Daily Relationship between Positive Affect and Drinking to Cope: The Moderating Role of Difficulties Regulating Positive Emotions

Abstract

Background:

Alcohol use is highly prevalent and linked to a wide range of negative outcomes among college students. Although emotion dysregulation has been theoretically and empirically linked to alcohol use, few studies have examined emotion dysregulation stemming from positive emotions.

Objective:

The goal of the current study was to extend extant research by using daily diary methods to examine the potentially moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily relation between positive affect and alcohol use to cope with social and non-social stressors.

Methods:

Participants were 165 college students (M age = 20.04; 55.2% male) who completed a baseline questionnaire assessing difficulties regulating positive emotions and responded to questions regarding state positive emotions and alcohol use once a day for 14 days.

Results:

Difficulties regulating positive emotions moderated the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and alcohol use to cope with social stressors, such that positive affect stemming from social stressors predicted alcohol use to cope with social stressors among college students with high (but not low) levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions.

Conclusions:

Findings underscore the potential utility of targeting difficulties regulating positive emotions in treatments aimed at reducing alcohol use to cope with social stressors among college students.

Results of epidemiological studies indicate that alcohol use is highly prevalent among young adults and college students in particular. For instance, findings from a national survey (1) revealed that, in the past 30 days, 59% of full-time college students endorsed alcohol use, 39% endorsed binge drinking (i.e., five or more drinks on the same occasion), and 13% endorsed heavy drinking (i.e., binge drinking on five or more days); these rates were significantly higher than those of young adults not enrolled full-time in college (51%, 33%, and 9%, respectively). College students report various motives for drinking (e.g., enhancement, coping, social, conformity) (2); these have been differentially linked to alcohol consumption and outcomes (3, 4). Understanding drinking to cope among college students is of particular public health relevance and clinical significance. Drinking to cope (i.e., to escape or avoid aversive internal experiences) is associated with more alcohol- (binge drinking, alcohol-related legal problems and absences from school and work; 5–7) and health- (depression, anxiety, personality disorders; 8–10) related negative outcomes compared to other drinking motives among college students, and longitudinal studies have found that adults who drink to cope are at greater risk for developing an alcohol use disorder (11). These aforementioned findings underscore the need for research that explicates predictors of drinking to cope among college students.

Positive affect is one understudied factor that may influence one’s likelihood of drinking to cope. Results of experience sampling studies indicate that college students are more likely to engage in alcohol use on days during which they experience greater positive affect (12–14), and positive affect has been found to serve as a proximal trigger for alcohol use in real-world settings among college students (14, 15). It has generally been assumed in the literature that the link between positive affect and alcohol use is explained by positive reinforcement (16), such that alcohol use serves to elicit, maintain, or enhance positive affect (a presumably desired emotion state). However, while seemingly counterintuitive, there is growing evidence that some college students may engage in efforts to dampen positive emotions (17), suggesting that positive emotions may elicit coping efforts for some college students.

Historically, the stress process has been described in terms of negative emotions, yet, recent studies have found that positive emotions also occur during stressful periods (18). Indeed, stress is defined not by negative emotions, but by physiological and psychological changes that occur in response to novel or threatening stimuli (19); positive emotional experiences may meet these criteria. For instance, there are many examples of events that are experienced as stressful and generate positive emotions (e.g., going on a first date, beginning a new job) (20). Further, positive emotions may elicit physiological and psychological changes that may be experienced as stressful for some people. For instance, for some adults, particular positive emotions (e.g., excitement) may elicit physiological arousal (e.g., racing heart) that is experienced as aversive (21), perhaps through stimulus generalization, whereby fear of physiological arousal originally associated with negative emotional experiences expands to positive emotions (consistent with evidence that individuals may fear positive emotions) (22). This may lead some college students to be non-accepting of some positive emotional states (23). Alternatively, some college students may experience secondary negative affective emotional states in response to situations or stimuli that are typically positive (i.e., negative affect interference) (24). As an example, the experience of joy related to going on a first date may elicit anxiety about doing something embarrassing. Of particular relevance to the current study, alcohol use may be one strategy that some individuals use to cope with positive affect stemming from stressors. Consistent with this assertion, results of recent investigations have found that some adults engage in efforts to suppress positive emotions (25–27), which may take the form of alcohol use. These theoretical accounts and initial studies underscore the need for research on the relation of positive emotions to drinking to cope.

