Abstract
A 30-day diary study examined the relations among trait self-esteem, negative romantic relationship interactions, and alcohol consumption. Multilevel analyses revealed that people with low trait self-esteem (compared with people with high trait self-esteem) drank more on days when they experienced more negative relationship interactions with their romantic partners. In addition, daily increases in state self-esteem buffered people with low trait self-esteem from the desire to drink in response to negative romantic relationship interactions. In contrast, participants with high and low self-esteem both decreased their drinking in response to negative non-romantic relationship events, but people with low self-esteem decreased their drinking less. These findings suggest that people with low trait self-esteem may drink as a way to regulate unfulfilled needs for acceptance.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 527-538 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alcohol consumption
- Close relationships
- Feelings of acceptance
- Self-esteem
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science