Coping style and attributional style as mediators of alcohol use and depression among young adults

grantor: University of TorontoThe phenomenon of gender differences in alcohol consumption and depressive symptomatology has been well documented. Depression and alcohol consumption pose significant problems for society in the form of psychological, emotional, and financial costs. Nonetheless, such pathology is common in North American society. The present study approaches the etiology of depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption from a cognitive-behavioral perspective. Attributional style and negative life events were hypothesized predictors of depression and alcohol consumption. Coping styles were hypothesized to predict the specific outcome; rumination was hypothesized to be associated with depression, and distraction was hypothesized to be associated with alcohol consumption. A total of 108 (51 males, 57 females) undergraduate university students, ages 18-21, completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Khavari Alcohol Test, the Attributional. Style Questionnaire, the Response Style Questionnaire, and the Adolescent Perceived Events Scale. Descriptive analyses of the data indicated that the sample, as a whole, was characterized by mild levels of depressive symptoms, similar to comparable samples. In contrast, there were relatively low levels of alcohol consumption. Correlation analyses showed that higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with negative events and rumination among both males and females. Among females, pessimism and wine consumption were also correlated with depression. Importantly, the gender difference in depression was not significant. With respect to alcohol, males consumed significantly more than females. Distraction was found to be negatively associated with alcohol consumption among women. Possible clinical implications are discussed, including the potential use of the study measures as screens for risk-profiling. Future directions are also discussed, and include replication of the present findings in a large, multi-cultural sample.Ph.D