Drinking to cope among African American college students: an assessment of episode-specific motives

Racism and alcohol-related problems among Black adults: The role of negative emotionality to experiencing racism

INTRODUCTION

Although Black Americans tend to consume less alcohol than non-Hispanic/Latine White Americans, Black Americans who do drink alcohol appear at especially high risk for negative alcohol-related problems. This alcohol-based health disparity indicates a need to identify psycho-sociocultural factors that may play a role in drinking and related problems to inform prevention and treatment efforts. Minority stress-based models posit that stressors such as racism increase negative emotions, which may be associated with using substances such as alcohol to cope with negative emotions. Yet, little research has directly assessed emotional reactions to racism and whether it plays a role in drinking-related behaviors.

METHOD

Participants were 164 Black American undergraduates at a racially/ethnically diverse university who endorsed current alcohol use 18-48 (M = 21.7, SD = 4.3). Participants completed an online survey regarding their experiences with racism and alcohol-related behaviors.

RESULTS

Experiencing more frequent racism was related to greater negative emotions experienced in response to racism (i.e., negative emotional reactivity to racism) and alcohol-related problems. More frequent racism was related to more alcohol-related problems via the sequential effects of negative emotional reactivity to racism and coping motivated drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that the experience of negative emotions that occur after experiencing racism and attempts to cope with those negative emotions by consuming alcohol play important roles in drinking behaviors among Black Americans.

Associations Between Stress, Health Behaviors, and Quality of Life in Young Couples During the Transition to Survivorship: Protocol for a Measurement Burst Study

BACKGROUND

Cancer is a life-threatening, stressful event, particularly for young adults due to delays and disruptions in their developmental transitions. Cancer treatment can also cause adverse long-term effects, chronic conditions, psychological issues, and decreased quality of life (QoL) among young adults. Despite numerous health benefits of health behaviors (eg, physical activity, healthy eating, no smoking, no alcohol use, and quality sleep), young adult cancer survivors report poor health behavior profiles. Determining the associations of stress (either cancer-specific or day-to-day stress), health behaviors, and QoL as young adult survivors transition to survivorship is key to understanding and enhancing these survivors' health. It is also crucial to note that the effects of stress on health behaviors and QoL may manifest on a shorter time scale (eg, daily within-person level). Moreover, given that stress spills over into romantic relationships, it is important to identify the role of spouses or partners (hereafter partners) in these survivors' health behaviors and QoL.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate associations between stress, health behaviors, and QoL at both within- and between-person levels during the transition to survivorship in young adult cancer survivors and their partners, to identify the extent to which young adult survivors' and their partners' stress facilitates or hinders their own and each other's health behaviors and QoL.

METHODS

We aim to enroll 150 young adults (aged 25-39 years at the time of cancer diagnosis) who have recently completed cancer treatment, along with their partners. We will conduct a prospective longitudinal study using a measurement burst design. Participants (ie, survivors and their partners) will complete a daily web-based survey for 7 consecutive days (a "burst") 9 times over 2 years, with the bursts spaced 3 months apart. Participants will self-report their stress, health behaviors, and QoL. Additionally, participants will be asked to wear an accelerometer to assess their physical activity and sleep during the burst period. Finally, dietary intake (24-hour diet recalls) will be assessed during each burst via telephone by research staff.

RESULTS

Participant enrollment began in January 2022. Recruitment and data collection are expected to conclude by December 2024 and December 2026, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first study that determines the interdependence of health behaviors and QoL of young adult cancer survivors and their partners at both within- and between-person levels. This study is unique in its focus on the transition to cancer survivorship and its use of a measurement burst design. Results will guide the creation of a developmentally appropriate dyadic psychosocial or behavioral intervention that improves both young adult survivors' and their partners' health behaviors and QoL and potentially their physical health.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/53307.

Individual Differences in Substance Use Motives, Trauma, and Stress Among College-Based Polysubstance Users

Background: Co-use of alcohol and other drugs within a certain time frame (i.e., polysubstance use) has become increasingly prevalent, particularly among college-aged individuals, but understanding motives for co-use remains limited. Polysubstance use has been associated with a higher likelihood of negative health consequences as compared to single substance use. Objectives: The current study examined associations between motivations for using alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis among college students who use multiple substances versus students using only one substance or no substances. Additionally, we examined the effect of trauma and daily stress on polysubstance use in self-report data from individuals (N=134) participating in the MAPme Study. Results: First, the observed prevalence of polysubstance use was greater than expected by chance, with most individuals co-using alcohol and cannabis. "Alcohol and Other Drug Users" were more frequently motivated to drink for social (β=0.27, CI=[0.07, 0.44]), enhancement (β=0.26, CI=[0.01, 0.42]) and coping (β=0.21, CI=[0.06, 0.47]) reasons compared to individuals who consumed alcohol alone. Conclusions: Individual differences in motivations for use were partly explained by frequency of alcohol use and alcohol problem severity, but not by history of trauma or stress. Finally, while patterns of correlations among motivations for use across substances suggested a general tendency to be motivated to use substances for similar reasons, this was not supported by confirmatory factor models. Overall, shared motives may inform potential behavioral patterns for co-use of substances during college and might advise future treatment efforts.

Event-level risk for negative alcohol consequences in emerging adults: The role of affect, motivation, and context

OBJECTIVE

Decades of research has found support for the motivational model of alcohol use, such that positive/negative affect are indirectly associated with drinking behavior through drinking motives. However, research on event-level drinking motives is in its nascent stage, and studies have yet to consider how drinking context plays a role in the motivational pathway to both event- and person-level drinking behavior. Therefore, the present study seeks to test whether drinking context mediates the effect of affect and motivation on drinking outcomes at both the event- and person-level.

METHOD

Data for this Stage 1 Registered Report will come from a recently completed ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study in emerging adults. The study collected data on 131 emerging adults, of whom 107 reported event-level social and solitary drinking during the EMA period. Multilevel structural equation modeling will be used to test whether predrinking affect is associated with predrinking motives, and whether drinking context (social vs. solitary drinking) mediates the effect of drinking motives on drinking outcomes. Models will parse within-/between-person variance, allowing the present study to test whether drinking context serves as a mechanism of risk in the motivational model at the event-level, or solely at the between-person level. Findings will inform personalized interventions and motivational models of drinking behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Robust Relation of Microaggressions with Alcohol-Related Problems Among Black Individuals Who Use Alcohol: the Role of Drinking to Cope with Negative Affect

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use is an important area of health disparities among Black individuals in the United States (US). The identification of psycho-sociocultural factors that play a role in alcohol-related problems among this population can inform culturally sensitive prevention and treatment efforts. Psycho-sociocultural models of alcohol misuse posit that some Black Americans may drink (and continue to drink despite drinking-related problems) to alleviate negative affect associated with experiencing race-based discrimination. Although there is a strong link between overt race-based discrimination and drinking outcomes, little research has tested whether more common, everyday race-based discrimination (microaggressions) is related and whether this association is attributable, in part, to drinking to cope with negative affect.

