Coping Motives for Drinking Affect Stress Reactivity but Not Alcohol Consumption in a Clinical Laboratory Setting

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Stress evokes thoughts about alcohol and enhances alcohol's rewarding value in drinkers who use alcohol to cope with negative affect. The present study extends prior research by examining whether this effect applies to actual alcohol consumption following a stressor and whether individuals with high and low coping motives for drinking differ in stress reactivity. Method: Nondependent drinkers with high scores (>1 SD above national norms) on the coping motives subscale on the Drinking Motives Questionnaire (n = 41; 46% women) were enrolled along with age-and gender-matched nondependent drinkers with low coping motives (n = 41). Participants were randomized to receive the Trier Social Stress Test or a no-stress control condition. Following the stress manipulation, participants could consume up to 473 ml of beer in a "taste test," a covert measure of alcohol consumption. Stress reactivity was measured with both objective and subjective indices, and milliliters of beer consumed was the alcohol-relevant outcome. Results: Participants with high coping motives showed a less robust stress response to the Trier Social Stress Test than participants with low coping motives for drinking. However, the stressor did not result in greater consumption of alcohol (i.e., no main effect of stress induction) or differential drinking in the two motive groups (i.e., no Stressor × Coping Motive group interaction). Conclusions: Findings suggest that nondependent drinkers with and without coping motives for drinking may experience a stress provocation differently, but exposure to a standardized social stressor does not lead to differential drinking in these groups in a clinical laboratory setting. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 115-123, 2014)

Interactions between adaptive coping and drinking to cope in predicting naturalistic drinking and drinking following a lab-based psychosocial stressor

“…Stress response was measured multiple times with subjective report (level of distress) and objective measures (heart rate, mean arterial pressure, cortisol). All measures of stress confirmed the validity of the TSST as a stressor (Thomas, Merrill, Von Hofe, & Magid, under review). …”

“…Experimental studies conducted to examine stress-related drinking show inconsistent evidence of this phenomenon (Todd, Armeli, & Tennen, 2009). In the parent study from which these data were derived, we too did not observe that stress led to increased drinking in coping versus non-coping motivated drinkers (Thomas, et al, under review). It was only with the follow-up examination in the present study in which coping styles were of interest that stress-related drinking was observed, particularly for those with lower levels of adaptive coping skills.…”

“…The stressor task used evoked the desired stress response, as indicated by our manipulation check using both objective (psychophysiological) and subjective measures of stress (Thomas, et al, under review). In addition, the ecologic validity of the taste task procedure was empirically supported—mls beer consumed during the taste test was significantly and positively correlated with participants’ drinks per drinking day (r=.27, p=.01) and drinks per week (r=.24, p=.02) in the 30 days prior to participating in the study.…”

Alcohol Drinking by Husbands/Partners Is Associated with Higher Intimate Partner Violence against Women in Angola

“…Experiencing IPV is both physically and psychologically stressful, which in turn increases the likelihood of alcohol consumption as a general coping strategy [44]. Moreover, stressful events evoke thoughts about alcohol and enhances the rewarding effects among those who use it to cope with the negative circumstances [45]. Currently, not much is known about the prevalence of alcohol use in Angola.…”

Depressive statements prime goal-directed alcohol-seeking in individuals who report drinking to cope with negative affect

“…A key source of evidence supporting this particular incentive learning model is the finding that individuals who report drinking to cope with adverse affective states are more sensitive to the motivational impact of experimentally induced negative mood or stress on alcohol-seeking behaviour, as indexed by craving, consumption, preferential choice, or cognitive bias (Austin and Smith 2008 ; Birch et al 2004 ; Brady et al 2006 ; Cooney et al 1997 ; Field and Powell 2007 ; Field and Quigley 2009 ; Grant et al 2007 ; Rousseau et al 2011 ; Woud et al 2015 ; Zack et al 2003 ); but for null results, see (Field and Powell 2007 ; Thomas et al 2014 ). The strong interpretation of these findings is that coping motives play a causal role in enabling mood induction to promote alcohol-seeking, rather than automatic S-R processes.…”