Citation

Lipton RI. Am. J. Public Health 1994; 84(12): 1913-1917.

Affiliation

Alcohol Research Group, Berkeley, Calif.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, American Public Health Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7998629

PMCID

PMC1615404

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to determine whether moderate alcohol use mediates or buffers the effect of stress on depression in a group of non-Hispanic White men and women. METHODS: Data are from the Los Angeles Epidemiological Catchment Area cohort. Individuals were assessed at two time periods, 1 year apart. Mean depression scores were analyzed for each level of stress and alcohol use. RESULTS: In the simultaneous presence of both chronic strain and negative life events, a U-shaped pattern was observed in which abstainers and light and heavy drinkers had higher depression scores at the second time period than did light-moderate and moderate alcohol users. The U-shaped relationship remained when the effects of sex, age, and physical health status were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Light-moderate and moderate drinkers had less depression in the presence of stress than persons in other more extreme drinking categories. Moderate alcohol use may serve as a proxy for a spectrum of generally moderate behaviors that either attenuate the effect of stress on depression or suppress the effects of stress.

Language: en