METHODS

Participants were 365 Black undergraduate current individuals who use alcohol who completed an online survey.

RESULTS

Microaggressions were significantly, positively correlated with alcohol-related problems, even after controlling for drinking, overt discrimination, non-racist life stressors, and relevant demographic variables. Microaggressions were indirectly related to alcohol-related problems via drinking to cope with negative affect (depression, anxiety).

CONCLUSIONS

Microaggressions are robustly associated with alcohol-related problems even after accounting for variance attributable to more overt discrimination and non-racist stressors among Black adults. Consistent with minority stress models, this relation may be due in part to drinking to cope with negative affect (depression, anxiety).

Alcohol-Related Problems Among Black Adults: the Role of False Safety Behaviors

BACKGROUND

Black adults who consume alcohol experience negative alcohol-related outcomes, indicating a need for culturally sensitive research aimed at identifying malleable psychological factors that may play a role in drinking related problems to inform prevention and treatment. One such factor is false safety behavior (FSB), which reflects behaviors geared toward decreasing anxiety short term but that maintains or increases anxiety long term. Although emerging data indicate that FSBs are related to substance use in predominantly White samples, no known studies have tested whether these behaviors are related to drinking behaviors among Black individuals.

METHODS

Participants were 163 Black undergraduate who endorsed current (past-month) alcohol use and completed an online survey.

RESULTS

FSB use frequency was robustly positively related to alcohol-related problems, even after controlling for peak eBAC, anxiety, depression, and relevant demographic variables. Anxiety was indirectly related to alcohol-related problems via more frequent FSB use.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly all Black individuals who consume alcohol report using FSB to manage anxiety. More frequent FSB use is robustly related to more alcohol-related problems and may play an important role in the relation of anxiety with alcohol-related problems among Black individuals who endorse current alcohol use.

Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use and Related Problems among Black Adults: Differential Roles of Motives by Sex

Background: Black individuals who consume alcohol are at risk of experiencing alcohol-related problems. Psycho-sociocultural models of substance use posit that these individuals may continue to drink despite alcohol-related problems to cope with psychological distress. Emerging data indicate that social anxiety is one type of distress that may play an important role in drinking behavior among Black adults. Objectives: Yet despite evidence that drinking to cope varies as a function of sex among predominantly White samples, this is the first known study to test whether socially anxious Black women are similarly at risk for coping motivated drinking and its negative sequelae. Participants were 257 (75% female) Black undergraduates endorsing current alcohol use. Results: Among women and men, social anxiety was significantly related to more alcoholrelated problems and coping-depression and conformity motives. Among women (but not men), social anxiety was also significantly related to more coping-anxiety and greater typical drinking. Serial mediation analyses among women indicated that social anxiety was indirectly related to more alcohol problems via the serial effect of each of the relevant drinking motives (copinganxiety, coping-depression, conformity) and drinking frequency. Among men, social anxiety was indirectly related to alcohol problems via coping-depression and conformity motives. Conclusions/Importance: Findings highlight the importance of considering sex in research on psychosocial vulnerability factors associated with alcohol-related problems among Black adults.

Solitary-specific drinking to cope motives explain unique variance in solitary drinking behavior but not alcohol problems compared to general drinking to cope motives

OBJECTIVE

Adolescent and young adult solitary drinking is prospectively associated with alcohol problems, and it is thus important to understand why individuals engage in this risky drinking behavior. There is substantial evidence that individuals drink alone to cope with negative affect, but all prior studies have assessed motives for alcohol use without specifying the context of such use. Here, we directly compared solitary-specific drinking to cope motives with general drinking to cope motives in their ability to predict solitary drinking behavior and alcohol problems. We hypothesized that solitary-specific drinking motives would provide additional predictive utility in each case.

METHODS

Current underage drinkers (N = 307; 90% female; ages 18-20) recruited from a TurkPrime panel March-May 2016 completed online surveys querying solitary alcohol use, general and solitary-specific coping motives, and alcohol problems.

RESULTS

Both solitary-specific and general coping motives were positively associated with a greater percentage of total drinking time spent alone in separate models, after controlling for solitary-specific and general enhancement motives, respectively. However, the model with solitary-specific motives accounted for greater variance than the general motives model based on adjusted R2 values (0.8 versus 0.3, respectively). Additionally, both general and solitary-specific coping motives were positively associated with alcohol problems, again controlling for enhancement motives, but the model including general motives accounted for greater variance (0.49) than the solitary-specific motives model (0.40).

CONCLUSION

These findings provide evidence that solitary-specific coping motives explain unique variance in solitary drinking behavior but not alcohol problems. The methodological and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Examination of Sex-Related Distress and Self-Medication Drinking Model in U.S. College Women

Adult sexual assault (ASA) in college remains a concern. Consequently, many college-aged women experience negative emotions surrounding sexual activity (sex-related distress). Consistent with self-medication theory, some drink to cope with sex-related distress, which may reduce distress, but lead to greater drinking quantity before sex and negative sexual consequences. How women with ASA histories navigate sexual situations and cope with sex-related distress is under researched. We examined ASA, sex-related distress, and drinking to cope motives to understand correlates of drinking before sex. First and second year college women (n = 300) reported on a recent sexual experience in the past six weeks. In the full sample, ASA severity was associated with a greater likelihood of drinking before sex, while general sex-related distress was associated with a lower likelihood. General sex-related distress was associated with event-specific sex-related distress and sexual consequences. There were no differences in number of pre-sex drinks or subjective intoxication during sexual activity based on ASA. In a subsample of women who drank before sexual activity (n = 179), drinking to cope with sex-related distress motives mediated the association between sex-related distress and sexual consequences. Interventions can draw on these findings to target self-medication drinking in consensual sexual situations.

