Sexual Victimization and Sex-Related Drinking Motives: How Protective is Emotion Regulation?

Abstract

One in five college women experience sexual victimization (SV) and SV severity is associated with subsequent psychological distress including sex-related distress. SV severity may also be associated with drinking motives to cope with sex-related distress and to enhance sex (sex-related drinking motives; SRDM), particularly if individuals suffer from emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. College women (N = 151) completed a survey assessment of ER, SV history, childhood sexual abuse, and SRDM. Twelve regression models assessed six facets of ER as moderators between SV severity and SRDM. Among women with no or low levels of prior SV severity, women with greater access to ER strategies were less likely to endorse drinking to cope SRDM. At higher levels of SV severity, women at all levels of access to ER strategies were equally likely to endorse drinking to cope SRDM, suggesting that access to ER strategies did not mitigate motivations to drink to cope with sex-related distress for these women. Women with severe SV histories may benefit from interventions that build on existing ER strengths or address other factors. However, greater access to ER strategies may serve as a protective factor against SRDM when SV severity is low.

Building a Model to Predict Sexual Assault Victimization Frequency Among Undergraduate Women

“…Such results corroborate previous research indicating that individuals who have difficulty controlling their emotions when experiencing negative emotions are more likely to engage in maladaptive strategies to reduce their negative emotional experience, such as drinking or having sex (Bird et al, 2019; Messman-Moore & Ward, 2014; Watkins et al, 2015). Unsurprisingly, individuals who use sex to cope with negative emotions are also more likely to engage in sexual risk behaviors, such as having more sexual partners, than individuals who do not use sex to cope with negative emotions (Gardner, 2017; Grossbard et al, 2007).…”

“…However, most research examining the relationship between impulse control difficulties and more general sexual assault victimization has looked at how impulse control difficulties relate to other distal predictors of victimization, such as avoidant coping behaviors, which include drinking or having sex to cope with negative emotions. These results suggest that those who have more difficulty with controlling their impulses are also more likely to drink or have sex to cope (Bird et al, 2019; Messman-Moore & Ward, 2014). Such results are strengthened by a longitudinal study which demonstrated that difficulties with impulse control preceded coping behaviors, in that women’s impulse control difficulties prospectively predicted their subsequent likelihood of drinking to cope (Watkins et al, 2015).…”

Prepartying and incapacitated rape: Is drinking a risk factor or an outcome?

“…This link may reflect survivors' attempt to overcome post-assault disruptions in social functioning (Resick et al, 1981) by using alcohol as a "social lubricant" (Monahan & Lannutti, 2000). Similarly, some survivors may experience anxiety in sexual situations after an assault and may be motivated to drink to reduce anxiety around sex (Bird et al, 2019). Beyond prepartying to navigate social situations, IR survivors also reported greater motivation to preparty out of concern about barriers to consumption at a main social event, even after controlling for age.…”

Initial efficacy of a web-based alcohol and emotion regulation intervention for college women with sexual assault histories.

“…The self-medication hypothesis (Khantzian, 2003) asserts that alcohol is consumed to provide short-term reductions in distress—relief that may be particularly appealing for individuals who otherwise have difficulty regulating distress. In this way, emotion regulation difficulties could lead to increased motivation to drink to cope with distress (Bird et al, 2019) and increased alcohol use for women with SA histories (Lindgren et al, 2012). Additionally, women with SA histories who have less perceived engagement in adaptive coping strategies drink more in response to day-to-day increases in SA-related distress compared to women with greater perceived engagement (Stappenbeck et al, 2015).…”