Abstract
Introduction and Aims: Heavy drinking is prevalent among undergraduate students and is linked with drinking to cope with depression motives for drinking. Drinking to cope with depression remains poorly understood given that alcohol has been shown to have adverse effects on mood when consumed at high doses. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, the present study examined the perceived effects of alcohol on depressive symptoms as reported by undergraduate students who endorse high levels of drinking to cope with depression. Design and Methods: Sixteen undergraduate coping-with-depression-motivated (CWDM) drinkers (nine women, seven men), identified using the Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised [1], reported on their experiences of drinking to cope with depression. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes and subthemes in the data. Results: Undergraduate students reported several effects of alcohol on affective, cognitive and behavioural depressive symptoms. While most of the perceived alcohol effects they described involved relief from depressive symptoms, some perceived effects involved worsening depressive symptoms. Discussion and Conclusions: The study generated several hypotheses to explain drinking to cope with depression, some of which might be testable in future experimental work. Overall, findings suggest the mood-altering effects of alcohol do not fully explain why depression and alcohol use are frequently co-morbid. Indeed, effects of alcohol on cognitive and behavioural depressive symptoms might be particularly reinforcing for CWDM drinkers. Interventions that target co-morbid depression and alcohol use might be improved by teaching CWDM drinkers skills to reduce depressive cognitions and to improve interpersonal interactions outside of drinking contexts.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 180-188 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Drug and Alcohol Review |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 1 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the Dalhousie University University Department of Psychiatry Research Fund (35055). We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Dr Sean Mackinnon of Dalhousie University to this project. Dr. Mackninnon consulted with the first author as she initially developed the study design, materials and selected a data analysis strategy.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Dalhousie University University Department of Psychiatry Research Fund. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Dr Sean Mackinnon of Dalhousie University to this project. Dr. Mackninnon consulted with the first author as she initially developed the study design, materials and selected a data analysis strategy.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Health(social science)
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't