Nuanced relations between simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use motives and negative consequences among college students: The role of multiple product use

Simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use is common, but it exacerbates negative consequences. Individuals use alcohol and cannabis products in different ways and have distinct reasons for use. The present study examines day-level effects of motives on consequences on SAM-use days, accounting for consumption, and tests whether using multiple alcohol (e.g., beer + liquor) and/or cannabis (e.g., concentrate + leaf) products on the same day mediates these relations. College students engaging in SAM use at least once in the past month (N = 281; Mage = 20.17) completed two bursts of 28 consecutive days of data collection. We examined within-person effects of motives (effect-enhancement, social, offered [it was offered], coping) on number of negative consequences and on experiencing hangover, nausea, or blackout; and indirect effects via two concurrent mediators: using multiple alcohol products and multiple cannabis products. Total effect models showed effect-enhancement motives were related to nausea, social motives to number of total consequences and hangover, and coping motives to blackout. Effect-enhancement, social, and offered motives evinced significant indirect effects on consequence outcomes via multiple alcohol, but not cannabis, product use. Coping motives did not exhibit significant indirect effects, and were related to multiple cannabis, but not alcohol, product use, although all other motives were related to both mediators. Findings support recent work demonstrating within-person relations between social motives and negative consequences on SAM-use days. Limiting the number of alcohol products consumed on SAM-use days may be beneficial, particularly for young adults using to enhance intoxication or for social reasons. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Changes in affect and alcohol craving during naturally occurring drinking episodes: The role of day-level drinking motives

Day-level drinking motives are associated with intensity of drinking and occurrence of negative consequences. However, little is known about how day-level drinking motives relate to alcohol craving, an approach-oriented motivational state proximal to continued drinking. This study tested whether day-level (and between-person) drinking motives were associated with craving during drinking episodes and whether this effect varied by drinking-induced changes in negative/positive affect (PA). Emerging adults (N = 114) took part in up to two waves of 21-day ecological momentary assessments. Participants reported positive/negative affect (NA) prior to and during drinking episodes, drinking motives at beginning of episodes, and craving during all drink reports. Analyses tested whether day-level and between-person (aggregated) drinking motives were associated with heightened craving and whether any effects on craving were moderated by drinking-induced changes in affect. A significant interaction emerged for day-level coping by negative affect, such that higher-than-average coping was associated with less drinking-induced craving when negative affect decreased relative to predrinking levels. However, interactions of between-person coping by negative and positive affect also emerged, such that higher person-level coping was associated with more drinking-induced craving when negative affect and positive affect increased. Day-level and between-person conformity motives by negative affect interactions were also detected, such that higher day-level and between-person conformity motives were associated with more drinking-induced craving when negative affect decreased. Relations between day-level motivation and craving may be sensitive to changes in negative/positive affect while drinking. Future research is needed to differentiate mechanisms through which person-level versus day-level motives relate to craving. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethnic-racial identity and hazardous drinking among black drinkers: A test of the minority stress model

Black Americans who consume alcohol experience negative alcohol-related outcomes, indicating a need to identify psycho-sociocultural factors that may play a role in drinking and related problems to inform prevention and treatment. Although lower levels of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) are related to negative drinking outcomes, this is the first known test of whether psychological distress and drinking to cope with distress play a role in these relations. Participants were 155 Black current drinking undergraduates at a racially/ethnically diverse university. ERI was significantly, negatively correlated with drinking frequency, drinking problems, coping motivated drinking, depression, and social anxiety. ERI was unrelated to drinking quantity. ERI was indirectly related to drinking and related problems via the sequential effects of depression and coping motivated drinking, but not via depression or coping motives alone. ERI was indirectly related to drinking via the sequential effects of social anxiety and coping motivated drinking, and indirectly related to drinking problems via social anxiety but not via coping motives alone. In line with minority stress-based models, ERI is related to less negative drinking outcomes (less frequent drinking, fewer problems) via less psychological distress (depression, social anxiety) and less coping motivated drinking. Also, social anxiety was robustly related to drinking frequency and problems among Black drinkers, a group that has been underrepresented in the social anxiety-drinking literature. This finding indicates that anxiety about social situations may play an especially important role in drinking behaviors in this group.

Adaptive Text Messaging for Postpartum Risky Drinking: Conceptual Model and Protocol for an Ecological Momentary Assessment Study (Preprint)

Background

Risky drinking is prevalent among women of childbearing age. Although many women reduce their drinking during pregnancy, more than half return to prepregnancy levels during the early postpartum period. Risky drinking in new mothers may be associated with negative child and maternal health outcomes; however, new mothers are unlikely to seek treatment for risky drinking because of stigma and fear of child protective service involvement. SMS text messaging is a promising approach for reaching non–treatment-seeking new mothers at risk because of risky drinking. SMS text messaging interventions (TMIs) are empirically supported for alcohol use, but a tailored intervention for new mothers does not exist. This study aims to fill this gap by developing a just-in-time adaptive TMI for postpartum risky drinking.

Objective

The objectives of this paper are to present a preliminary conceptual model of postpartum risky drinking and describe the protocol for conducting an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study with new mothers to inform the refinement of the conceptual model and development of the TMI.

Methods

This paper presents a preliminary conceptual model of postpartum risky drinking based on the motivational model of alcohol use, social cognitive theory, and temporal self-regulation theory. The model proposes three primary intervention targets: motivation, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. Theoretical and empirical literature in support of the conceptual model is described. The paper also describes procedures for a study that will collect EMA data from 30 participants recruited via social media and the perinatal Central Intake system of New Jersey. Following the baseline assessment, EMA surveys will be sent 5 times per day for 14 days. The assessment instruments and data analysis procedures are described.

Results

Recruitment is scheduled to begin in January 2022 and is anticipated to conclude in March 2022. Study results are estimated to be published in July 2022.

Conclusions

The study findings will enhance our understanding of daily and momentary fluctuations in risk and protective factors for risky drinking during the early postpartum period. The findings will be used to refine the conceptual model and inform the development of the TMI. The next steps for this work include the development of intervention components via an iterative participatory design process and testing of the resulting intervention in a pilot microrandomized trial.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/36849

Racial Discrimination and Hazardous Drinking among Black Drinkers: The Role of Social Anxiety in the Minority Stress Model

Objective: Black Americans who consume alcohol experience worse alcohol-related outcomes. Thus, identifying psycho-sociocultural factors that play a role in hazardous drinking among Black individuals is vital to informing prevention and treatment efforts to reduce these disparities. Racial discrimination is related to hazardous drinking among Black adults, suggesting that some may drink (and continue to drink despite drinking-related problems) to alleviate negative affect (e.g., depression, anxiety) associated with discrimination. Yet, despite the social nature of both racial discrimination and drinking, no known research has examined the role of social anxiety in the relations among racial discrimination experiences and hazardous drinking. Method: Participants were 164 Black current drinking undergraduates. Results: Racial discrimination was significantly, positively correlated with hazardous drinking, depression, and social anxiety. Discrimination was indirectly related to hazardous drinking via social anxiety, but not depression. Further, discrimination was indirectly related to hazardous drinking via social anxiety alone and via the sequential effects of social anxiety and drinking to cope, but not via coping motives alone. It was also related to hazardous drinking via the sequential effects of depression and drinking to cope but not depression alone. Alternative model testing indicated that social anxiety was not related to hazardous drinking via discrimination, strengthening confidence in directionality of proposed relations. Conclusions: Negative affect (social anxiety, depression) appears to be related to hazardous drinking among those who experience more discrimination due in part to drinking to cope. Social anxiety plays an important role in the relation between discrimination and hazardous drinking among Black adults.