In examining the relation of positive emotions and drinking to cope, it is important to consider the roles of intensity of positive emotions and emotion dysregulation stemming from positive emotions. More recent literature suggests that it is not the intensity of emotions alone that drive health-compromising behaviors (e.g., alcohol use), but instead one’s maladaptive ways of responding to emotions (i.e., emotion dysregulation) (28). Emotion dysregulation has been found to be associated with a wide range of health-compromising behaviors (29, 30), including drinking to cope among college students (31–33). Yet, while research in this area has grown exponentially over the past decade (34, 35), little attention has been paid to the role of difficulties regulating positive (versus negative) emotions in particular in health-compromising behaviors.

College students experience difficulties regulating positive emotions that parallel the difficulties observed in negative emotions (23). For instance, recent research suggests that some college students may be non-accepting of positive emotional states, judging some positive emotions to be undesirable, unpredictable, or frightening (23), perhaps because of deficits in the appraisal or down-regulation of positive emotions (36). Adults who take a judgmental and evaluative stance toward their positive emotions have been found to engage in attempts to suppress positive emotional experiences (25–27), which may include alcohol use (37, 38). College students may also experience difficulties inhibiting impulsive behaviors in the context of positive emotions (23, 39). For instance, intense positive emotions may impair the ability to deliberately control or suppress an automatic response among college students (40, 41); this, in turn, may result in alcohol use (42). Lastly, among college students, positive emotions may interfere with the ability to engage in goal-directed behaviors (23). As an example, positive emotions increase distractibility among college students (43), which may result in disadvantageous decision-making focused on short-term versus long-term goals (44), shown to heighten the risk for alcohol use in adults (45). Yet, despite growing evidence linking difficulties regulating positive emotions to alcohol use, we are aware of only one study that has examined this association. Results of Weiss, Forkus (46) indicate that nonacceptance of positive emotions and difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors and engaging in goal-directed behaviors when experiencing positive emotions are significantly positively associated with alcohol misuse among college students.

The current study aims to address key gaps in the research. First, despite evidence linking positive emotions (14) and difficulties regulating positive emotions (46) separately to alcohol use among college students, no studies have explored their interaction predicting alcohol use outcomes, including drinking to cope. Second, alcohol use among college students has been found to be heightened in social contexts (47), with social stressors in particular predicting alcohol use among adults (48, 49). Yet, a relative dearth of studies have explored the specific contexts in which drinking to cope occurs and their correlates, highlighting the need for studies exploring factors that put college students at risk for coping-related alcohol use, particularly in response to social stressors. Third, a limited number of investigations have used daily diary methods, which reduce error and recall bias and allow for identification of the temporal associations among event-level variables (50), to explore the relations among affect, emotion dysregulation, and/or alcohol use. Addressing the above-mentioned limitations may pinpoint specific targets for alcohol use prevention and intervention programs for college students. Moreover, it would speak to the potential utility of targeting difficulties regulating positive emotions – often overlooked in clinical settings – in interventions aimed at reducing alcohol use in this population.

Thus, the goal of the present manuscript was to extend extant research by exploring the moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social and non-social stressors, separately, and later drinking to cope with social and non-social stressors, separately, in a sample of college students. Based on existing research, it was hypothesized that positive affect stemming from stressors would predict greater likelihood of later drinking to cope with stressors. Further, we expected that difficulties regulating positive emotions would moderate the daily relation between positive affect stemming from stressors and later drinking to cope with stressors. Finally, we expected the strength of these associations to be larger for social versus non-social stressors.

Method

Participants

The final sample was comprised of 165 young adults enrolled in a large public university located in the northeast United States. Participants were almost equally male and female (55.2% male) and their average age was 20.04 (SD = 2.24). In terms of racial/ethnic background, 66.7% of participants self-identified as White, 15.2% as Asian, 6.1% as Black, 5.5% as multiracial, 4.2% as Latino/a, and 2.4% as other. Participant’s average yearly family/household income was $53,158.17. Most participants were full-time students (64.2%) and single (94.5%).

