Abstract
BackgroundA widely held assumption within the general public is that one way in which people cope with their daily hassles is by drinking alcohol. Although the idea of drinking to compensate for daily hassles is intuit, empirical evidence is actually rather scarce. This study aimed to test whether structure of everyday life results in more daily hassles and has a protective effect regarding alcohol consumption (as predicted by classic role theory) or – in case the relation between daily hassles and alcohol consumption is positive (as predicted by tension reduction theories) – daily hassles would decrease the protective effect of having a more structured everyday life.MethodsA general population panel study (N = 2,440; 47% women; age: M = 52 years, SD = 17), measuring structure of everyday life and daily hassles (T1; 90% response rate) as well as alcohol consumption (T2; 85% response rate).ResultsIn line with classic role theory – structure of everyday life was positively associated with daily hassles and had a negative effect on alcohol consumption. Daily hassles was not associated with alcohol consumption.ConclusionsDaily hassles did not mediate the relationship between structure of everyday life and alcohol consumption.
Highlights
A widely held assumption within the general public is that one way in which people cope with their daily hassles is by drinking alcohol
Data regarding structure of everyday life, daily hassles, and alcohol consumption was used for the study at hand
We report when the direction of effect of any of the separate indicators for structure of everyday life differed from the direction of effect of the index score
Summary
A widely held assumption within the general public is that one way in which people cope with their daily hassles is by drinking alcohol. Results: In line with classic role theory – structure of everyday life was positively associated with daily hassles and had a negative effect on alcohol consumption. Hassles was not associated with alcohol consumption. A widely held assumption within the general public is that one way in which people cope with their daily hassles is by drinking alcohol, denoted as “irrational coping” [1]. Assuming that daily hassles indicate stress [3], this idea is in line with tension reduction theories stating that drinking alcohol could reduce stress-related tension [4]. A 2-year longitudinal study among a 27-29-year-old sample revealed no relationship between changes in daily
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