More Reasons, More Use and Problems? Examining the Influence of Number of Motives on Consumption and Consequences Across Alcohol-Only, Cannabis-Only, and Simultaneous-Use Days

OBJECTIVE

Alcohol and cannabis use as well as their simultaneous use are common among U.S. college students. Reasons for use are proximal predictors of consumption and consequences. Little research has examined possible adverse effects of endorsing multiple motives on a given use day. We examined the effects of the number of motives on consumption and negative consequences for alcohol-only, cannabis-only, and simultaneous-use days.

METHOD

College students (N = 341; 53% women; mean age = 19.79 years) who reported past-month simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use completed 54 days of data collection. We used generalized linear mixed-effects models to examine the effects of endorsing multiple motives on consumption and consequences.

RESULTS

Across models, endorsing more motives than typical on a given use day (within person) and more motives in general (between person) was related to greater alcohol and cannabis consumption. Endorsing more alcohol-only motives and cannabis-only motives than typical resulted in greater odds of experiencing a negative consequence when accounting for consumption. This within-person effect was not statistically significant for simultaneous-use motives/consequences. Endorsing a greater number of motives across the study (i.e., between person) was not significantly related to consequences beyond consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

Research has documented the robust effects of specific motives on substance use outcomes. Our novel findings extend this work by demonstrating the risks associated with endorsing multiple motives on a given use day. In addition to motive type, we recommend that the number of motives endorsed on a given day be considered as a potential risk factor to be targeted to reduce harms associated with substance use.

Real-world simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use: An ecological study of situational motives and social and physical contexts

OBJECTIVE

Given the adverse outcomes associated with simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use, understanding factors that give rise to occasions of simultaneous use is critical. This study examines the relationships between situational motives and contexts and three situational outcomes: simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use (SAM) use versus cannabis-only use, number of cannabis uses, and subjective effects.

METHOD

Past-month SAM users (n = 341; 52% female; 75% White; 10% Latinx/Hispanic; age 18-24) from three U.S. college campuses completed 8 weeks of surveys up to five times a day. Three-level generalized linear mixed-effects models tested the effects of situational motives and social and physical contexts on occasion type (SAM vs. cannabis-only), cannabis use, and subjective effects.

RESULTS

Situational social and enhancement motives were related to greater odds of SAM relative to cannabis-only use; expansion motives were reported more often on cannabis-only occasions. Using with others and at friends' places, being with others consuming cannabis, and being with others who are intoxicated were more likely when combining alcohol with cannabis. Increased number of cannabis uses and subjective effects in a social context were evident only on cannabis-only occasions. Using alone and using at home were greater on cannabis-only occasions and were associated with lower cannabis use and subjective effects.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of alcohol and cannabis use occurs during social situations and when motivated by positive reinforcement but number of cannabis uses is not increased when consuming cannabis with alcohol in social situations. Characterizing the complex interplay of situational factors that contribute to risky use will inform interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Study protocol: One plus one can be greater than two-Ecological momentary assessment for Black prostate cancer survivors and partners

Given that romantic partners play a pivotal role in patients' survivorship period, integrating partners into survivorship care and broadening the focus of behavioral interventions from the individual (survivor) to the survivor-partner dyad may make healthy lifestyle behaviors more easily adopted and potentially maintained. Understanding the role of dyadic processes in Black survivors is particularly important because their lifestyle behaviors are poor and they have higher cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. To develop an effective dyadic lifestyle behavior intervention for Black survivors, micro-level investigations of interactions between Black survivors and their partners are necessary to pinpoint how survivors and partners facilitate or hinder each other's lifestyle behaviors in their natural, everyday lives. Accordingly, the objective of the present study is to fill these gaps using ecological momentary assessment to eventually develop more effective lifestyle interventions for Black prostate cancer (PCa) survivors and partners. A total of 120 dyads (i.e., 240 individuals) who are Black adult survivors diagnosed with non-metastatic PCa and their romantic partners will be asked to complete four assessments per day for 14 consecutive days on a smartphone after an initial retrospective survey. Over the 14 days, participants will be asked to complete a brief survey regarding their lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, sedentariness and eating behaviors), contexts of lifestyle behaviors, stress, and coping. Physical activity and sedentary behavior will be assessed via accelerometer; eating behaviors will be assessed with the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Assessment Tool. After completing the 14-day assessment, participants will be asked to complete a final retrospective survey. Results of the proposed study will inform the rigorous development of a theory-based dyadic lifestyle intervention in this vulnerable survivorship population with the ultimate goal to improve overall survival and reduce morbidities (for survivors) and reduce cancer incidence (for partners).

Real-time reports of drinking to cope: Associations with subjective relief from alcohol and changes in negative affect

Many individuals report drinking alcohol to cope or relieve negative affective states, but existing evidence is inconsistent regarding whether individuals experience negatively reinforcing effects after drinking to cope (DTC). We used ecological momentary assessment to examine the effects of DTC during daily-life drinking episodes in a sample of current drinkers (N = 110; 52 individuals with borderline personality disorder and 58 community individuals). Multilevel models were used to test whether momentary and episode-level endorsement of DTC-depression and DTC-anxiety motives would be related to increased subjective drinking-contingent relief and decreased depression and anxiety during drinking episodes. Momentary DTC-anxiety predicted greater subsequent drinking-contingent relief, and greater episode-level DTC-anxiety and DTC-depression predicted greater drinking-contingent relief during the episode. However, we did not find decreased depression and anxiety following endorsement of DTC-depression and DTC-anxiety. Instead, we found that greater episode-level DTC-depression was associated with increased depression. Thus, findings suggest that individuals' negative affective states may not improve during DTC despite endorsing drinking-contingent relief. This discrepancy warrants further attention because subjective relief likely reinforces DTC, whereas awareness of one's change (or lack of change) in affect may provide valuable counterevidence for whether alcohol use is an effective coping strategy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Motives for Substance Use in Daily Life: A Systematic Review of Studies Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

The motivational model of substance use posits four motive subtypes (coping, enhancement, social, conformity) dynamically interact with contextual factors to impact decisions about substance use. Yet, prior studies assessing the motivational model have relied on between-person, cross-sectional evaluations of trait motives. We systematically reviewed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) studies (N=64) on motives for substance use to examine: methodological features of EMA studies examining the motivational model, support for the motivational model between and within individuals, and associations between trait motives and daily processes. Results of the reviewed studies provide equivocal support for the motivational model, and suggest that EMA measures and trait measures of motives might not reflect the same construct. The reviewed body of research indicates most studies have not examined the momentary and dynamic nature of the motivational model and more research is needed to inform interventions that address heterogeneous reasons for substance use in daily life.

