A new study examined the role of distress tolerance in the relationship between maladaptive cognitive schemas and alcohol problems among college students. Participants (N = 364) were undergraduate college students between the ages of 18 to 25 years. They took an online survey, which measured the following. The three maladaptive schemas of Abandonment, Defectiveness/Shame, and Insufficient Self-Control were assessed using the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (YSQ-S3). The extent to which one can tolerate emotional and physiologically distressing states was assessed using the distress tolerance scale (DTS). Alcohol consumption (i.e., drinks per week) was assessed using the Modified Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ-M). Lastly, alcohol-related problems and negative consequences of alcohol were assessed using the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ). The authors used structural equation models (SEM) to explore the associations between the variables mentioned above. Results showed that alcohol-related problems were significantly correlated with drinking (p < 0.001) and distress tolerance (p < 0.001), however, distress tolerance and drinking were not significantly correlated (p = 0.740). Furthermore, male gender (p < 0.001), abandonment (p < 0.001), and insufficient self-control (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with distress tolerance. However, defectiveness/shame was not significantly associated with distress tolerance (p = 0.385). Male gender (p < 0.001), distress tolerance (p < 0.001), and alcohol consumption (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with alcohol problems (p < 0.001). Male gender, (p < 0.001) but not distress tolerance (p = 0.250), was significantly associated with alcohol consumption (p = 0.002). In addition, there was a significant indirect effect of abandonment (p = 0.014) and insufficient self-control (p = 0.023) on alcohol problems via distress tolerance. Also, while indirect effect of shame on alcohol problems via distress tolerance was not significant (p = 0.447), the direct effect of shame on alcohol problems was significant when distress tolerance was low (p = 0.001) or at the mean (p = 0.032) but now when it was high (p = 0.979).

Take away: While distress tolerance partially mediated the relationships between schemas of Abandonment and Insufficient Self-Control and alcohol problems, it significantly moderated the relationship between the Defectiveness/Shame schema and alcohol-related problems, decreasing the strength of the association.

Simons, R. M., Sistad, R. E., Simons, J. S., & Hansen, J. (2018). The role of distress tolerance in the relationship between cognitive schemas and alcohol problems among college students. Addictive behaviors78, 1-8.