Exploring the Relationships between Negative Emotions, Coping Strategies, & Drinking Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was an overwhelming, negatively emotionally charged time, which, for some, led to increased drinking behaviors as a way to cope with these difficult experiences. Interestingly, there have been mixed findings on people’s experiences of negative affect during the pandemic and its associations with drinking behaviors. This study sought to elucidate some of these mixed findings. Specifically, this study considered a nationally representative sample of U.S. residents to examine changes in negative emotions across three waves of data from the pandemic (April, June, & November 2020) and the associations between negative emotions and drinking behaviors at the third wave. Additionally, this study explored the relationships between coping strategies and drinking behaviors, and whether coping strategies moderated the association between negative affect and drinking behaviors. The results of this study revealed that negative affect decreased across the pandemic, and that Wave 1 negative affect was not significantly associated with Wave 3 drinking, however Waves 2 & 3 negative affect were significantly associated with Wave 3 drinking. Maladaptive coping was significantly associated with Wave 3 drinking behaviors, however adaptive coping was not. Furthermore, the results did not reveal a significant interaction between coping strategies and negative affect. The results of this study show how people’s experiences of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have led them to unhealthy, maladaptive coping strategies like drinking. This study sets the stage for future research to uncover interventions to improve negative emotionality, coping strategies, and drinking behaviors.