Measures

Experience sampling measures.

Negative and positive affect stemming from stressors.

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (51) was administered to assess negative and positive affect. The PANAS is a well-validated measure of emotional state, and contains 10 positive and 10 negative affect adjectives, each rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very slightly/not at all, 5 = extremely), where higher scores reflect greater intensity. Negative and positive affect were assessed in relation to social and non-social stressors, separately, that occurred since the previous assessment.

Drinking to cope with stressors.

The following item was utilized to assess drinking to cope with social stressors: “In response to social stressors that occurred during the day, did you drink alcohol?” (yes/no). To assess drinking to cope with non-social stressors, participants were asked: “In response to non-social stressors that occurred during the day, did you drink alcohol?” (yes/no).

Baseline measures.

Difficulties regulating positive emotions.

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Positive (DERS-P) (23) is a 13-item self-report measure that assesses individuals’ typical levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions, specifically: nonacceptance of positive emotions, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviors when experiencing positive emotions, and difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing positive emotions. Responses to scores on each item are summed, with higher scores indicating greater difficulties regulating positive emotions. Internal consistency in this sample was good (α = .94).

Procedures

Study procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at the last authors’ university. Participants were recruited using the psychology subject pool, and received course credit for their participation in this study. The study was open to all subject pool participants, but to increase variability in levels of emotion regulation difficulties, people with Personality Assessment Inventory – Borderline scale (PAI-BOR) (52) scores above 47 were specifically encouraged to participate via email invitation. This resulted in 38.2% of the sample (n = 63) exceeding the aforementioned PAI-BOR cut-off, suggesting that these individuals display clinically-meaningful borderline personality disorder (BPD) features.

After providing informed consent, questionnaires from the present study were completed online via Qualtrics software. Participants were asked to first complete the baseline assessment measures. Afterwards, they completed the daily assessment measures once daily (i.e., each 24-hour period) for 14 days. Participants were instructed that they could complete assessments at any time during the day, although they were encouraged to do so near the end of the day. Given the aims of the study, participants were asked to specify daily experiences as they related to social (e.g., interpersonal) and non-social (e.g., academic) stressors. At the start of each daily assessment, participants identified the most stressful social event that occurred since the previous reporting period, following which they were asked questions about emotions (i.e., negative and positive) and behaviors (e.g., drinking) associated with this social stressor (i.e., “Please complete the next questions about the social interaction or events that was most stressful”). Following this, participants identified the most stressful non-social event that occurred since the previous reporting period, and were asked to answer the same questions about emotions (i.e., negative and positive) and behaviors (e.g., drinking) associated with this non-social stressor (i.e., “Please complete the next questions about the non-social interaction or events that was most stressful”). Participants were reminded to complete assessments daily via email. They were compensated with course credit, prorated for the proportion of daily assessments completed.

Data Analysis

A series of mixed effects models were tested using R version 3.4.1 software to evaluate same-day predictors of daily alcohol use. The original data set included 184 participants. Participants who did not complete at least two days (n = 19) were excluded from the analyses (new n =165). Participants completed an average of 10.49 (SD = 3.33) days (out of 14 total) over the course of the study. Daily reports comprised level-1 variables nested within person at level-2. All available reports of drinking to cope were included in analyses. Of all the available reports (N = 1,324), drinking to cope with social stressors was reported in 90 (6.6%) reports and drinking to cope with non-social stressors was reported in 69 (5.1%) cases. The primary outcomes (i.e., drinking to cope with social or non-social stressors) were binary, so analyses specified a Bernoulli distribution with a logit link function. All models were initially set with random intercepts and random effects to vary across individuals. Models were run using full information maximum likelihood estimation. Results are presented from population-average models with robust standard errors.

