Arpin Sarah N, Mohr Cynthia D, Bodner Todd E, Hammer Leslie B, Lee James D
Department of Psychology, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99258, USA.
Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201, USA.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Sep 11;15(9):1240. doi: 10.3390/bs15091240.
Links between loneliness and health are robust, though evidence for associations with alcohol use is mixed. Previous research has supported perceived stress as a predictor of alcohol use and as a pathway through which loneliness impacts health over time. Yet findings are primarily limited to civilian samples, and less is known about how loneliness relates to stress and health among service members. The current study explores prospective associations among loneliness, stress, and health (i.e., sleep, alcohol misuse, and psychological distress) within a sample of mostly male service members. We examine two dimensions of perceived stress, perceived helplessness and negative coping appraisal, as explanatory mechanisms. Controlling for baseline stress and health, loneliness predicted perceived helplessness and negative coping appraisal (4-month follow-up); in turn, perceived helplessness and negative coping appraisal predicted insomnia and sleep dissatisfaction; and negative coping appraisal predicted alcohol misuse (indirect effects). Findings support transactional models of stress and the stressor-vulnerability model of alcohol use, revealing that coping appraisals play an important explanatory role for stress-related consequences of loneliness. Further, we provide new insight into mechanisms linking loneliness to alcohol use and sleep, differentiating dimensions of stress and highlighting potential intervention targets.
孤独与健康之间的联系十分紧密，尽管有关孤独与饮酒之间关联的证据并不一致。先前的研究支持将感知到的压力作为饮酒的一个预测因素，以及作为孤独随着时间推移影响健康的一条途径。然而，研究结果主要局限于普通人群样本，对于孤独与军人的压力及健康之间的关系了解较少。当前的研究在一个主要由男性军人组成的样本中，探讨孤独、压力与健康（即睡眠、酒精滥用和心理困扰）之间的前瞻性关联。我们考察感知到的压力的两个维度，即感知到的无助感和消极应对评估，作为解释机制。在控制了基线压力和健康状况后，孤独预测了感知到的无助感和消极应对评估（4个月随访）；反过来，感知到的无助感和消极应对评估预测了失眠和睡眠不满；消极应对评估预测了酒精滥用（间接效应）。研究结果支持压力的交互作用模型和酒精使用的应激源-易感性模型，表明应对评估对孤独与压力相关后果之间的关系起到重要的解释作用。此外，我们为孤独与酒精使用及睡眠之间的联系机制提供了新的见解，区分了压力维度并突出了潜在的干预靶点。
