Stress and Binge Drinking: A Daily Process Examination of Stressor Pile-Up and Socioeconomic Status in Affect Regulation

The goal of this study was to enhance understanding of the interconnections between stress, negative mood, and alcohol use. Daily diary data collected over eight consecutive nights from a nationally representative adult cohort were used to identify if (1) daily stress and cumulative stress pile-up were associated with increased risk of binge drinking, (2) negative affect mediated associations between stressors and binge drinking, and (3) associations among stress, negative affect and binge drinking were moderated by educational attainment as an indicator of socioeconomic status. Results indicated that the odds of binge drinking were higher on days that individuals experienced more severe stressors in contrast to no-stress days. Further, the odds of binge drinking also increased as stressors piled-up over consecutive days. There was no evidence that negative affect mediated associations between stressors and binge drinking. Associations of daily stressors and stressor pile-up with binge drinking were moderated by educational attainment. Study results suggest that affect regulation researchers need to handle "stress" in a multidimensional way and better situate stressors and individuals stress responses within their social context.