The interactive associations between positive and negative affect and alcohol in real-world social drinking environments

Abstract Despite the widely known mood enhancing and anxiolytic properties of alcohol, its link with affective state is not universal and rather nuanced. We examined whether dispositional traits of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) influence the link between consumed alcohol and affective states (i.e. state PA and state NA), and state arousal. Self-report measures of state affect, state arousal, and objective measures of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), were obtained in naturalistic social drinking settings (i.e. bar and drinking venues) as individuals engaged in real-world social drinking activities. The sample consisted of 60 participants (55.9% females) whose age ranged from 20 to 27 years old (M = 21.85, SD = 1.24). Trait affect and demographic measures were obtained 48 hours later via an online survey. Results revealed a between-subject interaction of trait affect by BAC on state PA and state: at higher BAC levels, individuals with high levels of trait PA, but not low trait PA, experienced significantly higher state PA. Further analyses of state PA subscales showed that this interaction was present in state calmness but not state well-being or vigor. In the context of arousal, those with high trait NA, but not low trait NA, scored higher in state high-arousal levels. Main effects of trait PA/NA on state affect were detected, but not for BAC on state affect or arousal. This highlights the impactful role that dispositional affect can have in permeating or enhancing emotional states experienced in real-world social drinking contexts.