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A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Posttraumatic Stress and Alcohol Use Among Hispanic/Latinx University Students: A Moderated Indirect Effect Model of
Antoine Lebeaut1, Maya Zegel1, Nathaniel A Healy1
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
Objective:
Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and anxiety sensitivity (AS) are associated with increased alcohol use and coping-motivated drinking among university students. This study among trauma-exposed Hispanic/Latinx university students sought to examine the indirect effect of PTSS on alcohol use severity through coping-motivated drinking and test the moderating role of AS and AS subfacets.
Methods:
University students who identified as Hispanic/Latinx (N = 830) were recruited from a large, urban, southern university and completed online, self-report questionnaires.
Results:
A significant interactive effect of PTSS and AS on coping-motivated drinking emerged. PTSS exerted a significant indirect effect on alcohol use severity, through coping-motivated drinking. Simple slope analyses revealed that PTSS was associated with coping-motivated drinking across all levels of AS. Post hoc results revealed unique biological sex differences in probable diagnosis odds ratios.
Conclusions:
These findings indicate that PTSS and AS are associated with coping-motivated drinking and alcohol use severity in trauma-exposed, Hispanic/Latinx university students.
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