Abstract
Although young men or young adults with mental health disorders are at higher risk to engage in problematic drinking, they typically evince stronger associations between protective behavioral strategies (PBS) and fewer alcohol outcomes. This study aimed to contribute to this line of research by examining the moderating effect of depression, bipolar spectrum disorder, borderline personality disorder and social anxiety disorder on the association between PBS and alcohol outcomes. Participants (N = 4,960; mean age = 25.43) were young men participating in the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors. Measures of PBS use, typical drinks per week, alcohol-related consequences, depression, bipolar spectrum disorder, borderline personality disorder and social anxiety disorder were used from the second follow-up assessment. Main results indicated that the negative association between PBS and alcohol use was stronger in participants with borderline personality disorder than among those without this disorder. Unexpectedly, in participants with depression, PBS were not significantly associated with alcohol use, whereas they were related to fewer drinks among those without the disorder. Similarly, in participants with bipolar spectrum disorder, the association between PBS and alcohol-related consequences was not significant, whereas PBS were associated with fewer consequences in those without the disorder. Finally, findings indicated that social anxiety disorder did not significantly moderate the associations between PBS and alcohol outcomes. If replicated by future research, these findings imply that PBS-intervention may not equally impact young adults with diverse mental health disorders.
Highlights
Excessive drinking is common among young adults and leads to a variety of problems, such as health-related consequences, risky behaviors and injuries (Abbey, 2002; Gmel, Kuendig, & Notari, 2017; Schulenberg et al, 2018; World Health Organization, 2014)
Consistent with past research that found stronger negative associations between protective behavioral strategies (PBS) and alcohol outcomes in young adults with poorer mental health (e.g., LaBrie et al, 2010; Linden et al, 2013), results indicated that the negative associations of PBS-total, PBS-MoD, PBSLSDp and PBS-Serious harm reduction (PBS-SHR) with alcohol use were stronger in participants with borderline-PD
This study makes an interesting contribution to the PBS literature by demonstrating that young men with borderline-PD evinced stronger negative associations between most PBS and alcohol use than those without this disorder
Summary
Excessive drinking is common among young adults (i.e., aged 19–30) and leads to a variety of problems, such as health-related consequences, risky behaviors and injuries (Abbey, 2002; Gmel, Kuendig, & Notari, 2017; Schulenberg et al, 2018; World Health Organization, 2014). These risks are even more salient in certain groups of young adults, such as men and those with mental health disorders (e.g., Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, Schulenberg, & Miech, 2014; Markman Geisner, Larimer, & Neighbors, 2004; Schulenberg et al, 2017). There is evidence that PBS is negatively related to alcohol use and related consequences (e.g., Araas & Adams, 2008; Benton et al, 2004; Delva et al, 2004; Martens, Pederson, Labrie, Ferrier, & Cimini, 2007)
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