Copeland, A., Jones, A., Acuff, S.F. et al. (2 more authors) (2023) Meaning in life: investigating protective and risk factors for harmful alcohol consumption. Addiction Research and Theory, 31 (3). pp. 191-200. ISSN 1606-6359
Abstract
Background
Individuals with greater meaning in life tend to consume less alcohol. However, research elucidating pathways through which meaning in life influences consumption is lacking. Behavioral economic theories posit that distortions in valuation processes, whilst negative reinforcement models posit that avoidance or regulation of negative internal states, are central in decisions to consume alcohol.
Method
Pre-registered, cross-sectional design. Five hundred forty-six regular alcohol consumers (≥18 years old) completed an online questionnaire which asked about alcohol use, meaning in life, alcohol-free reinforcement, alcohol value, depressive symptoms, and drinking to cope motives.
Results
Presence of meaning had a significant negative association with AUDIT scores (β = −.26, p < .001), but neither search for meaning nor alcohol-free reinforcement were significant predictors (ps > .53). Subsequent path analyses revealed a significant indirect effect of presence of meaning on AUDIT scores through lower alcohol value (95% CI = −.17 to −.08) and drinking to cope (95% CI = −.07 to −.00), and a serial mediation effect through both lower depressive symptoms and drinking to cope (95% CI = −.09 to −.04). Although search for meaning was not a direct predictor of AUDIT scores, there was a significant indirect effect through greater drinking to cope (95% CI = .01 to .06) and a serial mediation effect through both greater depressive symptoms and drinking to cope (95% CI = .01 to .04).
Conclusions
Meaning in life subscales predict alcohol consumption indirectly via individual differences in alcohol value, depressive symptoms, and drinking to cope.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Alcohol-free reinforcement; depressive symptoms; drinking to cope; meaning in life; alcohol value |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 26 Oct 2022 15:27 |
Last Modified: | 25 Sep 2024 15:43 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/16066359.2022.2134991 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:191950 |