The DERS-P was centered around grand mean. Generalized mixed effects models were used to evaluate the main effect of DERS-P on alcohol use to cope with social and non-social stressors. Regarding the daily positive affect-alcohol use relation, to obtain unbiased estimates of the pooled within-person slopes, the level 1 predictor (positive affect) was person-mean centered and the person means were entered at level 2 to examine between-person variability. We examined positive affect as a predictor of later alcohol use using the basic level-1 model shown below.

$$\text{Log}\left[{\text{P}}_{\text{it}}/1-{\text{P}}_{\text{it}}\right]=\pi 0_{\text{i}}+\pi 1_{\text{i}}\left({\text{affect}}_{\text{it}}\right)+\pi 2_i\left({\text{time}}_{\text{it}}\right)+{\text{ e}}_{\text{it}},$$

Where P_it is the probability of person i’s drinking to cope on day t; π0i is the intercept, which estimates person i’s log odds of drinking to cope when other predictors are zero; π1_i – π2_i are the partial within-person regression coefficients for person i; and e_it is a random residual component which is the error term.

To examine the moderating effect of the DERS-P on the daily relation between positive affect and drinking to cope, cross-level interactions were tested where the DERS-P was added as a level-2 predictor of the level-1 coefficient (positive affect):

$$\pi 1_{\text{i}}={\text{ B}}_{10}+{\text{ B}}_{11}(\text{DERS}-\text{P})+\text{ u}{1}_{\text{i}}$$

where B₁₁ is the coefficient for the effect of the DERS-P on the relation between daily positive affect and drinking to cope.

Two sets of these models were run to explore the relations of these variables in relation to social and non-social stressors separately. To examine social stressors, we examined the relations among positive affect stemming from social stressors, DERS-P, and drinking to cope with social stressors. To examine non-social stressors, we examined the relations among positive affect stemming from non-social stressors, DERS-P, and drinking to cope with non-social stressors. Finally, moderation analyses were re-run controlling for negative affect given evidence for interdependence of negative and positive emotions (53) and descriptive data and moderation analyses were presented for individuals with and without BPD features, measured with the PAI-BOR.

Results

Descriptive data are presented in Table 1. Drinking to cope with social and non-social stressors was endorsed by 27.3% and 20.0% of participants, respectively. In the basic model, positive affect stemming from social stressors was not a significant predictor of later drinking to cope with social stressors, B = −.014, SE = .02, t(163) = −0.65, p = .52, and positive affect stemming from non-social stressors was not a significant predictor of later drinking to cope with non-social stressors, B = −.044, SE = .03, t(163) = −1.61, p = .11. However, difficulties regulating positive emotions were significantly associated with drinking to cope with social stressors, B = 0.084, SE = 0.03, t(163) = 2.45, p = 0.014, and trending toward significance for non-social stressors, B = 0.086, SE = 0.04, t(163) = 1.92, p = 0.055.

Table 1.

Descriptive Data for the Primary Study Variables.

	n	M	SD	Range
Average positive affect stemming from social stressors at the person-level	165	16.63	5.48	10, 38.57
Average positive affect stemming from non-social stressors at the person-level	165	19.43	6.47	10.5, 44.62
DERS-Positive	165	18.73	7.24	13, 46

Note. DERS-Positive = Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Positive.

A series of models were conducted to explore the moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily relation between positive affect and drinking to cope. First, we explored the influence of the interaction between positive affect stemming from social stressors and difficulties regulating positive emotions on later drinking to cope with social stressors. Difficulties regulating positive emotions was a significant moderator of the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and later drinking to cope with social stressors, B = .045, SE = .02, t(163) = 2.23, p = .02. Results suggest that at high levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions, higher positive affect stemming from social stressors was associated with higher probability of drinking to cope with social stressors (see Figure 1). Conversely, at low levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions, positive affect stemming from social stressors was not significantly associated with the probability of drinking to cope with social stressors.

Figure 1.

Interaction between Positive Affect Stemming from Social Stressors and Difficulties Regulating Positive Emotions Predicting Drinking to Cope with Social Stressors

Note. PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. DERS-P = Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Positive. Difficulties regulating positive emotions were found to moderate the relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and drinking to cope with social stressors was significant at high (but not low) levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions.

