Difficulty with emotional regulation and use of drinking as a way to forget about problems can predict some adolescent alcohol-related problems.
ResearchPosted on rand.org Apr 27, 2016Published in: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, v. 25, no. 3, 2016, p. 245-251
PURPOSE: This study examined associations among alcohol-related problems and family support, collective efficacy, emotion-regulation drinking motives, and limited access to emotion-regulation strategies among racially diverse adolescents. METHODS: The sample included 150 racially diverse adolescent girls and boys (53.3% male) from two urban high schools in different geographic regions. RESULTS: Family support and collective efficacy were negatively correlated, and emotion-regulation drinking motives and limited access to emotion-regulation strategies positively correlated, with alcohol-related problems. Accounting for geographic location and drinking level, emotion-regulation drinking motives and limited access to emotion-regulation strategies uniquely predicted the number of different alcohol-related problems. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the importance of including social and emotion factors in examinations of adolescent alcohol-related problems.
Alcohol prevention programs for adolescents should focus on developing emotional regulation skills and address perceptions of alcohol use acceptability.
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