Superwomen and Sleep: an Assessment of Black College Women Across the African Diaspora

BACKGROUND

Women and racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. report poor sleep health. While stress and alcohol use may contribute to sleep problems, few studies have examined the roles of stress and alcohol use on sleep among Black college women. Gender-racial ideology of Black womanhood may also play a role in sleep. This exploratory study sought to examine the relationships between stress, alcohol, ethnic-gender identity, and sleep.

METHOD

Guided by the biopsychosocial model and intersectionality theory, a cross-sectional study design recruited undergraduate women (18-24 years) attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) who self-identified as Black (N = 110). Participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Alcohol Use Disorders Test, and Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire. Univariate and multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine independent and multiple effects of stress, alcohol, and ethnic-gender identity on insomnia and sleep quality.

RESULTS

Participants (mean age 19.4 years) represented diverse ethnic groups, 53% American, 25% African, and 20% Caribbean. Nearly 23% reported moderate to severe levels of insomnia. Scores from the Perceived Stress Scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Test, and the Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire were independently associated with insomnia and sleep quality. In multivariate analyses, only perceived stress exhibited a significant association with insomnia and sleep quality.

CONCLUSION

This exploratory study demonstrated that stress, excessive alcohol use, and ethnic-gender identity have relational impact on sleep health. Yet, stress may have greater importance and further research is needed to explore factors that mediated the relationship between stress and sleep.

Unplanned vs. planned drinking: Event-level influences of drinking motives and affect

OBJECTIVE

Problematic alcohol involvement in college students remains a public health concern and identifying factors that promote this consequential behavior as it occurs in daily life is critical. Recent work has found that whether a drinking event is unplanned vs. planned has implications for the risk of negative consequences, though less work has identified fine-grained predictors of these two types of drinking occasions.

METHOD

The present study examined drinking motives and positive and negative affect as predictors of unplanned vs. planned drinking in a sample of college students who completed 28 days of ecological momentary assessment (N = 96; 72% White; 52% female). We examined drinking motives reported at two points: (1) in real-time upon initiating drinking and (2) after one day of retrospection (collected at the daily diary report assessing the prior day). Positive and negative affect were both assessed in real-time. Generalized linear mixed-effects models disentangling within- and between-person effects were leveraged.

RESULTS

Drinking "to get high, buzzed, or drunk" - when retrospectively reported for prior-day drinking - exhibited within-person associations with planned drinking, relative to unplanned drinking. This same effect was marginally significant when ascertained in real-time. Individuals with more frequent retrospective endorsement of the motive "to make the day/night more fun" reported more planned drinking. Higher real-time positive affect, but not negative affect, was marginally associated with planned drinking.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide preliminary support that enhancement motives and higher positive affect are related to planned drinking, which may inform the development of momentary interventions.

Drinking motives moderate daily-life associations between affect and alcohol use in individuals with borderline personality disorder

People often report drinking to cope with negative affect (NA) or to enhance positive affect (PA). However, findings from daily life studies examining the interaction of motives and affect to predict alcohol use are mixed. Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may be particularly susceptible to drinking for the purpose of changing affective states, representing a population in which these patterns may be more readily identifiable in daily life. We tested whether drinking motives moderate daily life associations between affect and drinking in individuals with BPD. Regular drinkers with BPD (N = 54; 81.5% female) completed ecological momentary assessments approximately 6-10 times daily for 21 days. We tested whether the interactions between (a) person-level coping motives and NA so far that day (i.e., cumulative-average NA), and (b) person-level enhancement and cumulative-average PA were associated with subsequent drinking. We also tested whether effects differed for the initiation versus continuation of a drinking episode. Using generalized estimating equations, the interaction between coping and cumulative-average NA was positively associated with momentary drinking, with some evidence for a stronger relation during the continuation of drinking. The interaction between enhancement motives and cumulative-average PA was positively associated with initiation but negatively associated with continuation of drinking. Our novel approach of using cumulative-average affect and distinguishing initiation and continuation of drinking allowed us to examine differential momentary patterns across the drinking episode, and results suggest that awareness of motives as well as affect leading up to and during drinking may be a useful intervention target. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations between solitary drinking and increased alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and drinking to cope motives in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Emerging evidence suggests that solitary drinking may be an important early risk marker for alcohol use disorder. The current paper is the first meta-analysis and systematic review on adolescent and young adult solitary drinking to examine associations between solitary drinking and increased alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and drinking to cope motives.

METHODS

PsychINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology and a pre-registered International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) protocol (no. CRD42020143449). Data from self-report questionnaires regarding negative correlates of solitary drinking (e.g. alcohol problems) and solitary drinking motives (e.g. drinking to cope) were pooled across studies using random-effects models. Studies included adolescents (aged 12-18 years) and young adults (mean age between 18 and 30 years or samples with the majority of participants aged 30 years or younger).

RESULTS

Meta-analytical results from 21 unique samples including 28,372 participants showed significant effects for the associations between solitary drinking and the following factors: increased alcohol consumption, r = 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.12, 0.33; drinking problems, r = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.32; negative affect, r = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.26; social discomfort, r = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.27; negative reinforcement, r = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.31; and positive reinforcement, r = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.17. These associations were not moderated by age group (i.e. adolescent versus young adult), study quality, or differing solitary drinking definitions. Accounting for publication bias increased the effect sizes from r = 0.23 to 0.34 for alcohol consumption and from r = 0.23 to 0.30 for drinking problems, and lowered it from r = 0.10 to 0.06 and r = 0.17 to 0.11 for positive reinforcement and social discomfort, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Solitary drinking among adolescents and young adults appears to be associated with psychosocial/alcohol problems and drinking to cope motives.

