Tension reduction and affect regulation: An examination of mood indices on drinking and non-drinking days among university student drinkers.

Abstract

Several theories posit problematic alcohol use develops through mechanisms of positive and negative reinforcement. However, the literature on these mechanisms remains inconsistent. This may be due to a number of issues including a failure to disaggregate negative mood or a failure to account for mood functioning (i.e., stability in mood). Alternatively, there may be differences in typical postdrinking/evening mood on drinking and nondrinking days, however, this has yet to be fully explored. We examined multiple indices of distinct mood states prior to and after typical drinking onset times on drinking and nondrinking days using ecological momentary assessment. College student drinkers ( = 102) carried personal data devices for 15 days. They reported on mood and alcohol use several times per day. Tonic positive mood was higher on drinking days than nondrinking days prior to typical drinking initiation. After typical drinking times, positive mood was higher on drinking days than nondrinking days. Similarly, negative moods (anxiety, stress, anger, and stress instability) indicated a pattern of lower levels relative to both predrinking mood on drinking days, and matched mood time-points on nondrinking days; though, not all of these differences were statistically different. Results suggest positive and negative reinforcing mechanisms may be at play-though the negative reinforcement effects may manifest through subjectively "better" mood on drinking versus nondrinking days. (PsycINFO Database Record

Daily Patterns of Emotional Functioning on Drinking and Nondrinking Days

“…This is consistent with an emotional instability regulation model. This is also consistent with recent studies which have found that emotional instability may predict alcohol consumption (Dvorak et al, 2016;Dvorak et al, 2018;Greeley and Oei, 1999). Further, on drinking days, emotions stabilized within hours of drinking initiation, reaching a similar level of emotional instability found on nondrinking days 2 hours postdrinking initiation.…”

Attentional and approach biases to alcohol cues among young adult drinkers: An ecological momentary assessment study.

“…Capturing ecologically valid measures of alcohol biases can be accomplished with ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods (Stone & Shiffman, 1994). In young adult populations, EMA has been used to examine relationships between situational cognitive factors like positive mood (Dvorak et al, 2018) and expectancies (Lee et al, 2018) with event-level alcohol consumption. Although no prior study to our knowledge has examined the temporal relationship between AttB or AppB and event-level alcohol consumption in young adults, several studies have examined these relationships among individuals with drug dependence.…”

The Influence of Stressors and Strain on Alcohol Use in Canadian Armed Forces Members

“…Perhaps for recruits with Exposure to Violence, the nature of the violence to which they were exposed did not lead to Depression but did cause symptoms of PTSD. Some individuals find alcohol does not relieve tension but rather increases it (i.e., stress dampens the alcohol use; Conger, 1956;Dvorak et al, 2018). Examples of increased anxiety from alcohol consumption include social intolerance of drinking or having "suffered a series of traumatic shocks under the conditions of inebriation" (Conger, 1956, p. 304).…”

“…Support for this theory has also been found in clinical observations where alcohol and drugs are used "in an effort to self-medicate and cope with stress" (Garland, Boettiger, & Howard, 2011;Epstein, Saunders, Kilpatrick, & Resnick, 1998, p. 224;Schumm, & Chard, 2012). Repeatedly, evidence that people drink to cope (e.g., deal with problems, reduce tension) has been found, especially in young adults (Dvorak et al, 2018;Lehavot, Stappendbeck, Luterek, Kaysen, & Simpson, 2014;Merrill & Read, 2010;Miller, Pederson, & Marshall, 2016;Rafnsson, Jonsson, & Windle, 2006). Furthermore, a bidirectional association has been found where, at certain times, alcohol consumption reduces stress and, at other times, stressful situations motivate individuals to consume alcohol (Sher, Bartholow, Peuser, Erickson, & Wood, 2007).…”

“…Support for the stress-response dampening theory has been found in various contexts, such as drinking before work to dampen the stress associated with work (Frone, 2004). The stress-response dampening theory (Levenson, Sher, Grossman, Newman, & Newlin, 1980) also recognizes that responses to stressors can be influenced by factors other than the stressor itself (e.g., personality, emotion, sustained attention, affect regulation; Dvorak et al, 2018;Levenson et al, 1980;Sher & Levenson, 1982;Sher et al, 2007) and it provides an alternative explanation for alcohol consumption.…”