Next, we explored the influence of the interaction between positive affect stemming from non-social stressors and difficulties regulating positive emotions on later drinking to cope with non-social stressors. No significant relationship was found for the moderating effect of difficulties regulating positive emotions on the daily relation between positive affect stemming from non-social stressors and drinking to cope with non-social stressors, B = .023, SE = .02, t(163) = 1.15, p = .25.

Secondary Analyses

Moderation models were re-run controlling from negative affect. The strength and direction of findings for social, B = 0.05, SE = 0.02, t(162) = 2.43, p = 0.02, and non-social, B = 0.03, SE = 0.02, t(162) = 1.11, p = .27, stressors remained the same.

Given the large number of participants with high levels of BPD features, analyses were conducted to describe and explore the primary study variables among individuals with high versus low BPD features. See Table 2 for descriptive statistics and between-group differences in the primary study variables among individuals with high and low BPD features. Individuals with high BPD features reported significantly more difficulties regulating positive emotions. Moderation analyses were then conducted among individuals with high and low BPD features separately. Difficulties regulating positive emotions was a significant moderator of the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and later drinking to cope with social stressors among individuals with high, B = .09, SE = .04, t = 2.00, p = .045, but not low, B = .04, SE = .04, t = 0.93, p = .35, BPD features. As was found in the overall sample, difficulties regulating positive emotions was not a significant moderator of the daily relation between positive affect stemming from non-social stressors and later drinking to cope with non-social stressors among individuals with high, B = −.06, SE = .07, t = −0.85, p = .40, and low, B = −.06, SE = .15, t = −0.39, p = .70, BPD features.

Table 2.

Primary Study Variables among the Probable BPD and no-BPD Groups

	Probable BPD (n = 63)		No-BPD (n = 102)
	M (SD)	n (%)	M (SD)	n (%)	Test Statistic
Average positive affect stemming from social stressors at the person-level	17.57 (5.61)		16.04 (5.35)		t(126.52) = −1.73, p = 0.09
Average positive affect stemming from non-social stressors at the person-level	17.26 (5.33)		15.68 (4.94)		t(123.72) = −1.91, p = 0.06
DERS-Positive	22.38 (8.45)		16.47 (5.27)		t(92.08) = −4.98, p < .001
Average days of drinking to cope with social stressors at the person-level		58 (11.30%)		32 (3.7%)	t(101.56) = −1.15, p = 0.14
Average days of drinking to cope with non-social stressors at the person-level		47 (9.2%)		22 (2.7%)	t(98.115) = −1.48, p = 0.14

Note. DERS-Positive = Difficulties in Emotion Regulation – Positive.

Discussion

The goal of the present study was to identify the potential moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social and non-social stressors and later drinking to cope with social and non-social. Findings provide support for an interaction between positive affect stemming from social stressors and difficulties regulating positive emotions predicting drinking to cope with social stressors, such that college students were more likely to use alcohol to cope with social stressors following high positive affect if they reported greater difficulties regulating positive emotions. This pattern of findings did not extend to non-social stressors, underscoring the role of social context in the associations among positive affect, difficulties regulating positive emotions, and drinking to cope. Our results have important implications for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing alcohol use among college students.

The present findings align with a growing body of research highlighting the role of deficits in individual’s responses to positive emotional experiences in health-compromising behaviors, including alcohol use (46, 54–57). Regarding difficulties regulating positive emotions in particular, results of extant investigations indicate that higher levels of nonacceptance of positive emotions (46), difficulties controlling impulsive behaviors when experiencing positive emotions (46, 54, 56, 57) (as assessed by the overlapping constructs of DERS-P Impulse, UPPS-P Positive Urgency, and Risky Behavior Questionnaire Positive) (23, 39, 54), and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when experiencing positive emotions (46) are associated with greater alcohol use. Our findings extend these aforementioned studies by providing support for the moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and drinking to cope with social stressors. These findings suggest the importance of contextual differences in drinking, such that the moderating effect of difficulties regulating positive emotions only pertained to drinking as a form of coping with social (but not non-social) stressors. Future research is needed to better understand the role of context in the relations among positive affect, difficulties regulating positive emotions, and alcohol use. Experience sampling studies that assess within-person variability in difficulties regulating positive emotions may point to specific contexts in which coping-related alcohol use is likely to occur. For instance, it is possible that, in response to social stressors, college students’ difficulties regulating positive emotions may worsen. Investigations are also needed to examine the social stressors with greater specificity (e.g., rejection, peer pressure, teasing/bullying).

