Ecological momentary assessment of acute alcohol use disorder symptoms: Associations with mood, motives, and use on planned drinking days.

Abstract

Several theories posit that alcohol is consumed both in relation to one’s mood and in relation to different motives for drinking. However, there are mixed findings regarding the role of mood and motives in predicting drinking. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods provide an opportunity to evaluate near real-time changes in mood and motives within individuals to predict alcohol use. In addition, endorsement of criteria of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) may also be sensitive to changes within subjects. The current study used EMA with 74 moderate drinkers who responded to fixed and random mood, motive, alcohol use, and AUD criteria prompts over a 21-day assessment period. A temporal pattern of daytime mood, evening drinking motivation, and nighttime alcohol use and acute AUD symptoms on planned drinking days was modeled to examine how these associations unfold throughout the day. The results suggest considerable heterogeneity in drinking motivation across drinking days. Additionally, an affect regulation model of drinking to cope with negative mood was observed. Specifically, on planned drinking days, the temporal association between daytime negative mood and the experience of acute AUD symptoms was mediated via coping motives and alcohol use. The current study found that motives are dynamic, and that changes in motives may predict differential drinking patterns across days. Further, the study provides evidence that emotion-regulation-driven alcohol involvement may need to be examined at the event level to fully capture the ebb and flow of negative affect motivated drinking.

Drinking to Cope With Depressive Symptoms and Ruminative Thinking: A Multiple Mediation Model Among College Students

“…Although both theory and research assert drinking motives to be proximal antecedents to the decision to drink alcohol (Dvorak, Pearson, & May, 2014), the relationship between depressive symptoms and rumination is likely bidirectional (see Watkins, 2008 for a review). Thus, the temporal ordering of these variables cannot be demonstrated with cross-sectional survey data alone.…”

Using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to Study Sex Events Among Very High-Risk Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)

“…Since the goal of this study was to understand influences on sexual risk behavior (which was assessed via the morning assessment), we chose a 100 % target response rate for these assessments to maximize the availability of data on sex events. We chose an 80 % target response rate for random prompts to minimize missing data and align with similar benchmarks used in past EMA research [42–45]. Several procedures were implemented by RAs to help participants achieve these response rates, including: (1) building rapport, (2) soliciting buy-into the study (e.g., conveying the importance of the data to understanding behavior, asking for their investment), (3) discussing strategies that can enhance response rates/quality (e.g., “get into a routine, make sure the ringer volume is high, keep the phone with you whenever possible”), and (4) emphasizing confidentiality of responses.…”

Combat experience and problem drinking in veterans: Exploring the roles of PTSD, coping motives, and perceived stigma

“…Research, particularly in college students, supports the assertion that some young adults drink to regulate their mood. For example, researchers found that daytime negative affect predicted subsequent drinking later that night (Dvorak, Pearson, & Day, 2014), while others found that more frequent changes in mood, specifically negative moods, predicted higher general levels of drinking to cope (Gottfredson & Hussong, 2013). Drinking to cope may reinforce the belief that alcohol is effective for regulating negative affect which can further contribute to the development of an AUD (Rousseau, Irons, & Correia, 2011).…”