Dyar Christina, Dworkin Emily R, Pirog Sophia, Kaysen Debra
Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, Northwestern University, United States.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, United States.
Addict Behav. 2021 Mar;114:106718. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106718. Epub 2020 Oct 17.
Sexual minority women (SMW; individuals who identify as women and as lesbian, bisexual, or with another sexual minority identity) are at increased risk for problematic alcohol use compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This increased risk has been attributed to minority stress. However, longitudinal research examining associations between minority stress and alcohol use outcomes is extremely limited and examinations of these associations at the daily level are nearly non-existent. Further, few longitudinal studies have examined mechanisms through which minority stress may impact alcohol use. We utilized data from a 14-day daily diary study of 98 SMW to examine daily-level associations between experiences of minority stress, alcohol consumption and consequences, and two proposed mediators of these associations (perceived coping efficacy, social interaction anxiety). Results indicated that on days when participants experienced minority stress events, they experienced lower coping efficacy, higher social interaction anxiety, and more drinking consequences than usual. Minority stress was not associated with same-day alcohol consumption. Perceived coping efficacy and social interaction anxiety mediated the same-day association between minority stress and drinking consequences. No prospective associations were significant, suggesting that studies with multiple assessments per day may be necessary to detect immediate effects of minority stress. Findings highlight the potential impact of daily experiences of minority stress on alcohol consequences and provide evidence that two general psychological processes may be mechanisms through which minority stress impacts alcohol consequences. These results provide evidence of a need for interventions that teach SMW skills for coping with minority stress and its psychological consequences.
性少数群体女性(SMW;自我认同为女性且为女同性恋、双性恋或具有其他性少数身份的个体)与异性恋女性相比,出现酒精使用问题的风险更高。这种风险增加归因于少数群体压力。然而,考察少数群体压力与酒精使用结果之间关联的纵向研究极为有限,且几乎不存在对这些关联的日常层面考察。此外,很少有纵向研究考察少数群体压力可能影响酒精使用的机制。我们利用了对98名性少数群体女性进行的为期14天的每日日记研究数据,以考察少数群体压力经历、酒精消费及后果,以及这些关联的两个假定中介因素(感知应对效能、社交互动焦虑)之间的日常层面关联。结果表明,在参与者经历少数群体压力事件的日子里,她们的应对效能较低,社交互动焦虑较高,且饮酒后果比平时更多。少数群体压力与当日酒精消费无关。感知应对效能和社交互动焦虑介导了少数群体压力与饮酒后果之间的当日关联。没有前瞻性关联是显著的,这表明可能需要每天进行多次评估的研究来检测少数群体压力的即时影响。研究结果凸显了少数群体压力的日常经历对酒精后果的潜在影响,并提供证据表明两个一般心理过程可能是少数群体压力影响酒精后果的机制。这些结果证明有必要开展干预措施,教导性少数群体女性应对少数群体压力及其心理后果的技能。