ASSESSING THE ROLE OF EMOTION REGULATION IN THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN NEGATIVE URGENCY AND COLLEGE DRINKING

Peak rates of problem drinking (i.e., binge drinking) occur among college students and are linked to a host of deleterious outcomes, including higher risk of physical harm, legal problems, and death. Furthermore, college students who experience greater difficulty regulating emotions demonstrate heightened alcohol use. Emerging evidence suggests that the tendency to act impulsively in response to intense negative affect (i.e., negative urgency) is especially predictive of problem drinking among college students. To date, limited research has examined the underlying emotion regulation mechanisms that may explain the association between negative urgency and problem drinking among college students. Addressing these limitations, the present study proposes two emotion regulation mechanisms that may explain the association between negative urgency and problem drinking—one mechanism pertaining to affect amplification (i.e., increasing positive affect) and a second mechanism pertaining to affect reduction (i.e., reduction of negative affect intensity or arousal). Furthermore, this study builds on the current literature by examining whether specific types of emotional distress—anhedonic depressive and anxious arousal symptoms—moderate these underlying emotion regulation drinking mechanisms.Doctor of Philosoph