Internalized Stress in Relation to Alcohol Consumption

Summary

The proposed study uses an experimental design to establish causal support for the role of internalized stress, pertaining to uncertainty with regard to one's sexual orientation, in contributing to heavy drinking behavior. Following exposure to internalized sexual stigma, physiological and psychological stress responses are expected to increase alcohol consumption in adults who are uncertain about their sexual orientation, especially among females, and following consumption, the physiological effects of ethanol and beliefs about the effects of alcohol are expected to alter relations between exposure to sexual stigma and the alleviation of psychological distress. Showing that physiological stress responses, whether driven by the pharmacological effects of ethanol or expectancies regarding its effects, can account for known alcohol-use disparities, particularly in bisexual/bi+ communities, would contribute a great deal to knowledge on the biology of addiction and inform subsequent interventions that seek to regulate stress reactivity.

Timeline

Start

2024-02-12

Primary completion

2025-02-28

Completion

2025-02-28

Publications

• Background Kirschbaum C, Pirke KM, Hellhammer DH. The 'Trier Social Stress Test'--a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology. 1993;28(1-2):76-81. doi: 10.1159/000119004.
• Background Het S, Rohleder N, Schoofs D, Kirschbaum C, Wolf OT. Neuroendocrine and psychometric evaluation of a placebo version of the 'Trier Social Stress Test'. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 Aug;34(7):1075-86. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.008.
• Background de Wit H, Chutuape MA. Increased ethanol choice in social drinkers following ethanol preload. Behav Pharmacol. 1993 Feb;4(1):29-36.
• Background Martin CS, Earleywine M, Musty RE, Perrine MW, Swift RM. Development and validation of the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1993 Feb;17(1):140-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1993.tb00739.x.
• Background Talley AE, Stevens JE. Sexual Orientation Self-Concept Ambiguity: Scale Adaptation and Validation. Assessment. 2017 Jul;24(5):632-645. doi: 10.1177/1073191115617016. Epub 2015 Dec 7.
• Background Saunders JB, Aasland OG, Babor TF, de la Fuente JR, Grant M. Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO Collaborative Project on Early Detection of Persons with Harmful Alcohol Consumption--II. Addiction. 1993 Jun;88(6):791-804. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x.
• Background Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063.

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Indications