How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men
BackgroundIndividuals with a minority sexual orientation have consistently been found to face a greater risk of mental health problems and problematic substance use than heterosexual individuals. The present study examined whether differences in alcohol use or alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms acr...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1416062/full |
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| author | Matthias Wicki Matthias Wicki Simon Marmet Joseph Studer Joseph Studer Kim Bloomfield Kim Bloomfield Kim Bloomfield Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel |
| author_facet | Matthias Wicki Matthias Wicki Simon Marmet Joseph Studer Joseph Studer Kim Bloomfield Kim Bloomfield Kim Bloomfield Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel |
| author_sort | Matthias Wicki |
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| description | BackgroundIndividuals with a minority sexual orientation have consistently been found to face a greater risk of mental health problems and problematic substance use than heterosexual individuals. The present study examined whether differences in alcohol use or alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms across the spectrum of sexual orientations could be explained by drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, social, coping and conformity motives).MethodA non-self-selective sample of non-abstinent, young Swiss men (N = 5,139; mean age = 25.4, SD = 1.25) completed a self-reporting questionnaire on sexual orientation (on a five-point attraction scale: heterosexual, mostly-heterosexual, bisexual, mostly-homosexual, homosexual), drinking motives, alcohol use indicators (e.g., heavy episodic drinking, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption [AUDIT-C]), and AUD symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether drinking motives mediated the associations between dummy-coded sexual orientation (with heterosexual men as the reference) and alcohol use indicators or AUD symptoms.ResultsMostly-heterosexual men exhibited higher scores on alcohol use indicators than heterosexual men, with almost full mediation through their drinking motives, specifically higher enhancement motives. They also reported more AUD symptoms, partially mediated through drinking motives, with comparable contributions from enhancement and coping motives. Homosexual men, however, displayed similar or lower scores for alcohol use indicators and AUD symptoms than heterosexual men, but these differences were not mediated by drinking motives. Indeed, homosexual men exhibited greater coping motives than heterosexual men. No significant results or discernible patterns emerged for bisexual or mostly-homosexual men.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of considering the full spectrum of sexual orientations in healthcare and of broadening the focus on drinking motives beyond coping. Understanding the varied motives for alcohol use across the spectrum of sexual orientations facilitates tailored prevention strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-58329fd63ebf404581cc09bb0c402b30 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-58329fd63ebf404581cc09bb0c402b302025-01-20T07:20:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-01-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.14160621416062How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss menMatthias Wicki0Matthias Wicki1Simon Marmet2Joseph Studer3Joseph Studer4Kim Bloomfield5Kim Bloomfield6Kim Bloomfield7Gerhard Gmel8Gerhard Gmel9Gerhard Gmel10Gerhard Gmel11Addiction Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandInstitute for Research, Development and Evaluation, Bern University of Teacher Education, Bern, SwitzerlandAddiction Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandAddiction Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychiatry, North-West Vaud Adult Psychiatry Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandUnit for Health Promotion Research, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, DenmarkCentre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DenmarkInstitute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, GermanyAddiction Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandAddiction Switzerland, Lausanne, SwitzerlandCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, CanadaAlcohol and Health Research Unit, University of the West of England, Bristol, United KingdomBackgroundIndividuals with a minority sexual orientation have consistently been found to face a greater risk of mental health problems and problematic substance use than heterosexual individuals. The present study examined whether differences in alcohol use or alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms across the spectrum of sexual orientations could be explained by drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, social, coping and conformity motives).MethodA non-self-selective sample of non-abstinent, young Swiss men (N = 5,139; mean age = 25.4, SD = 1.25) completed a self-reporting questionnaire on sexual orientation (on a five-point attraction scale: heterosexual, mostly-heterosexual, bisexual, mostly-homosexual, homosexual), drinking motives, alcohol use indicators (e.g., heavy episodic drinking, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption [AUDIT-C]), and AUD symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether drinking motives mediated the associations between dummy-coded sexual orientation (with heterosexual men as the reference) and alcohol use indicators or AUD symptoms.ResultsMostly-heterosexual men exhibited higher scores on alcohol use indicators than heterosexual men, with almost full mediation through their drinking motives, specifically higher enhancement motives. They also reported more AUD symptoms, partially mediated through drinking motives, with comparable contributions from enhancement and coping motives. Homosexual men, however, displayed similar or lower scores for alcohol use indicators and AUD symptoms than heterosexual men, but these differences were not mediated by drinking motives. Indeed, homosexual men exhibited greater coping motives than heterosexual men. No significant results or discernible patterns emerged for bisexual or mostly-homosexual men.DiscussionThese findings highlight the importance of considering the full spectrum of sexual orientations in healthcare and of broadening the focus on drinking motives beyond coping. Understanding the varied motives for alcohol use across the spectrum of sexual orientations facilitates tailored prevention strategies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1416062/fullcohort study on substance use risk factors (C-SURF)alcohol usesexual orientationyoung adultsdrinking motives |
| spellingShingle | Matthias Wicki Matthias Wicki Simon Marmet Joseph Studer Joseph Studer Kim Bloomfield Kim Bloomfield Kim Bloomfield Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel Gerhard Gmel How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men Frontiers in Psychology cohort study on substance use risk factors (C-SURF) alcohol use sexual orientation young adults drinking motives |
| title | How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men |
| title_full | How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men |
| title_fullStr | How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men |
| title_full_unstemmed | How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men |
| title_short | How drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use – a study among young Swiss men |
| title_sort | how drinking motives mediate associations between sexual orientation and indicators of alcohol use a study among young swiss men |
| topic | cohort study on substance use risk factors (C-SURF) alcohol use sexual orientation young adults drinking motives |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1416062/full |
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