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Determining the Pathways to Alcohol Use Consequences: a Chained Mediation Approach

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Abstract

Research has attempted to explain how emotion dysregulation and impulsivity relate to alcohol use problems. This study extended the literature by testing different pathways to problem alcohol use. We hypothesized that approach impulsivity/disinhibition and alcohol use frequency would mediate the relationship between emotion dysregulation and negative alcohol use consequences. We also hypothesized that alcohol use frequency would mediate the relationship between sensation seeking/reward sensitivity and negative alcohol use consequences. A cross-sectional chained mediation effects model was tested using data from 508 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers who resided in the USA (mean age = 33.66, standard deviation = 11.70, 59.6% female). Significant simple mediation effects from emotion dysregulation to alcohol use consequences through approach impulsivity/disinhibition, and from sensation seeking/reward sensitivity to alcohol use consequences through alcohol use frequency were found. There were no chained mediation effects. Two distinct pathways to alcohol use consequences are identified: one from emotion dysregulation through approach impulsivity/disinhibition, and another from sensation seeking/reward sensitivity through alcohol use frequency. This study highlights the importance of understanding the different pathways to problem drinking, as it can be crucial for developing refined treatment techniques.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jesus Chavarria

  2. Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, New Orleans, LA, 70119, USA

    Chelsea Ennis

  3. South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), New Orleans, LA, 70119, USA

    Chelsea Ennis

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center, Wichita, KS, USA

    Allison Moltisanti

  5. Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Nicholas P. Allan

  6. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Jeanette Taylor

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  1. Jesus Chavarria
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Correspondence to Jesus Chavarria.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Chavarria, J., Ennis, C., Moltisanti, A. et al. Determining the Pathways to Alcohol Use Consequences: a Chained Mediation Approach. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 1841–1853 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00272-6

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