Research & Resources

The researchers in the study noted that few, if any, studies had examined the unique associations between multiple indicators of positive emotional functioning and alcohol use as well as alcohol-related problems. They aimed to fill this gap by using secondary data from large college student sample of 402 students, to characterize the unique associations between trait indicators of positive emotional functioning (i.e., positive affect, anhedonia, savoring, positive emotion dysregulation) and alcohol use as well as alcohol-related problems. Results indicated trait positive emotion dysregulation (difficulty managing intense positive emotions) was positively related to both alcohol and alcohol-related problems. They highlighted that trait savoring (i.e., ability to increase the intensity/duration of positive emotions) was positively related to alcohol consumption and inversely related to problems. None of the other positive emotion indicators were significantly associated with either alcohol use or problems.

This paper, “Characterizing the dimensions of positive emotion functioning in young adult alcohol use and alcohol-related problems,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and published in the journal Addictive behaviors.