Psychological pathway from racial discrimination to the physical consequences of alcohol consumption: Religious coping as a protective factor

While racial discrimination (RD) is associated with increased alcohol-related problems among African Americans (AAs), researchers have not examined how RD contributes to the physical consequences of alcohol consumption over time. In addition, the protective role of religious coping has been discussed but not formally tested in pathways connecting RD to the physical consequences of alcohol consumption. To address this gap, we estimated latent growth mediation models in a sample of 465 AA emerging adults. We found that RD increased physical consequences of alcohol consumption over time through psychological distress. After identifying two profiles of religious coping (i.e., low and high religious coping), RD indirectly influenced the physical consequences of alcohol consumption through psychological distress among AAs in the low religious coping group. Our results signal the importance of developing alcohol-misuse prevention programs that address the psychological consequences of RD. Integrating culturally tailored coping strategies (e.g., religious coping) may bolster the efficacy of these prevention programs.

Daily Motives for Alcohol and Marijuana Use as Predictors of Simultaneous Use Among Young Adults

OBJECTIVE

Research on substance use motives typically examines each substance separately. However, simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use-that is, using alcohol and marijuana at the same time so that their effects overlap-is common among young adults. This study examines day-to-day fluctuations in motives for using alcohol and/ or marijuana among young adult substance users as predictors of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use across days.

METHOD

Data were from a community sample of young adults who reported SAM use in the past month (analytic sample: N = 399, mean [SD] age = 21.63 [2.17]; 50.9% women). Participants reported alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use, and also motives "for alcohol and/or marijuana use" for 14 consecutive days.

RESULTS

Multilevel models showed that elevated enhancement motives were associated with heavy episodic drinking, drinking more, and more hours high from marijuana. Elevated social motives were associated with heavy episodic drinking and drinking more, and also with fewer hours high. Elevated conformity motives were associated with drinking more. SAM use was more likely: on alcohol days and on marijuana days with elevated enhancement and conformity motives, on alcohol days with elevated coping motives, and on marijuana days with elevated social motives.

CONCLUSIONS

SAM use on a given day was primarily associated with enhancement and conformity motives. Social motives were more strongly linked to alcohol use, and to some extent coping motives were linked to marijuana use in this young adult sample. Further examination of situation-specific motives and contexts of use is needed to inform development of real-time interventions for SAM use and consequences.

Black First-Year College Students' Alcohol Outcome Expectancies

Background

Alcohol outcome expectancies (AOEs) are associated with college students' varied alcohol consumption. Existing research on AOEs focuses primarily on heterosexual White students. Thus, it is important to explore how the intersection of multiple identities such as race, gender, and sexual orientation influence the endorsement of specific AOEs.

Purpose

This paper examines AOEs among Black first-year college students, with specific attention to the influence of gender and sexual orientation.

Methods

Participants were 307 Black students from four universities in the United States. We conducted bivariate analyses using the 2-factor and 4-factor B-CEOA scale.

Results

Most students did not hold positive AOEs such as tension reduction and sexual enhancement. They were more likely to endorse negative AOEs such as behavioral and cognitive impairment and social risk.

Discussion

Black first-year college students reported more negative expectations associated with alcohol use, including those related to negative social risks and consequences. Thus, AOEs may serve as a protective factor against alcohol use among Black college students.

Translation to Health Education Practice

Alcohol interventions should be tailored to focus on the intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Culturally relevant alcohol interventions have the potential to reduce the immediate and long-term consequences of alcohol use.

Ecological momentary assessment of drinking in young adults: An investigation into social context, affect and motives

INTRODUCTION

Daily assessment studies have examined how day specific factors, such as affect, social context, and drinking motives, alongside dispositional drinking motives, predict young adults' drinking. However, these studies did not examine how the interplay between drinking motives (dispositional and day specific) and multiple features of the drinking situation predict drinking with respect to either the initial decision to drink or the quantity of alcohol consumed. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via smartphone technology, enables us to address this gap by evaluating to what extent dispositional drinking motives and day specific factors are associated with: a) the initiation of drinking episodes and; b) the quantity of alcohol consumed.

METHODS

Participants were 83 young adults (63 female) aged 18 to 30 (M = 21.42, SD = 3.09) who resided in Australia and participated in an EMA study for 21 days via their smartphone. On a daily basis, participants received three random-interval prompts that measured momentary affect, drinking motives, social context (e.g., people present in the social context and if these individuals are drinking), and alcohol use.

RESULTS

A multilevel hurdle analysis found that young adults were more likely to both initiate a drinking episode and consume a higher quantity of alcohol if they were surrounded by other people who were drinking and were motivated to drink to conform to the reference group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that different drinking behaviors (i.e., initiation and quantity of alcohol consumed) are associated with a similar set of predictors. Drinking-based interventions that address these risk factors could effectively reduce risky drinking as it would intervene on both the decision to initiate alcohol use, and the decision to continue drinking.

Daily Motives for Alcohol and Marijuana Use as Predictors of Simultaneous Use Among Young Adults

OBJECTIVE

Research on substance use motives typically examines each substance separately. However, simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use-that is, using alcohol and marijuana at the same time so that their effects overlap-is common among young adults. This study examines day-to-day fluctuations in motives for using alcohol and/ or marijuana among young adult substance users as predictors of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use across days.

METHOD

Data were from a community sample of young adults who reported SAM use in the past month (analytic sample: N = 399, mean [SD] age = 21.63 [2.17]; 50.9% women). Participants reported alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use, and also motives "for alcohol and/or marijuana use" for 14 consecutive days.

RESULTS

Multilevel models showed that elevated enhancement motives were associated with heavy episodic drinking, drinking more, and more hours high from marijuana. Elevated social motives were associated with heavy episodic drinking and drinking more, and also with fewer hours high. Elevated conformity motives were associated with drinking more. SAM use was more likely: on alcohol days and on marijuana days with elevated enhancement and conformity motives, on alcohol days with elevated coping motives, and on marijuana days with elevated social motives.

CONCLUSIONS

SAM use on a given day was primarily associated with enhancement and conformity motives. Social motives were more strongly linked to alcohol use, and to some extent coping motives were linked to marijuana use in this young adult sample. Further examination of situation-specific motives and contexts of use is needed to inform development of real-time interventions for SAM use and consequences.

