Changes in coping and social motives for drinking and alcohol consumption across the menstrual cycle
Kayla M. Joyce
Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorAmanda Hudson
Department of Psychology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorRoisin O'Connor
Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorKara Thompson
Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorMegan Hodgin
School of Occupational Therapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorTara Perrot
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Sherry H. Stewart
Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Correspondence
Sherry H. Stewart, Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford St, Halifax, NS B3H 4J1, Canada.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorKayla M. Joyce
Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorAmanda Hudson
Department of Psychology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorRoisin O'Connor
Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorKara Thompson
Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorMegan Hodgin
School of Occupational Therapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorTara Perrot
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Sherry H. Stewart
Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Correspondence
Sherry H. Stewart, Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, 1355 Oxford St, Halifax, NS B3H 4J1, Canada.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
Alcohol use has been reported to fluctuate over women's menstrual cycles (MCs), with increased intake occurring premenstrually/menstrually (phases characterized by heightened negative affect) and during the ovulatory phase (a phase characterized by positive affect). This suggests women may drink for particular emotion-focused reasons at specific points in their cycles. However, no research had yet examined MC variability in drinking motives, or links between cycle-related changes in drinking motives and alcohol consumption.
Methods
Ninety-four normally cycling women (Mage = 22.9 years old, SDage = 4.7) completed daily diary measures (via Smartphone surveys), with questions pertaining to state drinking motives and quantity of alcohol consumed for the course of a full MC.
Results
Drinking motives differed by cycle phase. Women reported a slight increase in drinking to self-medicate for negative affect premenstrually, with drinking to cope peaking in the menstrual phase and declining mid-cycle. Women reported a slight increasing trend across the cycle in social motives for drinking, while enhancement motives remained relatively stable across the cycle. Cycle-related changes in drinking motives predicted increases in the quantity of alcohol consumed. Drinking to cope with negative affect predicted a greater number of drinks menstrually (days 1–5). While social motives predicted a greater number of drinks during the follicular and ovulatory phases (days 5–16), enhancement motives were unrelated to drinking quantity across cycle phase.
Conclusions
Clinicians should be attentive to cycle phase when treating reproductive-aged women with alcohol disorders (e.g., encouraging the use of healthier means of coping with negative affect during menses).
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