Citation

Fahey KML, Cservenka A, Peltier MR, Mereish E, Dermody SS. Alcohol (Hanover) 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/acer.15255

PMID

38149357

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sexual minority women (SMW) use alcohol at higher rates and experience greater alcohol-related harms compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Evidence from observational studies suggests minority stress (i.e., stress experienced due to marginalization in society) is an important risk factor among SMW, yet there is a lack of experimental evidence to establish the direct causal role of minority stress on their alcohol use. The current pilot study adapted the preexisting personalized guided stress induction paradigm to examine how minority stress is related to stress response (assessed via subjective measures and salivary cortisol) and mechanisms of alcohol use (craving, demand, and risky decision-making) in SMW.

METHODS: Using a within-subjects design (N = 8) cisgender SMW who endorsed high-risk drinking (>1 heavy drinking episode in the past 30 days) completed three study visits: a script development session and two in-person imagery induction appointments (minority stress and neutral).

RESULTS: The paradigm significantly increased subjective stress response (g = 1.32). Data supported the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of using the paradigm with SMW. While the paradigm did not significantly change scores on minority stress and alcohol outcomes measures, effect sizes for craving and minority stress outcomes were in the small-to-medium range (gs = 0.24 to 0.54).

CONCLUSIONS: The adapted minority stress paradigm appears to be feasible and appropriate for use with SMW to induce stress in laboratory settings. Future research can use this paradigm to understand causal effects of minority stress on alcohol use and related outcomes.

Language: en