Anxiety Sensitivity, Coping Motives, Emotion Dysregulation, and Alcohol-Related Outcomes in College Women: A Moderated-Mediation Model

Abstract

The present study examined the relation of anxiety sensitivity to alcohol-related outcomes via coping drinking motives in college women. Further, the impact of emotion dysregulation on the mediational path between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol-related outcomes was investigated. A sample of 223 female undergraduate drinkers from a midwestern university completed self-report surveys assessing alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, anxiety sensitivity, coping drinking motives, and emotion dysregulation. Anxiety sensitivity was indirectly related to both alcohol-related problems and alcohol use via coping motives. The indirect effect of anxiety sensitivity on alcohol-related problems (but not alcohol use) was qualified by the level of emotion dysregulation. As individuals reported more emotion dysregulation, the strength of the relation between coping drinking motives and alcohol-related problems increased. Results replicate and extend the link between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol outcomes via the mechanism of negative reinforcement, and they further support the importance of emotion dysregulation in explaining alcohol-related problems among college women. Implications for treatment and prevention of alcohol-related problems in college women are discussed.