Survey study, 2018
Do women's reasons for drinking alcohol change across their menstrual cycle?
Yes. Women drink to cope with negative emotions more during menstruation and for social reasons more throughout their cycle. These changes predict how much alcohol women drink.
What they did
A cross-sectional daily diary study of 94 normally cycling women aged 22.9 years on average. They completed daily smartphone surveys about drinking motives and alcohol consumption throughout one full menstrual cycle.
What they found
Drinking motives differed by cycle phase. Coping drinking peaked during menstruation (days 1-5) and declined mid-cycle. Social motives showed a slight increasing trend across the cycle. Enhancement motives remained stable. Cycle-related changes in drinking motives predicted increased alcohol consumption. Coping drinking predicted more drinks menstrually (days 1-5), while social motives predicted more drinks during follicular and ovulatory phases (days 5-16).
What it means for you
Women may drink more for different reasons at different times in their cycle, especially to cope with negative feelings during menstruation. Clinicians treating women with alcohol problems should consider cycle phase. The main limit is the small sample size.
94
Number of women in study
22.9 years
Mean age of participants
Days 1-5
Menstrual phase when coping drinking predicted more alcohol
About the study
- Original title
- Changes in coping and social motives for drinking and alcohol consumption across the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Joyce KM, Hudson A, O'Connor R et al.
- Journal
- Depression and anxiety
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None - observational study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/da.22699
Topics
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