Mentalization Impairment Is Associated with Problematic Alcohol Use in a Sample of Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs among adolescents and young people, and problematic alcohol use (PAU) is related to significant long-term biological, clinical, and psychosocial sequelae. Although preliminary reports have linked deficits in mentalization to increased vulnerability to addiction, no studies have specifically explored this phenomenon in relation to PAU. Methods: The association between mentalization impairment and PAU severity was investigated in a sample of 271 young adults (183 females, 65.9%; mean age: 23.20 ± 3.55 years; range: 18–34). Self-report measures investigating PAU and mentalization were administered to all participants. Results: Individuals with PAU reported a more frequent use of tobacco and illicit drugs in the last 12 months. PAU severity was negatively associated with mentalization capacity (rho = −0.21; p < 0.001), and also, when possible, confounding variables (i.e., gender, age, occupation, education, tobacco and illegal drugs use) were controlled for (rho = −0.17; p = 0.004). Conclusion: The present data showed that mentalization impairment is significantly associated with PAU among young adults, suggesting that it may have a role in the development and/or maintenance of alcohol use.

Problematic Use of the Internet Mediates the Association between Reduced Mentalization and Suicidal Ideation: A Cross-Sectional Study in Young Adults

“…In the original validation study [48], satisfactory psychometric properties (e.g., adequate internal consistency) were reported. In the present study, the Italian version of the MZQ was used [39,40], and the Cronbach's α was 0.85 for the total score.…”

“…Higher values indicate more severe problems related to alcohol use. A score ≥ 2 is often used for detecting PAU [40,59]. In the present study we used the Italian adaptation of the CAGE [60], and the Cronbach's α was 0.68.…”

“…Preliminary studies have documented a relationship between dysfunctional use of SM or OVG, i.e., two common forms of PUI among young adults, and forms of suicidal behaviors [30][31][32][33][34][35]. Of relevance, certain forms of behavioral addictions (as well as of substance addictions) have been associated with lower mentalization capacity [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]; in fact, emotional dysregulation and difficulties in mentalizing internal/external stimuli can have a role in triggering addictive behaviors. Subsequently, it is possible that one way by which reduced mentalization capacity favors suicidal behaviors in young people is through the occurrence of phenomena related to PUI: poor mentalization skills may contribute to leading to forms of PUI, which, in turn, may represent additional triggers for SI.…”

The association between social media addiction and eating disturbances is mediated by muscle dysmorphia-related symptoms: a cross-sectional study in a sample of young adults

“…The total score can range from 0 to 4, with higher values reflecting more severe problematic patterns of alcohol use. A cut-off of ≥ 2 is commonly used in the literature [ 48 , 49 ] to screen PAU. In the present study, we used the Italian adaptation of the CAGE [ 33 ], and the Cronbach’s α was 0.64 for the CAGE total score.…”

The association of problematic use of social media and online videogames with aggression is mediated by insomnia severity: A cross‐sectional study in a sample of 18‐ to 24‐year‐old individuals

“…Ethics approval was obtained from the Institutional Board of the Department of Human Neurosciences of the Sapienza University of Rome in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. This study is part of a larger project on the relationship between psychopathology and addictions, thus the included sample partially overlaps with the sample presented in previous studies by our research group (Imperatori et al, 2020(Imperatori et al, , 2021.…”