Posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol use, and life stress among African-American women

Abstract

Robust data document the strong association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and problematic alcohol use in female psychiatric patients. Reasons for this frequent co-morbidity remain unclear, highlighting the value of investigating factors common to both disorders to gain additional clarity. The current study examined whether the psychosocial factor, life stress, mediated the link between PTSD symptomatology and alcohol use in a sample of African-American women from low-income backgrounds with a history of intimate partner violence and suicidality (n = 143). Bootstrapping analysis demonstrated that life stress fully mediated the effect of PTSD symptoms on alcohol use. Consistent with the self-medication hypothesis of addiction, our findings indicate that life stress may be a causal mechanism in the development of subsequent alcohol problems among women with existing PTSD symptomatology. Prevention and treatment implications concerning the target population are discussed.

Keywords:

• African-American women
• PTSD
• alcohol abuse
• stress
• substance abuse

Acknowledgements

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (R49 CCR421767-01, Group Interventions With Suicidal African American Women) and the National Institute of Mental Health (1R01MH078002-01A2, Group Interviews for Abused, Suicidal Black Women). Both grants were awarded to the last author.