Thinking when I'm drinking: The interaction of mood and rumination across drinking and non-drinking days

Prior research has explored the links between emotion regulation, rumination, and problematic alcohol use. However, the extant literature has yet to investigate daily fluctuations among these factors on drinking and non-drinking days comparatively.

College student drinkers (n = 85; 64 % female; M age = 20.04 years) were enrolled in a 21-day ecological momentary assessment study (EMA) examining rumination, via the brooding subscale of the ruminative response scale, and emotion, from the mood circumplex model, on both drinking and non-drinking days. Participants completed up to 11 assessments each day measuring composite positive mood, sadness, anger, anxiety, rumination, and alcohol use. Multilevel regression examined the influence of rumination and mood trajectories across drinking and non-drinking days.

On drinking days, positive mood peaked at drinking initiation and declined after. On non-drinking days, positive mood was low across the day. Both sadness and anger trajectories were moderated by rumination on drinking days. On drinking days, at high rumination both sadness and anger peaked several hours before drinking initiation and then declined across the day leading up to a drinking episode. In the hours after drinking, sadness and anger changed directions and escalated rapidly. Anxiety was lower on drinking days and not moderated by rumination.

Findings support differences in emotional functioning on drinking days and non-drinking days, particularly for individuals with rumination; highlighting the importance of rumination in the context of overall affect and alcohol use.