Exposure to Stigma Elicits Negative Affect and Alcohol Craving Among Young Adult Sexual Minority Heavy Drinkers

Overview

Journal Alcohol Clin Exp Res

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2019 May 18

PMID 31099903

Citations 21

Authors

Ethan H Mereish

Robert Miranda Jr

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Sexual orientation disparities in alcohol use disorder (AUD) are thought to be explained by stigma specific to sexual minorities. Despite the importance of negative affect and craving in addiction, research has yet to test the effects of stigma on affect and alcohol craving among sexual minorities. This laboratory study examined the effects of 3 novel mood inductions (stigma, general unpleasant, and neutral) on affect and alcohol craving among heavy-drinking sexual minority young adults. We also paired these mood inductions with an established alcohol cue reactivity paradigm to explore the effects of stigma on cue-elicited craving.

Methods: Sexual minority participants (N = 20; 55% female), aged 18 to 27 years (M = 21.80, standard deviation = 2.65), were recruited from the community. Participants completed 3 mood induction and cue reactivity trials counterbalanced over 3 visits on different days: stigma, general unpleasant, and neutral mood inductions. A structured interview assessed criteria for DSM-5 AUD, and self-report measures assessed lifetime adverse experiences.

Results: Most participants met criteria for past-year AUD (75%). Exposure to stigma produced more negative affect and greater alcohol craving than the neutral and general unpleasant mood induction conditions. The general unpleasant mood induction did not predict greater alcohol craving than the neutral mood induction. Stigma enhanced alcohol cue reactivity effects, as measured with a single-item craving measure, compared to the general unpleasant mood condition, and this effect remained significant while controlling for covariates.

Conclusions: Findings are the first to demonstrate how stigma uniquely predicts negative affect and alcohol craving among sexual minorities. This study suggests that being exposed to stigma, specifically heterosexism, elicits negative mood and alcohol craving among sexual minority young adults who are heavy drinkers.

Citing Articles

Vicarious heterosexism-based stress induces alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis craving and negative affect among sexual minority young adults: An experimental study.

Mereish E, Miranda Jr R Neurobiol Stress. 2024; 32:100668.

PMID: 39252986 PMC: 11381502. DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100668.

Oppression-Based Stress and Alcohol Inequities Among Sexual and Gender Minority People: An Intersectional Multilevel Framework.

Mereish E Alcohol Res. 2024; 44(1):05.

PMID: 39246430 PMC: 11379061. DOI: 10.35946/arcr.v44.1.05.

An experimental laboratory-based minority stress paradigm for alcohol research among sexual minority women: A pilot study.

Fahey K, Cservenka A, Peltier M, Mereish E, Dermody S Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2023; 48(2):345-361.

PMID: 38149357 PMC: 10922336. DOI: 10.1111/acer.15255.

Student Perceptions of Substance Use Disorder Stigma as a Factor for Health Disparities: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Barenie R, Cernasev A, Hohmeier K, Heidel R, Knight P, Forrest-Bank S Pharmacy (Basel). 2023; 11(4).

PMID: 37489343 PMC: 10366849. DOI: 10.3390/pharmacy11040112.

Ethnic Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, and DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder Among U.S. Latino or Hispanic Adults.

Kcomt L, Boyd C, Evans-Polce R, Veliz P, Engstrom C, West B J Homosex. 2023; 71(8):1970-1990.

PMID: 37272895 PMC: 10696128. DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2023.2217516.

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