Association between psychological discomfort and alcohol consumption in youth from uruguay

RUIZ P; PILATTI, ANGELINA; PAUTASSI R.M.

Berlin

Congreso; World Congress on Behavior and Cognitive Therapies WCBCT2019; 2019

IntroductionThe long-standing "tension-reduction hypothesis" suggests that alcohol intake mitigates feelings of anxiety or depression (adversepsychological states that we will hereinafter refer to as psychological discomfort) and therefore promotes, via negative reinforcement,subsequent alcohol intake.MethodWe conducted a survey in Uruguayans youth (18 to 30 years old). The final sample was composed of 1505 participants (25% men, Meanage=23.5±3.5 years). We asked about alcohol use and applied the AUDIT and YAACQ questionnaires to study alcohol consumption andconsequences, and a psychological discomfort scale (Kessler) and an emotional contagion scale.ResultsThere was a significant correlation between psychological discomfort and AUDIT and YAACQ scores, and between psychologicaldiscomfort and emotional contagion, but not between the latter scale and the AUDIT or YAACQ scores. Total volume of alcohol consumedwas positively associated with heavy episodic and binge drinking, and with AUDIT and YAACQ scores.DiscussionThese results , which hold relevance for therapists interested in the confluence of mood and substance abuse disorders, support thehypothesis postulating mood variations, but not emotional contagion, as a predisposing factor for alcohol consumption.