Symptomatology of Depression and Anxiety in Female “Social Drinkers”

Abstract

Self-reported alcohol use, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores were obtained during on-site interviews of 172 female applicants for paid participation in behavioral research. Mood symptomatology as reflected in BDI and BAI scores was analyzed as a function of alcohol use and other demographic variables. Women reporting even light alcohol use (up to three drinks per week) were significantly more symptomatic than abstinent women. In contrast, no significant differences in symptomatology were observed due to race or education level. This analysis extends previous findings of depressed mood in women (while sober) whose lifestyle includes moderate alcohol consumption and suggests that even light alcohol use is related to depressed and/or anxious mood.

Notes

^† To whom requests for reprints and other comments should be addressed at the University of Texas/Medical Science Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1300 Moursund St., Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: [email protected]