Emotion regulation variability and affective dynamics in alcohol use disorder: An ecological momentary assessment...

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is characterised by deficits in emotion regulation, yet the role of momentary variability in regulatory strategies for everyday affect remains unclear. This study examined whether higher between-strategy variability is associated with lower negative affect and higher positive affect, and whether these associations differ between individuals with AUD and healthy controls (HC).

A total of 215 adults (109 AUD, 106 HC) participated in a seven-day Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), completing six surveys per day and yielding 7549 observations. At each prompt, participants rated their negative affect, positive affect, and the use of seven common regulation strategies. Between-strategy variability was calculated as the standard deviation of strategy use within each assessment, controlling for mean strategy endorsement and the autocorrelation of affect. Multilevel linear models (concurrent and lagged) were fitted, with group included as a moderator.

Concurrent models showed that greater variability predicted lower negative affect in both groups; however, in lagged models this effect was maintained only among HC. For positive affect, concurrent positive associations emerged in HC (adaptive strategies) and AUD (all and adaptive strategies). In lagged models, higher between-strategy variability predicted greater positive affect exclusively in HC, with no significant effects in AUD.

These findings suggest that between-strategy variability fosters favourable affective states in healthy individuals both concurrently and prospectively, whereas in AUD it is linked only to short-lived modulation of emotions.