Anxiety, Depression, and Stress in Association with Alcohol Consumption: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Alcohol consumption represents a complex behavioural phenomenon influenced by multiple psychological factors. The present study aimed to examine the associations between emotional distress—specifically anxiety, depression, and stress—and alcohol consumption in a cross-sectional sample.
A total of 121 participants completed standardised self-report measures, including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Spearman’s correlation analyses indicated that both anxiety (ρ = .203, p = .025) and depression (ρ = .219, p = .016) were positively and significantly associated with alcohol consumption, although the strength of these relationships was weak. In contrast, stress was not significantly correlated with alcohol use (ρ = .137, p = .134).
A multiple regression analysis revealed that the overall model was statistically significant, F(3, 117) = 4.997, p = .003, explaining 11.4% of the variance in alcohol consumption (R² = .114). However, none of the individual predictors—anxiety, depression, or stress—demonstrated statistically significant independent effects. Additional bootstrap analyses confirmed the absence of significant effects, suggesting that the relationships observed at the correlational level did not translate into robust predictive effects.
These findings highlight the nuanced role of emotional distress in alcohol consumption, suggesting that while anxiety and depression are associated with alcohol use, their predictive power may be limited when considered concurrently. The results support the importance of adopting a multidimensional perspective when examining psychological influences on alcohol-related behaviours.