ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has contributed to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths worldwide. Although alcohol use has increased in response to the pandemic, no known studies have identified transdiagnostic risk factors for greater drinking in response to COVID-related distress. Individuals with more difficulty with emotion regulation may drink more during the pandemic to manage pandemic-related distress. The current study tested whether difficulty with emotion regulation was related to greater estimated blood alcohol content (eBAC) during a typical week in the past month and if this was due to COVID-related distress and drinking to cope with the pandemic. The sample consisted of 347 past-month drinking undergraduates in Louisiana, a state with some of the U.S. highest rates of COVID-19 infections and related deaths. Difficulty with engaging in goal-directed behaviors was related to greater past-month eBAC and this relation was mediated by the sequential effects of COVID-related worry and drinking to cope with the pandemic. Results indicate that individuals with difficulty engaging in goal-directed behaviors are especially vulnerable to greater eBAC during the COVID-19 pandemic which may be due in part to their vulnerability to more COVID-related worry which may lead to more drinking to cope with the pandemic.

摘要

2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行已导致全球成千上万的住院和死亡。尽管由于大流行而增加了饮酒量，但尚无已知研究确定因COVID相关困扰而增加饮酒量的经诊断的危险因素。在大流行期间，情绪调节困难较大的人可能会喝更多的酒，以管理与大流行有关的困扰。目前的研究测试了情绪调节的困难是否与过去一个月中的一个典型星期内较高的估计血液酒精含量（eBAC）有关，以及是否这是由于COVID相关的困扰和饮酒来应对大流行。该样本包括美国路易斯安那州347名过去一个月饮酒的大学生，该州是美国COVID-19感染率和相关死亡率最高的州。参与目标导向行为的困难与过去一个月的eBAC增多有关，并且这种关系是由与COVID相关的忧虑和饮酒应对大流行的顺序影响所介导的。结果表明，在COVID-19大流行期间，难以进行目标导向行为的人特别容易受到更大的eBAC的侵害，这可能部分是由于他们更容易遭受与COVID相关的担忧，这可能导致饮酒以应对大流行。