The daily stress and coping process and alcohol use among college students

Objective: To examine whether students drink more alcohol on higher-stress days than on lower-stress days; whether daily coping strategies and affective states mediate the within-person relationship between stress and drinking; and whether the daily stress-drinking process varies as a function of previously identified between-person risk factors (sex, family history, coping motives, sensation seeking, neuroticism). Method: College students (N = 137) completed daily surveys for 28 consecutive days. Results: With daily coping, affect and weekly trends in drinking controlled for, students consumed more alcohol on days that had events perceived as relatively more stressful. Students also drank more on days characterized by relatively lower problem-focused coping and relatively higher positive and negative affect. Contrary to predictions, the effect of stress on drinking was not fully mediated by coping and affect. Findings also revealed individual differences in several links in the daily stress coping-drinking process. Conclusions: The daily stress coping-drinking process is complex, and it appears that there are both positive and negative affective pathways underlying daily alcohol consumption.