50), when compared with 32 young professionals who do not consume alcohol (M_age = 29.56, SD = 5.96). Results suggest that adults in the group consuming alcohol have a lower performance in neuropsychological tests assessing cognitive flexibility (t = 2.10, p =. <.05), initiative (t = 2.15, p = <.05), fluency phonological (t = -2.09, p = <.05), reading (t = -2.14, p = <.05), similarities (t = -2.03, p = <.05), visual-spatial memory (t = - 2.14, p = <.05) and recognition (t = -2.48, p = <.01), when compared with the control group. The results suggest that weekly alcohol consumption generates a negative impact on the functioning of professional adults, which can have a counterproductive effect in the contexts where it is developed. The results are discussed around previous research and highlighting the need to identify the effect of alcohol consumption once a week, which would be seen as a leisure activity for young professional adults, not taking into account the negative impact on their cognitive performance.