Internalized Stress in Relation to Alcohol Consumption
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2025-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The proposed study uses an experimental design to establish causal support for the role of
internalized stress, pertaining to uncertainty with regard to one's sexual orientation, in
contributing to heavy drinking behavior. Following exposure to internalized sexual stigma,
physiological and psychological stress responses are expected to increase alcohol consumption
in adults who are uncertain about their sexual orientation, especially among females, and
following consumption, the physiological effects of ethanol and beliefs about the effects of
alcohol are expected to alter relations between exposure to sexual stigma and the alleviation
of psychological distress. Showing that physiological stress responses, whether driven by the
pharmacological effects of ethanol or expectancies regarding its effects, can account for
known alcohol-use disparities, particularly in bisexual/bi+ communities, would contribute a
great deal to knowledge on the biology of addiction and inform subsequent interventions that
seek to regulate stress reactivity.