The cost of minority stress: Risky alcohol use and coping-motivated drinking behavior in African American college students

A motivational drinking framework is utilized to understand the relationship between minority stressors (e.g., race-related stress and acculturative stress) and alcohol use behaviors (risky alcohol use and coping-motivated drinking) among a large sample of Black American college students. Six hundred forty-nine Black college students from 8 colleges and universities in the United States were recruited as part of a large, multiwave, cross-sectional study investigating the stress and coping experiences of Black emerging adults. Results from the current investigation provide support for the independent contributions of acculturative stress and race-related stress to the risky alcohol use behavior of Black college students, while acculturative stress significantly predicted coping-motivated drinking behaviors in the sample. Findings underscore the need to better understand the unique relationships between minority stress and risky alcohol use behaviors of Black college students, namely, relationships not shared by their nonminority peers that increase their risk of problem drinking.

Marijuana risk perceptions are associated with past-month marijuana use among Black first-year college students at a historically Black university

To examine the relationship between marijuana risk perceptions and marijuana use, and assess the potential moderating role of stress among Black students from a historically Black university, a convenience sample of students (n = 213) was surveyed. The majority (87.9%) of the sample was Black and 52% were female. Over a third (35.1%) reported past 30-day marijuana use, and a majority (58.4%) reported no or slight risk from using marijuana once or twice weekly. Higher marijuana risk perceptions were associated with lower odds of marijuana use (OR = .45, 95% CI [0.32, 0.64]). No significant relationship between stress and marijuana use was found. Perception of marijuana risk warrants further examination as a predictor of marijuana use.

Cross-cultural examination of different personality pathways to alcohol use and misuse in emerging adulthood

BACKGROUND

Previous research has identified different, but not mutually exclusive, etiological pathways (i.e., the positive affect regulation pathway, the negative affect regulation pathway and the deviance proneness pathway) to alcohol use and misuse in which personality characteristics play a key role.

OBJECTIVES

The present study aimed to simultaneously and cross-culturally examine all these personality pathways to alcohol use in a large sample of young adult drinkers (N = 1280) from the US, Argentina, and Spain.

METHOD

Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the models. Multi-group models were conducted to test model invariance across countries and gender groups.

RESULTS

In the whole sample, low conscientiousness and extraversion were related to alcohol outcomes through enhancement drinking motives (i.e., positive affect regulation pathway), low emotional stability was related through coping drinking motives (i.e., negative affect regulation pathway), and low conscientiousness and low agreeableness were related through antisocial behavior (i.e., deviance proneness pathway). The model was invariant between gender groups. Some minor, yet significant, differences across countries arose. Specifically, antisocial behavior was a significant mediator of the association between agreeableness and alcohol use, but only in the US subsample.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings suggest that risky-personality pathways for alcohol use and alcohol-related problems may be generalized across gender groups and cultures in young adults.

Sexual identity of drinking companions, drinking motives, and drinking behaviors among young sexual minority women: An analysis of daily data

Research has indicated that sexual minority women (SMW) drink more than do their heterosexual counterparts. Minority stress theory postulates that this increased drinking is motivated by efforts to modulate distress related to minority status, highlighting the potential importance of coping and enhancement drinking motives. Social learning theory postulates that SMW are motivated to drink more because their social companions model drinking behavior and convey social norms regarding appropriate alcohol consumption, suggesting that socialization and conformity motives may be important. The degree to which different motives for drinking affect SMW's alcohol consumption may depend in part on whether SMW drink with other sexual minorities, but this has not been investigated. This study examined daily data across 2 separate 14-day bursts to understand associations among daily drinking motives, the sexual identity of drinking companions, and alcohol consumption among 67 young SMW who reported on 553 social drinking days. On days when SMW had higher than typical socialization and enhancement motives, they tended to drink more, and SMW who typically had higher coping motives tended to drink more on any given day. Further, higher than typical enhancement motives were associated with heavier drinking on days when SMW drank with only heterosexual companions, relative to days when they drank with only sexual minority companions or in mixed sexual-identity groups. SMW's typical conformity motives were more strongly related to drinking on days when SMW drank in mixed sexual-identity groups relative to heterosexual companions only. These results indicate that SMW's drinking motives and drinking companions may be important targets for future research and intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record

Racial differences in college-student drinking

Racial differences in drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies (PBSs), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems were examined among college student drinkers (N = 443: 296 [66.8%] White, 147 [33.3%] Black). Survey participants were recruited from large undergraduate sociology classes and residence halls at the university. Key differences between Black and White college students in drinking behaviors, reasons for drinking (i.e., motives), and the use of PBSs were observed. These racial differences have implications for the implementation of prevention/intervention programs intending to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among college students.

Event-Level Associations Among Drinking Motives, Alcohol Consumption, and Condomless Anal Sex in a Sample of Young Men Who Have Sex With Men

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) are at increased risk for HIV and problematic alcohol use. Drinking motives are associated with alcohol use in cross-sectional studies, but their associations with alcohol use and condomless anal sex (CAS) at the event-level remain unclear. The current study examined these event-level associations in a sample of 189 YMSM who completed self-report measures on a daily or weekly basis for two months. Participants were recruited between August 2014 and April 2015 for a randomized trial designed to study behavioral reactivity in diary studies. YMSM consumed more alcohol on days when they drank to cope, to enhance pleasure, or to be more social. CAS with casual partners was more likely on days when they consumed more alcohol. Drinking motives were not associated with CAS. Interventions may benefit from addressing drinking motives and the influence of alcohol use on CAS in different types of relationships.

Interaction between the ADH1B*3 allele and drinking motives on alcohol use among Black college students

BACKGROUND

Black young adults have lower rates of alcohol use than other racial groups. Genetic factors may protect against drinking. Specifically, the ADH1B*3 allele is present almost exclusively in Black populations and has been protective against alcohol use and alcohol use disorder. The protective effects of the ADH1B*3 allele, however, may differ as a function of alcohol-promoting cognitions.

OBJECTIVES

The current study examined whether ADH1B*3 moderated relations of drinking motives with alcohol consumption among Black college drinkers.

METHODS

Participants were 241 undergraduate students of self-identified Black race (mean age = 20 years; 66% female) who reported consuming alcohol at least once in the past 30 days.

RESULTS

ADH1B*3 was not significantly associated with drinking motives or drinking behaviors. However, significant, albeit small, interaction effects of ADH1B*3 with drinking motives on drinking behavior were found; the presence of an ADH1B*3 allele protected against greater drinking quantity among students with high social motives (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.95, 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]) and against frequent drinking among students with low coping motives (IRR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.01, 1.11]).

