Emotional and behavioral regulation as mediators of the association between adversity and dysregulated drinking

Abstract

Young adult alcohol misuse results in over 1,500 deaths per year; thus, understanding contributing factors is crucial. Childhood adversity (CA) has been a demonstrated predictor of alcohol use, and behavioral and emotional dysregulation may be mechanisms for this association. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of young adults aged 18-22 (N=496), this dissertation investigated how experiences of CA contribute to dysregulated drinking through effects on behavioral and emotional dysregulation in three studies. Study 1 investigated how different categorizations of CA relate to young adult behavioral and emotional dysregulation. Study 2 examined behavioral and emotional dysregulation as mediators of the associations between CA and daily dysregulated drinking. Finally, Study 3 used idiographic modeling to explore relations between negative affect, emotion dysregulation, and binge drinking in a high CA subsample. Overall results suggested that CA, specifically experiences characterized by threat, is associated with increased emotional dysregulation. Although there is limited support for behavioral dysregulation as a process linking CA and dysregulated drinking, emotion dysregulation appears to be a more likely pathway.