Internalizing symptoms, negative urgency, and coping motives: Potential pathways to alcohol consequences.

Objective: Building upon prior research, the present study tested coping motives as a mediator of relations between both negative urgency and internalizing symptoms (depression, anxiety, and stress), and alcohol-related consequences using longitudinal data. We also tested negative urgency as a moderator of prospective relations between specific internalizing symptoms and alcohol-related consequences.

Method: The study utilized data from a longitudinal study of young adults (N = 448; M_age = 22.27, SD = 1.25). Participants (56.5% male) were evaluated at baseline and at 12-month and 24-month follow-ups. Mood, impulsivity, coping motives, and alcohol consequences were assessed at baseline, and motives and consequences were assessed at follow-ups.

Results: Prospective indirect effects of internalizing symptoms and negative urgency on alcohol consequences through coping motives were not observed. However, cross-sectional post hoc analyses indicated that higher levels of internalizing and negative urgency were indirectly associated with greater alcohol consequences through coping motives, with similar patterns observed for depression, anxiety, and stress. Although support was found for mediated effects in the cross-sectional model, no evidence was found for negative urgency moderating the impact of internalizing, stress, anxiety, or depression on alcohol consequences in either cross-sectional or longitudinal models.

Conclusion: Findings provide cross-sectional but not longitudinal support for coping motives as a potential mechanism through which a broad range of internalizing symptoms are associated with alcohol consequences. Findings did not support interactions between negative urgency and internalizing symptoms. The results highlight the need for further exploration of mediated effects using ecological momentary assessments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).