Depression as a mediator in the longitudinal relationship between psychological stress and alcohol use

Abstract

The study examined whether depression mediated the relationship between psychological stress on later alcohol use, and if differences in age, gender and rurality affected the relationship. Utilizing a 14-year study of 527 community-dwelling older adults, latent growth structural equation regression modeling was used to test if the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) mediated the relationship between the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Age, gender and distance from the city center were added to the model to determine their influence. Results indicated that depression mediated the relationship between stress and current alcohol use scores. This relationship remained when age, gender and distance from the city center were added into the model. Men had higher AUDIT values and lower PSS intercept scores, younger participants and participants living further from the city center had higher longitudinal averages of PSS values, while participants living closer to the city center had higher AUDIT values. In a sample of older, healthy participants, the relationship between psychological stress and alcohol use was mediated by depression over time.