Daily Patterns of Emotional Functioning on Drinking and Nondrinking Days.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol misuse continues to be a significant public health problem. Understanding the factors that may contribute to the harmful progression in drinking is an important aspect of public health. Previous research has shown that affect regulation is associated with problematic alcohol use. Additionally, emotion instability has been found as a predictor of alcohol-related problems and may be linked to reinforcement mechanisms. METHODS: The current study examined positive mood, negative mood, and mood instability in real time across drinking and nondrinking days utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Current drinkers (n = 74) were recruited for a 21-day EMA study. Participants completed up to 10 random assessments of positive mood, negative mood, and alcohol use per day. Mood instability was assessed as the squared difference in current mood from mood in the previous assessment. Data were analyzed using piecewise multilevel regression to examine mood trajectories across drinking and nondrinking days. RESULTS: Positive emotion across the day was higher on drinking days than nondrinking days and continued to increase after drinking initiation. In contrast, negative emotion across the day was lower on drinking days than nondrinking days and continued to decrease after drinking initiation. Emotional functioning was stable across the day on nondrinking days. However, on drinking days there was a steady increase in emotional instability leading up to drinking initiation, followed by a rapid stabilization after initiation. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the potentially reinforcing impact of alcohol via emotional stability. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of mood dynamics when examining the reinforcing effects of alcohol consumption.

Protective behavioral strategies and alcohol-related regretted sex among college students.

Regretted sexual experiences are reported at higher rates among sexually active female college students than by their male counterparts. Moreover, alcohol is involved in approximately one third of regretted sex experienced by college students. Previous research has shown that students who implement protective behavioral strategies (PBS) while drinking are able to reduce alcohol-related negative consequences, including regretted sex. In order to compare differences in associations among alcohol use, PBS, and regretted sex, the current study examined these associations as a function of gender. Results were analyzed for each of the 3 subtypes of PBS: Manner of Drinking (MD); Stopping/Limiting Drinking (SLD) and Serious Harm Reduction (SHR). The current study included 371 college students (64.15% female) from a moderate-sized Midwest university. Participants completed a series of online surveys that assessed drinking habits, alcohol-related consequences (i.e., regretted sex), and PBS use. A multigroup path analysis found that alcohol use was positively associated with regretted sex, however, 2 of the 3 PBS subtypes (MD and SLD) were negatively associated with alcohol use. The third PBS subtype (SHR) yielded a direct negative relationship with regretted sex for women, but not for men. Lastly, the interaction of SHR and alcohol use was significantly associated with regretted sex, which was moderated by gender. These results suggest an among PBS use, decreased alcohol use, and fewer instances of regretted sex. Further examination of the differences in relationships among PBS subtypes, alcohol use, and regretted sex for men and women is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).