Hazardous Drinking Amplifies the Association Between Emotion-Based Impulsivity and Negative Thoughts Related to Suicide Ideation Among Adults.

Objective: Emotion-based impulsivity (EBI) and hazardous drinking have consistently been associated with elevated negative thoughts related to suicide ideation (N-SI); however, the interaction between these risk factors has not been tested empirically. Thus, we tested the moderating effect of hazardous drinking on the relation between EBI and N-SI in a high-risk adult sample.

Method: Cross-sectional, self-report data were used from adults (N = 329, M_age = 36.61 years, SD = 11.38) screened for elevated suicide risk and previous alcohol use via Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform.

Results: Bivariate correlations indicated significant positive associations between EBI, hazardous drinking, and N-SI. Furthermore, hazardous drinking moderated the relation between EBI and N-SI, such that the association between EBI and N-SI was stronger among those with more severe hazardous drinking. This moderation effect was robust to the inclusion of additional covariates.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that hazardous drinking strengthens the association between EBI and N-SI among adults with elevated suicide risk and previous alcohol use. These findings underscore the need for clinicians to fully evaluate the drinking behaviors of individuals at risk for suicide. Further directions for research are discussed.