title: Drinking-to-cope motivation and negative mood-drinking contingencies in a daily diary study of college students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined whether global drinking-to-cope (DTC) motivation moderates negative mood-drinking contingencies and negative mood-motivation contingencies at the daily level of analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data came from a daily diary study of college student drinking (N = 1,636; 53% female; Mage = 19.2 years). Fixed-interval models tested whether global DTC motivation moderated relations between daily negative mood and that evening's drinking and episodic DTC. Time-to-drink models examined whether global DTC motivation moderated the effects of weekly negative mood on the immediacy of drinking and DTC in the weekly cycle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More evening drinking occurred on days characterized by relatively higher anxiety or anger, and students were more likely to report DTC on days when they experienced greater sadness. However, only the daily Anxiety × Global DTC Motivation interaction for number of drinks consumed was consistent with hypotheses. Moreover, students reported drinking, heavy drinking, and DTC earlier in weeks characterized by relatively higher anxiety or anger, but no hypothesized interactions with global DTC motivation were found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RESULTS indicate that negative mood is associated with increased levels of drinking and drinking for coping reasons among college students but that the strength of these relations does not differ by global levels of DTC motivation. These findings raise the possibility that global DTC measures are insufficient for examining within-person DTC processes. Further implications of these results are discussed, including future directions that may determine the circumstances under which, and for whom, DTC occurs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Ross E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: O'Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Armeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tennen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000786:Anger; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult