The societal impact of the co-occurrence of hazardous drinking and elevated anxiety symptoms and disorders among Latinx persons is substantial and a major public priority. 1,2 Indeed, Latinx who drink are more likely to drink frequently and to drink larger quantities of alcohol than non-Latinx Whites or African Americans 3,4 Given that anxiety and hazardous drinking frequently co-occur, 5 and that alcohol is often used to cope with anxiety,6,7 research aimed at explicating the mechanisms involved in the alcohol-anxiety connection among Latinx persons can directly inform and strategically guide the development of novel treatments for this health disparity population.5 Scholars often attribute health outcomes, including addictive behaviors such as hazardous drinking, to minority-related stress (i.e., unique, and chronic stressors that stem from minority-based prejudice and stigma).8,9 Perceived racial discrimination, which is pervasive in the U. S.,10 is among the most common, robust, and consistent predictors of anxiety11,12 and hazardous drinking13?16 among the Latinx population.17,18 Although perceived racial discrimination is a key contributor to anxiety and hazardous drinking among Latinx adults, there remains a need to understand the mechanisms linking minority stress to these health disparities. Indeed, such mechanistic work is central to developing promising interventions for this underserved but highly prevalent comorbidity.19 Work on non-Latinx Whites has suggested individual differences in experiential avoidance (EA) is theoretically relevant to both hazardous drinking and anxiety disorders .20 EA is a relatively stable (i.e., it has trait-like qualities), but recent work indicates that it also maintains state-like qualities.21,22 Further, research has established EA is malleable through intervention.23,24 Yet, the mechanistic role of state- like EA (i.e., daily changes in EA) has not been investigated over time. To address this gap and facilitate mechanistic knowledge that can inform future treatment development, the proposed work will examine if lower state-like EA will mediate the association between baseline discrimination symptoms and alcohol outcomes.
The co-occurrence of hazardous drinking and anxiety evinces substantial functional impairment, disability, and burdensome public health costs. In line with NIAAA initiatives to increase greater understanding of individual differences factors that may underlie the etiology and maintenance of alcohol misuse and its comorbidities, the proposed work aims to examine the role of state-like experiential distress (EA) in the relationship between racial/ethnic discrimination and hazardous drinking among Latinx persons with clinical anxiety using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). The proposed work would lead efforts of individualized treatment care by investigating the mechanistic role of state-like EA in the vulnerability pathway toward alcohol use motivation and hazardous drinking among Latinx persons with anxiety.
