Predictors of alcohol-related problems among depressed and non-depressed women

Depression and alcohol-related problems are often comorbid in women, but not all depressed women have comorbid alcohol-related problems. The current study investigated intrapersonal (drinking expectancies), interpersonal (interpersonal pressure to drink), and familial (mother's and father's drinking history) predictors of alcohol-related problems among women with and without a major depressive episode in the past year.

Participants were 853 women ages 21-90 from a U.S. national probability sample. Depression diagnosis was determined via interviewer administration of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) depression module. Participants completed self-report measures of alcohol-related problems and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and familial predictors of drinking.

Regression analyses indicated that an episode of depression in the past year, more positive drinking expectancies, greater interpersonal pressure to drink, and higher levels of maternal (but not paternal) drinking predicted alcohol-related problems; moreover, the relationships between alcohol-related problems and maternal drinking, paternal drinking, and interpersonal pressure to drink were significantly stronger among women with an episode of major depression in the past year than among women without an episode.

Study data was cross-sectional and obtained through self-report, thus limiting causal explanations of results.

Findings suggest that depression may enhance the impact of interpersonal and familial risk factors on women's alcohol misuse. Implications of findings for transdiagnostic models of psychopathology and for prevention and treatment of alcohol-related problems in women presenting with depressive symptoms are discussed.