Aversive Self-Focus and Alcohol Consumption Behavior in Women with Sexual Identity-Uncertainty: Changes in Salivary Cortisol Stress Response Among Those who Drink-to-Cope

Abstract

Background: Individuals who report sexual identity-uncertainty are at-risk for heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorder symptomology. The current study examined the impact of states of aversive self-focus on subsequent consumption of ostensibly alcohol-containing beverages among a sample of women in early adulthood with varying levels of sexual identity-uncertainty (N = 75). Methods: Utilizing a 2 (self-focus: negative vs. neutral) × 2 (attribution for any psychological discomfort: external vs. none given) between-subjects design with 3 within-person assessments of salivary cortisol, both a moderation model and mixed-effects general linear model were tested. Results: States of aversive self-focus caused increases in overall consumption among women higher in sexual identity-uncertainty. Findings suggested consumption of ostensibly alcohol-containing beverages was more likely among women higher in sexual identity-uncertainty who also reported consuming beverages to cope with distress. Among women who reported higher levels of sexual identity-uncertainty and drinking-to-cope motives, salivary cortisol concentrations dampened more quickly over time, as they supposedly consumed alcohol. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that, among women reporting sexual identity-uncertainty who are motivated to consume alcohol to forget about troubles or worries, situations which evoke states of aversive self-focus may contribute to differences in alcohol consumption in early adulthood.

Description

© The Author(s) 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Keywords

Sexual Identity, Self-Uncertainty, Self-Focus, Cortisol, Alcohol Use, Stress, Coping, Alcohol Consumption Habits

Citation

Talley, A. E., Harris, B. N., Le, T. H., & Hohman, Z. P. (2022). Aversive Self-Focus and Alcohol Consumption Behavior in Women with Sexual Identity-Uncertainty: Changes in Salivary Cortisol Stress Response Among Those who Drink-to-Cope. Chronic Stress, 6, 24705470221118308. https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470221118308

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