Raluca M. Simons

Military sexual trauma, combat exposure, and negative urgency as independent predictors of PTSD and subsequent alcohol problems among OEF/OIF veterans.

This study tested a path model of relationships between military sexual trauma (MST), combat exposure, negative urgency, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and alcohol use and related problems. The sample consisted of 86 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans who reported drinking at least one alcoholic beverage per week. PTSD mediated the relationships between MST and alcohol-related problems, negative urgency and alcohol-related problems, and combat exposure and alcohol-related problems. In addition, negative urgency had a direct effect on alcohol problems. These results indicate that MST, combat exposure, and negative urgency independently predict PTSD symptoms and PTSD symptoms mediate their relationship with alcohol-related problems. Findings support previous literature on the effect of combat exposure and negative urgency on PTSD and subsequent alcohol-related problems. The current study also contributes to the limited research regarding the relationship between MST, PSTD, and alcohol use and related problems. Clinical interventions aimed at reducing emotional dysregulation and posttraumatic stress symptomology may subsequently improve alcohol-related outcomes.

Attachment style as a mediator between childhood maltreatment and the experience of betrayal trauma as an adult

Previous research has demonstrated a positive association between child maltreatment and adult interpersonal trauma (Arata, 2000; Crawford & Wright, 2007). From a betrayal trauma theory perspective, evidence suggests that the experience of trauma high in betrayal (e.g., child maltreatment by parents or guardians) increases ones risk of betrayal trauma as an adult (Gobin & Freyd, 2009). However, the mechanisms explaining these associations are not well understood; attachment theory could provide further insight. Child maltreatment is associated with insecure attachment (Baer & Martinez, 2006; Muller et al., 2000). Insecure attachment is also associated with deficits in interpersonal functioning and risk for intimate partner violence, suggesting insecure attachment may mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and the experience of betrayal trauma as an adult. The current study tested this hypothesis in a sample of 601 college students. Participants completed online questionnaires including the Child Abuse and Trauma Scale (CATS), the Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised (ECR-R) and the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS). Results indicated that child maltreatment is associated with adult betrayal trauma and anxious attachment partially mediates this relationship.

PTSD, alcohol dependence, and conduct problems: Distinct pathways via lability and disinhibition

This study tested the role of affect lability and disinhibition in mediating associations between PTSD symptoms and two forms of alcohol-related problems, dependence syndrome symptoms (e.g., impaired control over consumption) and conduct problems (e.g., assault, risk behaviors). Genotype at the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) was hypothesized to moderate associations between traumatic stress and PTSD symptoms. In addition, the study tested whether childhood traumatic stress moderated associations between combat trauma and PTSD symptoms. Participants were 270 OIF/OEF/OND veterans. The hypothesized model was largely supported. Participants with the low expression alleles of 5-HTTLPR (S or LG) exhibited stronger associations between childhood (but not combat) traumatic stress and PTSD symptoms. Affect lability mediated the associations between PTSD symptoms and alcohol dependence symptoms. Behavioral disinhibition mediated associations between PTSD symptoms and conduct related problems. Conditional indirect effects indicated stronger associations between childhood traumatic stress and lability, behavioral disinhibition, alcohol consumption, AUD symptoms, and associated conduct problems via PTSD symptoms among those with the low expression 5-HTTLPR alleles. However, interactions between combat trauma and either childhood trauma or genotype were not significant. The results support the hypothesis that affect lability and behavioral disinhibition are potential intermediate traits with distinct associations with AUD and associated externalizing problems.

Women’s Behavioral Responses to Sexual Aggression: The Role of Secondary Cognitive Appraisals and Self-Regulation:

Sexual assault history, secondary cognitive appraisals, and a dual-process model of self-regulation were examined as predictors of women’s intended behavioral responses to hypothetical sexual aggression. College women (N = 435) read a sexually aggressive scenario and rated their intentions to engage in assertive, polite, and passive behavioral responses. Results indicated secondary cognitive appraisals predicted less assertive, more polite, and more passive responses. Good self-control predicted assertive and polite responses, while sexual assault history and poor regulation predicted passive responses. Poor regulation significantly moderated the relationship between secondary cognitive appraisals and passive behavioral responses. Implications for the prevention of sexual assault are discussed.

Emotion dysregulation and peer drinking norms uniquely predict alcohol-related problems via motives

This study examined the relationships between emotion dysregulation, peer drinking norms, drinking motives, and alcohol-related outcomes among 435 college students. We examined the mediating roles of drinking motives when predicting alcohol consumption and related problems from the subscales of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, 2004) via negative and positive reinforcement models. First, we hypothesized that individuals who lack in emotion regulation strategies or have difficulties in accepting negative emotions are more likely to drink to cope. Additionally, we hypothesized that individuals who act impulsively or become distracted when upset as well as those with higher peer drinking norms are more likely to drink for social and enhancement motives. The results of the path model indicated that limited access to emotion regulation strategies significantly predicted alcohol-related problems via both depression and anxiety coping motives, but did not predict alcohol consumption. Nonacceptance of emotional responses was not significantly associated with coping motives. Impulsivity had a significant direct relationship with alcohol problems. Difficulty in engaging in goal-directed behaviors predicted both enhancement and social motives, but only enhancement motives in turn predicted consumption. Norms indirectly predicted problems via enhancement motives and consumption. The results indicated that using alcohol to reduce negative or to increase positive emotions increases alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Overall, results advance our understanding of the mechanisms of increased alcohol use and problems among college students.

