Posttraumatic Stress and Alcohol Use Among Hispanic/Latinx University Students: A Moderated Indirect Effect Model of Coping-Related Drinking and Anxiety Sensitivity. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Objective: Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) are associated with increased alcohol use and coping-motivated drinking among university students. This study among trauma-exposed Hispanic/Latinx university students sought to examine the indirect effect of PTSS on alcohol use severity through coping-motivated drinking and test the moderating role of AS and AS subfacets. Methods: University students who identified as Hispanic/Latinx (N=830) were recruited from a large, urban, southern university and completed online, self-report questionnaires. Results: A significant interactive effect of PTSS and AS on coping-motivated drinking emerged. PTSS exerted a significant indirect effect on alcohol use severity, through coping-motivated drinking. Simple slope analyses revealed that PTSS was associated with coping-motivated drinking across all levels of AS. Post hoc results revealed unique biological sex differences in probable diagnosis odds ratios. Conclusions: These findings indicate that PTSS and AS are associated with coping-motivated drinking and alcohol use severity in trauma-exposed, Hispanic/Latinx university students.

published proceedings

  • J Dual Diagn

author list (cited authors)

  • Lebeaut, A., Zegel, M., Healy, N. A., McGrew, S. J., Viana, A. G., & Vujanovic, A. A.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Lebeaut, Antoine||Zegel, Maya||Healy, Nathaniel A||McGrew, Shelby J||Viana, Andres G||Vujanovic, Anka A

publication date

  • April 2024