Thesis Presentation.pdf
- Author (aut): Woods-Gonzalez, Ricardo
- Thesis director: Corbin, William
- Committee member: Waddell, Jack
- Committee member: Su, Jinni
- Contributor (ctb): Barrett, The Honors College
- Contributor (ctb): Department of Psychology
Background: Impulsivity is a strong, consistent risk factor for heavier drinking and internalizing symptoms. However, it is unclear whether certain facets of impulsivity (e.g., lack of premeditation and negative urgency) are differentially related to drinking quantity versus internalizing and whether drinking quantity and internalizing serve as mechanisms through which impulsive traits confer risk for negative alcohol consequences. Method: Data are from a longitudinal study of contextual influences on alcohol response in emerging adults (N = 448, Mage = 22.27, 43.5% female). Longitudinal path models in Mplus tested whether UPPS-P impulsivity facets at T1 were prospectively associated with drinking quantity and internalizing symptoms (T2), and whether T2 drinking and internalizing symptoms mediated effects of T1 impulsivity on T3 negative alcohol consequences. Separate models were tested for positive and negative urgency and sex and age were included as model covariates. Results: Consistent with study hypotheses, T1 lack of premeditation indirectly predicted T3 negative alcohol consequences through heavier T2 drinking, whereas T1 negative urgency indirectly predicted T3 negative alcohol consequences through higher T2 stress and depressive symptoms. Contrary to hypotheses, lack of perseverance was not related to drinking quantity and alcohol use was not prospectively related to alcohol consequences. Conclusions: The current study found that distinct impulsive traits were associated with drinking quantity and internalizing symptoms, both of which conferred risk for negative alcohol consequences. Findings underscore the importance of targeting drinking behavior as well as internalizing symptomology based on the presence of specific impulsive personality traits. Such personality-centered interventions have shown promise in prior research.
The transition from high school to college (TTC) is a critical period of change, the effects of which may be exacerbated for Latino students, who often face additional minority-specific stressors, such as ethnic/racial discrimination (ERD). Research has documented links between ERD and sleep outcomes in adolescents, but less is known regarding the longitudinal impacts of ERD experiences during unique risk periods (e.g., TTC). Further, despite the central role of family in Latino adolescents’ lives, less research has explored the protective role of family factors (e.g., familism, family support) in links between ERD and Latino students’ sleep health. Thus, this study examined: 1) longitudinal associations between peer- and adult-perpetrated ERD in high school and actigraphy-measured (e.g., duration, efficiency, midpoint) and subjective sleep (e.g., problems) during the first year of college among Latino adolescents, accounting for college ERD experiences, and 2) familism and family support as potential moderators of these associations. Participants were 209 Hispanic/Latino adolescents (Mage=18.10; 64.4% female; 84.7% Mexican descent; 67.9% first-generation students) assessed at two time points (i.e., last semester of high school and second semester of college). There were no longitudinal associations between high school ERD and college sleep. However, there were concurrent associations between ERD and sleep in college. Specifically, greater college peer- and adult-perpetrated ERD were associated with less duration and lower efficiency at the same time point. Further, more college adult-based ERD was additionally linked with greater sleep problems. There were no significant moderation findings; however, the interaction between high school adult-based ERD and family support predicting college sleep problems suggested that adolescents reporting low levels of adult ERD in conjunction with higher levels of family support had the fewest sleep problems. Study findings provide additional evidence that ERD from both adults and peers is associated with reduced sleep duration and quality among Latino college students and suggest that current cultural stressors may be particularly influential on sleep during major socio-contextual shifts. These findings can inform future programs (e.g., sleep interventions) that provide support for students experiencing race-based stressors, such as ERD, to promote Latino student health and well-being.
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated alarming increases in psychological distress and alcohol use behaviors and has caused the greatest increases in depression and anxiety symptoms among college students. Prior studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 broadly on mental health and alcohol use outcomes; however, few studies have examined these impacts in college students. Previous studies have examined individual factors that could moderate the relation between COVID-19 related stressors and mental health and alcohol use outcomes, but knowledge is lacking regarding the role of emotion regulation. The present study aimed to examine the role of emotion regulation in the relation between both COVID-19 stressful experiences and COVID-19 related worry and mental health and alcohol use outcomes, and to explore racial/ethnic differences in their associations. Four hierarchical multiple regression models were conducted to assess main effects of COVID-19 stressors and emotion regulation, as well as moderation of the effect of emotion regulation on depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, alcohol consumption, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms during the past year. COVID-19 related worry was associated with greater symptoms of both mental health outcomes, whereas COVID-19 related stressful experiences were associated with both mental health outcomes, more alcohol consumption, and more AUD symptoms. Difficulties in emotion regulation had significant main effects on mental health outcomes and AUD symptoms, but not alcohol consumption. Hispanic/Latinx students reported higher experiences of both COVID-19 related stressors, but consumed less alcohol than did White/European students. This study provides further insight into the nature of COVID-19 related stressors and their subsequent impacts. Implications for prevention and intervention on college campuses are discussed.