Effects of alcohol, rumination, and gender on the time course of negative affect

ABSTRACT This study modelled associations between gender, ruminative cognitive style, alcohol use, and the time course of negative affect over the course of 43,111 random assessments in the natural environment. Participants (N = 263) completed 49 days of experience sampling over 1.3 years. The data indicated that rumination at baseline was positively associated with alcohol dependence symptoms at baseline as well as higher negative affect over the course of the study. Consistent with negative reinforcement models, drinking served to decrease the persistence of negative affect from moment to moment. However, this ameliorative effect of drinking was evident only among women, suggesting an increased risk for negative reinforcement driven drinking behaviour. In addition, rumination appeared to counteract the desired effects of alcohol on mood among women. This suggests that women who ruminate more may be motivated to consume larger amounts of alcohol to achieve the desired effects. Overall, the results indicate that ruminative cognitive style and the persistence of negative affect from moment to moment may reflect an individual vulnerability for the development of alcohol use disorder especially among women.

Parents do matter, but why? Examining two mediators of the association between parental approval and negative consequences of alcohol use

Abstract College student drinking is a public health concern with potentially serious consequences. A growing body of literature indicates perceived parental approval of alcohol use is associated with drinking outcomes in college populations, and that parent-based interventions may be a viable way to reduce alcohol use on campus. However, researchers have not yet identified the mechanism responsible for this relationship. In this study, a path model was used to look at the relationship between perceived parental approval of drinking and negative consequences of alcohol use among undergraduate students (N = 632) via two mechanisms: perceived friends’ approval of drinking and perceived parental monitoring. The path model specified in this study indicated that perceived parental approval of drinking is associated with negative consequences of alcohol use, and that this effect is not fully attributed to perceived parental monitoring, injunctive norms of friends, gender or weekly alcohol consumption. As hypothesized, perceived friends’ approval of drinking partially mediated the relationship between perceived parental approval of drinking and negative consequences of alcohol use. Contrary to hypothesis, the path model did not provide support to the mediating role of perceived parental monitoring.

Self-control demands and alcohol-related problems: Within- and between-person associations.

This study tested a multilevel structural model of associations between two aspects of self-control (effortful control and reactivity), self-control demands, alcohol consumption, and alcohol problems and related risk behaviors using daily diary data from 196 young adults (4,177 person-days). Self-control demands were hypothesized to be positively associated with alcohol consumption and alcohol problems and related risk behaviors both within- and between-persons. At the between-person level, self-control demands were hypothesized to mediate the association between trait self-control and alcohol problems and related risk behaviors. At the within-person level, self-control demands had a direct positive effect on alcohol problems and related risk behaviors, over and above alcohol consumption. However, contrary to expectation, self-control demands were inversely associated with alcohol consumption. In contrast, self-control demands were positively associated with alcohol consumption at the between-person level and partially mediated the positive effects of reactivity on consumption and alcohol problems and related risk behaviors. That is, reactivity was associated with higher perceived self-control demands, which in turn predicted higher rates of consumption and alcohol problems and related risk behaviors. Effortful control was not significantly associated with alcohol consumption or self-control demands. The pattern of self-control demand effects at the within-person level suggest that young adults are less likely to drink when struggling to manage their day-to-day behavior, yet if they do drink they are more susceptible to negative consequences. Trait effects suggest that individual differences in self-control may be associated with alcohol use patterns in part attributable to development of, and response to, structured daily routines.

Women’s Perceived Likelihood to Engage in Sexual Risk Taking: Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Poor Behavioral Regulation:

Sexual abuse prior to age 18 may put some women at risk for engaging in sexual risk taking. This association could exist, in part, as a result of the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on behavioral regulation. The current study utilized a path analysis to investigate the association between severity of sexual abuse before age 18, posttraumatic stress symptoms, poor behavioral regulation, and expected engagement in sexual risk taking among college women. The sample consisted of 88 college women with experiences of sexual abuse prior to the age of 18. Severity of sexual abuse predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. In addition, posttraumatic stress symptoms predicted poor behavioral regulation, which in turn predicted expected engagement in sexual risk taking. These findings indicate functional mechanisms involved in sexual decision making of women who have had past sexual abuse and experience posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism: Associations with alcohol use, alcohol problems and problem recognition

Abstract Objective: This study fills a gap in the literature by examining the relationship between two types of narcissism, vulnerable and grandiose, and five alcohol-related outcomes (ie, alcohol use, alcohol problems, evaluation and expectancies of problems, and readiness to change). Participants: 345 college students (28% men, 72% women) from a Midwestern university were recruited from undergraduate psychology courses from April 2015 to October 2016. Methods: Participants completed an online survey with questionnaires measuring the variables of interest. Multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Results: Grandiose narcissism was a positive predictor of alcohol consumption and a positive (ie, good) evaluation of alcohol-related problems. Vulnerable narcissism was a positive predictor of alcohol-related problems, problem recognition (ie, readiness to change), and problem expectancies. Conclusions: The results speak to the effects that different types of narcissism have on alcohol use, alcohol problems and attitudes towards alcohol problems among young adults.