Gender Differences in the Effect of Depressive Symptoms on Prospective Alcohol Expectancies, Coping Motives, and Alcohol Outcomes in the First Year of College

Abstract

Problematic alcohol use and risk for dependence peak during late adolescence, particularly among first-year college students. Although students matriculating into college with depressive symptoms experience elevated risk for alcohol problems, few studies have examined the intervening mechanisms of risk. In this study, we examined depressed mood at college entry on prospective alcohol expectancies, drinking motives, and alcohol outcomes during the first year of college, adjusting for pre-college factors. Participants (N = 614; 59 % female, 33 % non-White) were incoming college students from three universities who completed online self-report surveys prior to matriculating into college and at the end of their first year in college. We utilized path analysis to test our hypotheses. In women, the path that linked depressive symptoms to consequences was primarily attributable to the effect of pre-college drinking to cope on drinking to cope in college, which in turn was associated with alcohol consequences. In men, the effect of depressive symptoms on alcohol consequences in college was independent of pre-college and college factors, thus indicating the need for research that identifies mechanisms of risk in males. Interventions that address coping deficits and motivations for drinking may be particularly beneficial for depressed adolescent females during this high-risk developmental period.

The Role of Social, Familial, and Individual-Level Factors on Multiple Alcohol Use Outcomes During the First Year of University

“…Thus, internalizing characteristics’ relationship to trajectories of alcohol use/misuse differs from that of externalizing behaviors, the latter of which impact stages of alcohol use that precede the development of problems. This is well supported in the literature, as internalizing symptoms (including anxiety) are more often associated with more serious stages of alcohol outcomes, such as alcohol problems (Cooper, 1994, Kenney et al, 2015). Further research suggests that drinking to cope is more directly related to risky drinking than are negative moods (Cooper et al, 1995), and that this pathway may be more pronounced among women (Kenney et al, 2015).…”

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

“…Both cross-sectional (Gonzalez, Reynolds, & Skewes, 2011) and longitudinal findings (Kenney, Jones, & Barnett, 2015) suggest that drinking to cope motives are one mechanism through which depressive symptoms is associated with increased alcohol-related problems among college students. For example, Kenney, Jones, and Barnett (2015) found that for women, higher pre-college depressive symptoms predicted higher drinking to cope during college, which in turn was associated with more alcohol-related problems during college.…”

“…For example, Kenney, Jones, and Barnett (2015) found that for women, higher pre-college depressive symptoms predicted higher drinking to cope during college, which in turn was associated with more alcohol-related problems during college. As detailed above, research provides support for how depressive symptoms relate to alcohol-related problems among college students through drinking to cope motives.…”

Personality dimensions and social variables – predictors of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption in adolescence

“…During the period of adolescence, there is an identical model of alcohol use (frequency and amount), which, after that period, starts to vary depending on sex [9]. According to the study by Kenney et al [10], female adolescents use alcohol in smaller amounts than male adolescents do who consummate alcohol more frequently and in larger amounts, but this has not been explored enough.…”