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The Association between Mental Wellbeing, Levels of Harmful Drinking, and Drinking Motivations : A Cross-Sectional Study of the UK Adult Population

Appleton, Anita ; James, Rosie LU orcid and Larsen, John (2018) In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15(7). p.1-10
Abstract

Mental well-being and excessive alcohol consumption each represent a significant public health concern, and evidence suggests an association between them. Furthermore, drinking motivations associated with harmful drinking have been studied, but not systematically in the UK population. A representative sample of 6174 UK adults aged 18⁻75 were surveyed online. Low risk drinkers were found to have higher mental well-being than hazardous, harmful, and, probable, dependence drinkers. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, it was found that just over 5% of the variance in well-being scores was accounted for by the level of harmful drinking and drinking motivation; the most significant contribution was drinking to cope. Among... (More)

Mental well-being and excessive alcohol consumption each represent a significant public health concern, and evidence suggests an association between them. Furthermore, drinking motivations associated with harmful drinking have been studied, but not systematically in the UK population. A representative sample of 6174 UK adults aged 18⁻75 were surveyed online. Low risk drinkers were found to have higher mental well-being than hazardous, harmful, and, probable, dependence drinkers. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, it was found that just over 5% of the variance in well-being scores was accounted for by the level of harmful drinking and drinking motivation; the most significant contribution was drinking to cope. Among people drinking to cope, those drinking in more harmful ways were statistically significantly more likely to have low well-being compared to less harmful drinkers. In the UK adult population there is a clear association between poor mental well-being and harmful drinking. Furthermore, coping was a significant motivation to drink for many with low mental well-being. While mental well-being was found to be directly linked with levels of harmful drinking, the motivation for drinking was a stronger predictor of mental well-being.

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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Adult, Aged, Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology, Alcoholism/epidemiology, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Motivation, Surveys and Questionnaires, United Kingdom/epidemiology, Young Adult
in
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
volume
15
issue
7
pages
1 - 10
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85051655561
  • pmid:29941844
ISSN
1660-4601
DOI
10.3390/ijerph15071333
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
f2bca2c8-08f9-451c-aff5-0b28ee087774
date added to LUP
2025-08-28 09:55:58
date last changed
2025-10-14 09:15:27
@article{f2bca2c8-08f9-451c-aff5-0b28ee087774,
  abstract     = {{<p>Mental well-being and excessive alcohol consumption each represent a significant public health concern, and evidence suggests an association between them. Furthermore, drinking motivations associated with harmful drinking have been studied, but not systematically in the UK population. A representative sample of 6174 UK adults aged 18⁻75 were surveyed online. Low risk drinkers were found to have higher mental well-being than hazardous, harmful, and, probable, dependence drinkers. Using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, it was found that just over 5% of the variance in well-being scores was accounted for by the level of harmful drinking and drinking motivation; the most significant contribution was drinking to cope. Among people drinking to cope, those drinking in more harmful ways were statistically significantly more likely to have low well-being compared to less harmful drinkers. In the UK adult population there is a clear association between poor mental well-being and harmful drinking. Furthermore, coping was a significant motivation to drink for many with low mental well-being. While mental well-being was found to be directly linked with levels of harmful drinking, the motivation for drinking was a stronger predictor of mental well-being.</p>}},
  author       = {{Appleton, Anita and James, Rosie and Larsen, John}},
  issn         = {{1660-4601}},
  keywords     = {{Adult; Aged; Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology; Alcoholism/epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Motivation; Surveys and Questionnaires; United Kingdom/epidemiology; Young Adult}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{1--10}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}},
  title        = {{The Association between Mental Wellbeing, Levels of Harmful Drinking, and Drinking Motivations : A Cross-Sectional Study of the UK Adult Population}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071333}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/ijerph15071333}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}