CONCLUSION

These findings represent a novel demonstration of genetic modulation of alcohol-related cognitions within Black college drinkers, although replication is needed. Results represent an initial step toward better characterizing individual differences in associations of drinking motives with drinking behavior, with potential implications for interventions aimed at motivational processes in alcohol use.

Validation of a Seven-Factor Structure for the Motives for Playing Drinking Games Measure

Playing drinking games can be characterized as a high-risk drinking activity because games are typically designed to promote heavy alcohol consumption. While research suggests that young adults are motivated to play drinking games for a variety of reasons (e.g., for thrills/fun, for the competition), the Motives for Playing Drinking Games measure has received limited empirical attention. We examined the psychometric properties of this measure with a confirmation sample of young adults recruited from Amazon's MTurk ( N = 1,809, ages 18-25 years, 47% men; 41% not currently enrolled in college) and a validation sample of college students ( N = 671; ages 18-23 years; 26% men). Contrary to the 8-factor model obtained by Johnson and Sheets in a study published in 2004, examination of the factor structure with our confirmation sample yielded a revised 7-factor model that was invariant across race/ethnicity and college student status. This model was also validated with the college student sample. In the confirmation sample, enhancement/thrills and sexual pursuit motives for playing drinking games were positively associated with gaming frequency/consumption and negative gaming consequences. Furthermore, conformity motives for playing drinking games were positively associated with negative gaming consequences, while competition motives were positively associated with gaming frequency. These findings have significant implications for research and prevention/intervention efforts.

Episode-specific drinking-to-cope motivation and next-day stress-reactivity

BACKGROUND

Research consistently shows drinking-to-cope (DTC) motivation is uniquely associated with drinking-related problems. We furthered this line of research by examining whether DTC motivation is predictive of processes indicative of poor emotion regulation. Specifically, we tested whether nighttime levels of episode-specific DTC motivation, controlling for drinking level, were associated with intensified affective reactions to stress the following day (i.e. stress-reactivity).

DESIGN AND METHODS

We used a micro-longitudinal design to test this hypothesis in two college student samples from demographically distinct institutions: a large, rural state university (N = 1421; 54% female) and an urban historically Black college/university (N = 452; 59% female).

RESULTS

In both samples the within-person association between daily stress and negative affect on days following drinking episodes was stronger in the positive direction when previous night's drinking was characterized by relatively higher levels of DTC motivation. We also found evidence among students at the state university that average levels of DTC motivation moderated the daily stress-negative affect association.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings are consistent with the notion that DTC motivation confers a unique vulnerability that affects processes associated with emotion regulation.

Does drinking to cope explain links between emotion-driven impulse control difficulties and hazardous drinking? A longitudinal test

Difficulty controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing negative emotions is a prominent risk factor for hazardous alcohol use, and prior research suggests that drinking to cope may mediate this association. The present study examines this possibility prospectively in a sample of 490 young adult women between the ages of 18 and 25. Participants completed measures of emotion-driven impulse control difficulties, drinking to cope, and hazardous alcohol use at 6 time points over the course of approximately 20 months (i.e., 1 assessment every 4 months). Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that drinking to cope fully mediated the relationship between emotion-driven impulse control difficulties and hazardous alcohol use when examining these relationships between individuals and partially mediated this relation when examining these relationships within individuals. These findings suggest that drinking to cope is a key mechanism in the relationship between emotion-driven impulse control difficulties and hazardous drinking. Results highlight the importance of targeting both emotion dysregulation and drinking to cope when treating young women for alcohol use problems.

College students' drinking motives and social-contextual factors: Comparing associations across levels of analysis

Prior investigations have established between-person associations between drinking motives and both levels of alcohol use and social-contextual factors surrounding that use, but these relations have yet to be examined at the within-person level of analysis. Moreover, exploring previously posited subtypes of coping motives (i.e., coping with depression, anxiety, and anger) may shed light on the within-person processes underlying drinking to cope. In this daily diary study of college student drinking (N = 722; 54% female), students reported each day how many drinks they consumed the previous evening in both social and nonsocial settings along with their motives for each drinking episode. Additionally, they reported whether they attended a party the evening before, the number of people they were with, the gender makeup of that group, and their perceptions of their companions' drinking prevalence and quantity. External reasons for drinking-social and conformity motives-showed patterns largely consistent across levels of analysis and in agreement with motivational models. However, internal reasons for drinking-enhancement and coping motives-demonstrated divergent associations that suggest different processes across levels of analysis. Finally, coping subtypes showed differing associations with drinking levels and social-contextual factors dependent on the predisposing emotion and the level of analysis. These results suggest that internal drinking motives have unique state and trait components, which could have important implications for the application of motivational models to prevention and treatment efforts. We recommend including drinking motives (including coping subtypes) as within-person measures in future microlongitudinal studies. (PsycINFO Database Record

A mediational model of racial discrimination and alcohol-related problems among african american college students

OBJECTIVE

Racial discrimination has been identified as an important predictor of alcohol-related outcomes for African Americans. The goal of the current study was to extend previously found links between lifetime discrimination, alcohol use, and alcohol problems as well as to elucidate the affective mechanisms underlying these associations, as moderated by gender.

METHOD

A multiple-groups structural equation model was computed using survey data collected from 619 students from a historically Black college/university.

RESULTS

The final model provided excellent fit to the data, explaining 6% of the variance in alcohol consumption and 37% of the variance in alcohol problems. Discrimination was a significant predictor of alcohol-related problems but not, by and large, level of use. For men, anger-but not discrimination-specific anger-was a significant partial mediator of the link between discrimination and both alcohol use and alcohol problems. Depression partially mediated the link between discrimination and alcohol problems for both men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that, for African Americans whose drinking leads to drinking-related problems, discrimination and poor affective self-regulation are highly relevant and predictive factors, especially for men.

An online daily diary study of alcohol use using Amazon's Mechanical Turk

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

In recent years, unprecedented levels of Internet access and the widespread growth of emergent communication technologies have resulted in significantly greater population access for substance use researchers. Despite the research potential of such technologies, the use of the Internet to recruit individuals for participation in event-level research has been limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief account of the methods and results from an online daily diary study of alcohol use.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Participants were recruited using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Eligible participants completed a brief screener assessing demographics and health behaviours, with a subset of individuals subsequently recruited to participate in a 2 week daily diary study of alcohol use.

RESULTS

Multilevel models of the daily alcohol data derived from the Mechanical Turk sample (n = 369) replicated several findings commonly reported in daily diary studies of alcohol use.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrate that online participant recruitment and survey administration can be a fruitful method for conducting daily diary alcohol research.