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Updated: Jul 8, 2026
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Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder
Published on: June 23, 2023
Day-to-day links between negative affect, distress intolerance, and alcohol use
Korine B Cabrera1, Kathleen M Palm Reed1
1Department of Psychology, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610, USA.
Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
|July 6, 2026
Summary
Difficulty managing negative emotions increases alcohol craving. Momentary distress intolerance links negative affect to craving, highlighting a key factor in problematic drinking. Interventions targeting distress tolerance may reduce alcohol use.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Addiction Science
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Negative reinforcement models suggest negative affect predicts alcohol use, but findings are inconsistent.
- Alcohol craving is a key behavioral mechanism potentially explaining this relationship.
- Distress intolerance may drive alcohol cravings as a coping mechanism for negative emotions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if state-level distress intolerance mediates the association between negative affect and alcohol craving/use.
- To examine this relationship using a longitudinal daily diary design in a diverse sample of drinkers.
Main Methods:
- A multilevel mediation model was used to analyze one week of daily diary data.
- Data were collected from 82 participants with problematic past-year alcohol use (530 observations).
Main Results:
- Daily fluctuations in negative affect were linked to increased distress intolerance and alcohol craving, but not consumption.
- Distress intolerance mediated the relationship between negative affect and alcohol craving, even after controlling for average levels.
Conclusions:
- State distress intolerance is a proximal risk factor for heightened alcohol craving across various alcohol use severities.
- Conceptualizing and assessing distress intolerance as a state-level construct is crucial.
- Focusing on craving is important for understanding alcohol use drivers within negative reinforcement models.
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