Alcohol remains the most widely misused substance in the United States, and its effects have the potential to harm on an individual and population-wide basis.  Acute alcohol consumption can result in a number of different consequences related to intoxication, impaired decision making, safety reduction, etc., and chronic alcohol consumption can result in the deterioration of many physiological and psychological processes.  The motives behind drinking vary widely and can be influenced by genetic predispositions, environmental factors, and mental health diagnoses.  Obsessive-compulsive disorder, marked by unwanted intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors, has been hypothesized to effect alcohol consumption in adults based upon present symptomatology.  This study aims to examine links between drinking behaviors and obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in a population of college students.  

The study’s sample consists of 454 college students from a large southwestern university in the United States who met eligibility criteria of current enrollment and reporting alcohol use in the past 30 days (n= 454, 81.7% female).  Participants completed assessments which measured the following characteristics: demographics, obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (via Obsessive Compulsive Inventory- Revised), drinking motives (via Drinking Motives Questionnaire- Revised), drinking problems (via Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), general substance use (via Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test-Version 3.0 Modified), substance use attitudes (via Core Alcohol and Drug Survey), and depression/anxiety symptoms (via Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms).   The data was analyzed using multiple mediation models. 

Results of the study found obsessive-compulsive symptoms to not be directly linked with alcohol consumption, but rather to be indirectly linked to the practice when coping motives were present.  This relationship was found to be similar for the relationship between obsessive compulsive symptoms and risky drinking, in addition to drinking frequency.  

Takeaway: alcohol consumption and mental health diagnoses can interact via several different mechanisms and paths.  The results of this study suggest that obsessive compulsive symptoms may be related to alcohol use if coping motivations are endorsed.

Bakhshaie J, Storch EA, Zvolensky MJ. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and problematic alcohol use: The explanatory role of drinking motives. Addictive Behaviors. 2021;115:106734. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106734