Results of the current study indicate that college students are more likely to drink to cope following high levels of positive affect if they experience greater difficulties regulating positive emotions. These findings underscore the potential utility of improving the ability to regulate positive emotions through prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing alcohol use among college students. For instance, distress tolerance skills may improve behavioral control when experiencing positive emotions by redirecting attention to non-emotional stimuli and promoting more adaptive actions in the context of positive emotions. Similarly, targeting emotional acceptance and willingness may reduce urgency stemming from positive emotions by increasing tolerance for previously-avoided emotions. Indeed, treatments that target the aforementioned domains have been found to result in reductions in substance use (58–61). Future investigations are needed to examine whether these treatments lead to fewer difficulties regulating positive emotions, and whether these reductions result in less alcohol use.

Finally, approximately one-third of our sample scored above the cut-off score for high BPD features on the PAI-BOR. Individuals with high levels of BPD features were found to exhibit more difficulties regulating positive emotions, consistent with evidence that individuals with BPD exhibit positive emotional disturbance, such as greater suppression of positive emotions (27), more difficulties controlling impulsive behavior in the context of positive emotions (62), and lower levels of positive emotion differentiation (63). Moreover, our results suggest that difficulties regulating positive emotions significantly moderated the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and later drinking to cope with social stressors among individuals with high, but not low, levels of BPD features. This finding suggests the potential importance of difficulties regulating positive emotions to our understanding of the positive affect-alcohol use relation in the context of social stressors among individuals with high BPD features in particular. For instance, our results may suggest the utility of assessing difficulties regulating positive emotions among individuals with high BPD features as a means of identifying risk for alcohol use in the context of social stressors and targets for alcohol use prevention and intervention. Of note, in interpreting the above findings, it warrants mention that our measure of BPD features is not intended to be a diagnostic tool; scores above the cut-off simply indicate difficulties with some symptoms that overlap with BPD, such as affect instability (including difficulties regulating emotions), identity disturbance, negative relationships, and self-harm. It is not surprising that difficulties regulating positive emotions were found to be particularly relevant to individuals that scored high on the PAI-BOR, as affect disturbance is a primary defining feature of the measure. Research is needed to better understand the nature and consequences of difficulties regulating positive emotions among individuals with BPD, including their scores on the DERS-P, compared to their non-BPD counterparts.

Although results of the present study add to the literature on the role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the relation between daily positive affect and drinking to cope, several limitations warrant mention. First, this study involved a homogeneous, nonclinical sample of participants, many of whom had high BPD features. While analogue samples have important strengths, such as identifying vulnerabilities to the initial development of clinical phenomena (64), replication of these findings in larger, more diverse samples is needed. Second, this study was limited by the timing and type of measures. For instance, the same-day monitoring period of predictor and outcome precluded determination of the temporal relations among positive affect, difficulties regulating positive emotions, and drinking to cope. Further, overall rates of alcohol use were likely much higher in this sample as individuals may have used alcohol for reasons beyond coping (65). In addition, the focus of the current study was on social and non-social stressors (versus other contexts). Moreover, given the nature of the study (i.e., daily assessment), to reduce participant burden, drinking to cope was only assessed with two items and used a yes/no scale. Also, positive affect was assessed with the PANAS, which does not assess low arousal positive emotions (e.g., relaxation). Finally, we did not assess when the stressor occurred in relation to the daily assessment. For some participants, it is possible that the stressor was ongoing, or at its height, which may have influenced responding. The above-mentioned limitations constitute important areas for future research.

Despite limitations, results of the present study extend extant research on the role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the positive affect-alcohol use relation. This is the first study to use an experience sampling design to identify the relations among positive affect, difficulties regulating positive emotions, and drinking to cope. Findings provide support for the moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily association between positive affect stemming from social stressors and later drinking to cope with social stressors, underscoring potential targets for interventions and preventions aimed at reducing alcohol use among college students.