Alexithymia, Rumination and Binge Drinking: The Mediating Role of Drinking Motives

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate whether the relationship between alexithymia and rumination, reflecting deficits in emotion processing and difficulties in emotion regulation, and binge drinking is mediated by drinking motives. A cross-sectional study was conducted with university students (N = 367, Mage = 22.38) who reported alcohol use in the past 30 days. Participants completed an online questionnaire comprising the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Drinking Motives Questionnaire, the Ruminative Response Scale, and the UPPS Impulsive Behaviour Scale. Binge drinking in the past 30 days was measured with a single item. The results of the mediation analyses indicated that the Difficulties in Identifying Feelings (DIF) component of alexithymia was directly related to risky drinking indexed by binge drinking in the past 30 days or the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The relationship between the DIF and the AUDIT was mediated by coping motives. Additionally, social motives mediated the relationship between reflection and binge drinking, while coping motives mediated the relationship between brooding and AUDIT, as well as between reflection and AUDIT. These findings confirm the importance of investigating emotion regulation as a proximal factor of risky drinking.