Anksioznost in uživanje alkohola pri mladih odraslih: moderacijska vloga spola ter mediacijska vloga strategij izogibanja in zadovoljstva z življenjem

Young adults are individuals facing responsibilities, privileges, opportunities, and important developmental changes that accompany the period of emerging adulthood. Increases in various mood changes, anxiety and depression symptoms, widespread use of coping strategies, increased alcohol consumption and alcohol related problems are not uncommon during this time. The main aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between anxiety and alcohol consumption among young adults. Additionally, the effect of gender as a moderator, and avoidant coping and satisfaction with life as mediators, was tested and analysed. The participants were a part of a large national study of young people’s mental health in Ireland (My World Survey 2). The final sample included 5859 young adults aged 18 to 25 years, 71,2% of whom were females. The measures used in the current study were Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Anxiety Subscale in the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, Avoidant Coping Subscale in the Adapted Coping Strategy Indicator and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The results indicated that anxiety significantly predicted alcohol consumption, however, explained only 0,9 % of the total variance. The gender moderation analysis indicated that gender was a significant moderator in the relationship between anxiety and alcohol consumption. While the results notably indicated that increases in anxiety led to higher alcohol consumption in both males and females, the association was significantly stronger for the former. Further, avoidant coping was found to mediate the relationship between anxiety and alcohol use. Young adults that experienced higher anxiety symptoms were more likely to use avoidant coping strategies, which in turn led to higher alcohol consumption. Satisfaction with life did not mediate the relationship between anxiety and alcohol consumption. As such, the current study offers additional insights on the relationship between anxiety and alcohol consumption among young adults.Mladi odrasli so posamezniki, ki se soočajo z odgovornostmi, privilegiji, priložnostmi in pomembnimi razvojnimi spremembami, ki spremljajo obdobje prehajanja v odraslost. Za to obdobje so značilna tudi višja raven spreminjajočega se razpoloženja, simptomov anksioznosti in depresije, široka raba izogibajočih se strategij spoprijemanja, povišano uživanje alkohola ter pojavnost z alkoholom povezanih težav. Glavni cilj magistrske naloge je bil preučiti razmerje med anksioznostjo in uživanjem alkohola med mladimi odraslimi. Poleg tega smo analizirali moderacijski vpliv spola ter mediacijski vpliv strategij izogibanja in zadovoljstva z življenjem. Udeleženci so bili del velike nacionalne študije duševnega zdravja mladih na Irskem (My World Survey 2). Končni vzorec je vključeval 5859 mladih odraslih, starih od 18 do 25 let, pri čemer je bilo 71,2 % žensk. Vprašalniki, uporabljeni v magistrski nalogi, so bili test za prepoznavanje motenj uživanja alkohola (AUDIT), podlestvica anksioznosti na lestvici depresije, anksioznosti in stresa (DASS-21), podlestvica izogibajočih se strategij spoprijemanja na indikatorju prilagojenih strategij spoprijemanja (CSI) ter lestvica zadovoljstva z življenjem (SWLS). Rezultati so pokazali, da je anksioznost pomembno napovedovala uživanje alkohola, vendar je pojasnila le 0,9% celotne variabilnosti. Moderacijska analiza je pokazala, da je spol pomemben moderator razmerja med anksioznostjo in uživanjem alkohola, pri čemer je pri moških omenjeni odnos močnejši. Ugotovili smo tudi, da bodo mladi odrasli, ki poročajo o višjih ravneh anksioznosti, pri soočenju s stresnimi situacijami bolj verjetno ali pogosteje uporabili strategije izogibanja, s čimer se bodo izognili težavam in pogosteje ali v večjih odmerkih uživali alkohol. Zadovoljstvo z življenjem ni izkazalo pomembnega mediacijskega učinka na odnos med anksioznostjo in uživanjem alkohola med mladimi odraslimi. Magistrska naloga ponuja dodatne vpoglede in podrobnejšo razlago mehanizmov, na katerih temeljijo povezave med vključenimi spremenljivkami