OBJECTIVE

Negative affect (NA) is presumed to be an important trigger for drinking, particularly among coping-motivated drinkers. However, diary studies attempting to predict alcohol use from interactions between state NA and coping motives have proved inconsistent. Craving or momentary desire for alcohol may be a more proximal and robust consequence of NA in coping-motivated drinkers.

METHOD

Data were drawn from an ecological momentary assessment investigation. Frequent drinkers ( = 403) carried electronic diaries for 21 consecutive days, recording their drinking behavior, and rating cravings for alcohol and NA.

RESULTS

Outside of active drinking episodes, within-person elevations of momentary NA were associated with increased craving intensity, and this effect was more prominent among drinkers with higher dispositional coping motives. There was no significant interaction between coping motives and momentary NA in predicting the occurrence and amount of same-day alcohol use. Significant conditional indirect effects indicated that NA promoted drinking through increases in craving. These indirect effects were stronger among drinkers reporting higher coping motives.

CONCLUSIONS

Coping motives and within-person fluctuations in NA interactively predict alcohol craving. NA promotes drinking indirectly via increased craving, particularly among coping-motivated drinkers. Alcohol craving may be a proximal and sensitive response channel for investigating interactions between affective distress and coping motives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).