Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Background: Increases in the incidence of psychological distress and alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic have been predicted. Behavioral theories of depression and alcohol self-medication theories suggest that greater social/environmental constraints and increased psychological distress during...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.574676/full |
| _version_ | 1811324927164284928 |
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| author | Matthew D. McPhee Matthew T. Keough Samantha Rundle Laura M. Heath Jeffrey D. Wardell Jeffrey D. Wardell Jeffrey D. Wardell Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot |
| author_facet | Matthew D. McPhee Matthew T. Keough Samantha Rundle Laura M. Heath Jeffrey D. Wardell Jeffrey D. Wardell Jeffrey D. Wardell Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot |
| author_sort | Matthew D. McPhee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Increases in the incidence of psychological distress and alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic have been predicted. Behavioral theories of depression and alcohol self-medication theories suggest that greater social/environmental constraints and increased psychological distress during COVID-19 could result in increases in depression and drinking to cope with negative affect. The current study had two goals: (1) to examine self-reported changes in alcohol use and related outcomes after the introduction of COVID-19 social distancing requirements, and; (2) to test hypothesized mediation models to explain individual differences in self-reported changes in depression and alcohol use during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Participants (n = 833) were U.S. residents recruited for participation in a single online survey. The cross-sectional survey included questions assessing environmental reward, depression, COVID-19-related distress, drinking motives, and alcohol use outcomes. Outcomes were assessed via retrospective self-report for two timeframes in the single survey: the 30 days prior to state-mandated social distancing (“pre-social-distancing”), and the 30 days after the start of state-mandated social distancing (“post-social-distancing”).Results: Depression severity, coping motives, and some indices of alcohol consumption (e.g., frequency of binge drinking, and frequency of solitary drinking) were significantly greater post-social-distancing relative to pre-social-distancing. Conversely, environmental reward and other drinking motives (social, enhancement, and conformity) were significantly lower post-social distancing compared to pre-social-distancing. Behavioral economic indices (alcohol demand) were variable with regard to change. Mediation analyses suggested a significant indirect effect of reduced environmental reward with drinking quantity/frequency via increased depressive symptoms and coping motives, and a significant indirect effect of COVID-related distress with alcohol quantity/frequency via coping motives for drinking.Discussion: Results provide early cross-sectional evidence regarding the relation of environmental reward, depression, and COVID-19-related psychological distress with alcohol consumption and coping motives during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results are largely consistent with predictions from behavioral theories of depression and alcohol self-medication frameworks. Future research is needed to study prospective associations among these outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:23:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55e90549f7be4310b076139e194f47c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:23:57Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-55e90549f7be4310b076139e194f47c22022-12-22T02:43:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402020-10-011110.3389/fpsyt.2020.574676574676Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 PandemicMatthew D. McPhee0Matthew T. Keough1Samantha Rundle2Laura M. Heath3Jeffrey D. Wardell4Jeffrey D. Wardell5Jeffrey D. Wardell6Christian S. Hendershot7Christian S. Hendershot8Christian S. Hendershot9Christian S. Hendershot10Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, CanadaInstitute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaInstitute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaBackground: Increases in the incidence of psychological distress and alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic have been predicted. Behavioral theories of depression and alcohol self-medication theories suggest that greater social/environmental constraints and increased psychological distress during COVID-19 could result in increases in depression and drinking to cope with negative affect. The current study had two goals: (1) to examine self-reported changes in alcohol use and related outcomes after the introduction of COVID-19 social distancing requirements, and; (2) to test hypothesized mediation models to explain individual differences in self-reported changes in depression and alcohol use during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Participants (n = 833) were U.S. residents recruited for participation in a single online survey. The cross-sectional survey included questions assessing environmental reward, depression, COVID-19-related distress, drinking motives, and alcohol use outcomes. Outcomes were assessed via retrospective self-report for two timeframes in the single survey: the 30 days prior to state-mandated social distancing (“pre-social-distancing”), and the 30 days after the start of state-mandated social distancing (“post-social-distancing”).Results: Depression severity, coping motives, and some indices of alcohol consumption (e.g., frequency of binge drinking, and frequency of solitary drinking) were significantly greater post-social-distancing relative to pre-social-distancing. Conversely, environmental reward and other drinking motives (social, enhancement, and conformity) were significantly lower post-social distancing compared to pre-social-distancing. Behavioral economic indices (alcohol demand) were variable with regard to change. Mediation analyses suggested a significant indirect effect of reduced environmental reward with drinking quantity/frequency via increased depressive symptoms and coping motives, and a significant indirect effect of COVID-related distress with alcohol quantity/frequency via coping motives for drinking.Discussion: Results provide early cross-sectional evidence regarding the relation of environmental reward, depression, and COVID-19-related psychological distress with alcohol consumption and coping motives during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results are largely consistent with predictions from behavioral theories of depression and alcohol self-medication frameworks. Future research is needed to study prospective associations among these outcomes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.574676/fullCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2social distancingalcoholmental healthstress |
| spellingShingle | Matthew D. McPhee Matthew T. Keough Samantha Rundle Laura M. Heath Jeffrey D. Wardell Jeffrey D. Wardell Jeffrey D. Wardell Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Christian S. Hendershot Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic Frontiers in Psychiatry COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 social distancing alcohol mental health stress |
| title | Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Depression, Environmental Reward, Coping Motives and Alcohol Consumption During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | depression environmental reward coping motives and alcohol consumption during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 social distancing alcohol mental health stress |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.574676/full |
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