Substance Misuse, Emotional Discomfort, Mindfulness, and Materialism: A Tale of Escape and Wanting More
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Pennie, Brian, Substance Misuse, Emotional Discomfort, Mindfulness, and Materialism: A Tale of Escape and Wanting More, Trinity College Dublin. School of Psychology, 2022Download Item:
Abstract:
Substance misuse is responsible for approximately 11.8 million deaths each year, with alcohol misuse alone accounting for 5.3% of all deaths worldwide. One challenge in studying substance misuse is its co-morbidity with other mental health issues. Researchers have identified emotion-driven impulsivity, motives to drink or use, and mindfulness (or lack thereof) as reliable risk factors for substance misuse, yet the interactive nature among these constructs is relatively unknown. Materialism, which is not usually associated with substance misuse, shares many of the same risk factors, with negative affect, experiential avoidance, and impulsivity playing predictive and mediating roles in both outcomes.
Path analytic modelling, combined with online research methods, can harness large datasets to identify the complex associations between these variables. Using a combination of mediation analysis and structural equation modelling, this thesis sought to simultaneously assess these variables to identify potential predictive and mediating effects of alcohol misuse across positive and negative emotion-based models. This thesis also applied comparative analyses to investigate potential mechanisms of change following 8-weeks of mindfulness-based treatment for individuals in early recovery from substance use disorder.
Results demonstrated that both positive and negative emotion-driven impulsivity have distinct motivational pathways to alcohol misuse. While drinking motives appear to be the most important factors for both alcohol consumption and adverse drinking consequences, a materialistic mind-set and facets of mindfulness also play a unique role in these valence-based pathways. Specifically, drinking impulsively to cope with negative emotions, combined with materialistic tendencies, is a risk factor for alcohol consumption. Whereas drinking impulsively to enhance positive emotions, combined with a lack of mindful awareness, is a risk factor for both alcohol use and adverse drinking consequences. For the mindfulness intervention, all facets of mindfulness increased post-treatment, and participants reported significantly reduced levels of emotion-driven impulsivity, experiential avoidance, craving, materialism, anxiety, depression, and stress.
Overall, these findings highlight the predictive and mediating role of mindfulness, as well as a range of emotion-based psychological risk factors for alcohol and substance misuse. Simultaneously assessing these variables using path analytic methods is a useful way to unpack the interactive nature of these constructs and provides more nuanced insights into alcohol consumption and adverse drinking consequences. These findings add to a comprehensive, and more holistic profile of alcohol and substance misuse, which may lead to the improvement of objective screening and assessment of this problematic behaviour. Ultimately, this research will pave the way for refining future methodologies and have important clinical utility and implications for informing future health policy.
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Irish Research Council
Author: Pennie, Brian
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Whelan, RobertQualification name:
Doctor of PhilosophyType of material:
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