Anna Tovmasyan
I am a second year PhD student and a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Edge Hill University’s Psychology Department, working under the supervision of Professor Derek Heim and Dr Rebecca Monk. I hold an MSc in Mental Health Research from the University of Nottingham and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Exeter. My PhD employs experiential sampling methodologies alongside meta analytical techniques to examine how affective states and alcohol behaviours interact and shape each other.
Affective states and alcohol consumption during COVID-19 pandemic: A pre-registered experience sampling study
Background and Aims: Research addressing the relationship between affect and alcohol consumption has yielded inconsistent findings, particularly in regard to negative affect and affect instability as influences on consumption. This pre-registered study examined how affective states (ASs) and affect fluctuations impact alcohol consumption, and whether the social context moderates this relationship.
Methods: In a study conducted during COVID-19 related lockdown in the UK, 78 participants received thrice-daily notifications over a period of one week asking them to report their AS and alcohol consumption.
Results: Results indicate that enthusiasm was positively associated with drinking onset, while shame was positively associated with number of drinks consumed. Mean levels of positive and negative affect and affect fluctuations did not appear to be associated with consumption and participants were more likely to initiate drinking when they were with someone rather than alone.
Conclusions: The results of the study indicate that while neither overall affect nor affect fluctuations are associated with consumption, enthusiasm and shame may play an important role in drinking onset and amount of alcohol consumed. Future studies may need to account for both overall affect and facets of affect when looking at its influence on consumption.
Poster link: