Anger, anxiety, and depression: Their contribution to high-risk drinking behavior in young adults

The association of depression and anxiety with alcohol dependence is well established in the literature. One major limitation of these studies is that definitions of negative emotions in self-medication research have either inadequately measured anger or failed to include it in the definition altogether. As a result, treatment interventions and preventative programs may lack effectiveness. This present researcher investigated how negative emotions, including anger, predict high-risk drinking in an urban college sample. One hundred and forty-nine participants were surveyed for high-risk drinking, as well as, self-reported anger, anxiety, and depression using the Alcohol Use Disorders Test (AUDIT), Anger Disorders Scale - Short Version (ADS: S), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y2), and Beck Depression Inventory - Second Edition (BDI-II), respectively. This study included mediating variables to determine if participants use alcohol to control anger and/or to express anger more. Multiple Regression analyses revealed no significant correlations between reported alcohol use and self-reported levels of negative emotions on all measures. Mediation analyses did not support the hypotheses that anger control mediates the relationship between hazardous drinking and higher levels of depression, whereas anger expression mediates the relationship between hazardous drinking and clinically significant levels of anger. The researcher discusses the limitations of the current study and recommendations for follow-up research studies. Last, the researcher addresses implications for practice and school psychology.