Negative moods early in the day are associated with beginning to drink alcohol sooner in the day than one normally would, according to a study published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors in 2009. This finding is contrary to previous research, which failed to find any association between the onset of alcohol consumption and negative moods earlier in the day.
The study was conducted by Michael Todd, Stephen Armeli, and Howard Tennen.
The authors of this study recruited 97 adults and used an electronic diary to record their mood, interpersonal problems, and alcohol consumption for 21 days. The participants in this study also completed a questionnaire designed to assess whether “drinking to cope” was a motivation for their alcohol consumption.
Not surprisingly, those who were identified as “drinking to cope” were more likely to respond to negative moods by beginning to consume alcohol earlier in the day than those who had other motives for drinking.
The study found that those who experienced emotions such as anger or nervousness early in the day were more likely to begin drinking alcohol sooner. In contrast, those who experienced emotions related to sadness, such as loneliness, were not any more likely to begin drinking alcohol earlier in the day than they normally would.
“These results not only point to the importance of early-day negative mood as a predictor of time to drinking but they also suggest that high-activation negative-mood states, such as anger and nervousness, may be more likely to prompt more rapid initiation of drinking than would low-activation moods such as sadness and loneliness for all drinkers, regardless of the strength of their coping-related motives for drinking,” as Todd and his colleagues explain.
They believe this research may help those who have problems with alcohol consumption.
“The findings regarding the role of anger and nervous mood suggest that successful management of negative moods may help prevent or reduce potentially maladaptive drinking behavior.”
Reference:
Todd, M., Armeli, S. & Tennen, H. (2009). Interpersonal problems and negative mood as predictors of within-day time to drinking. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 23, No. 2: 205–215.
