Does affect mediate the association between daily events and alcohol use?

Objective: We examined the within-person associations among positive and ne gative daily events, positive and negative affect, desire to drink, and alc ohol consumption in a sample of heavy drinkers. Method: Forty-six subjects (25 men; mean [SD] age = 47.0 [9.3] years) who were enrolled in an 8-week t reatment program for heavy drinkers were studied using a daily diary method ology. Results: Multilevel regression analyses indicated that individuals r eported stronger desire to drink and greater consumption on days in which m ore positive and negative nonwork events occurred. Lower levels of desire t o drink and number of drinks were reported on days with more positive work events. Negative work events had a marginal positive association with daily desire to drink. Daily positive and negative affect uniquely predicted gre ater daily consumption and desire to drink, but only weak evidence was foun d for their mediating role in the association between daily events and the criterion variables. Several of the within-person associations among affect and the criterion variables varied as a function of number of lifetime sym ptoms of alcohol dependence and treatment condition. Conclusions: These fin dings generally support the dual-process (i.e., tension-reduction and exper ience-enhancement) motivational model of alcohol consumption. However, the observed associations among events. affect and alcohol-related behavior sug gests that these pathways are complex, with each being comprised of affecti ve and cognitive subpathways.