Pathways Between Alcohol Use and Internalizing Symptoms Across Emerging Adulthood: Examination of Gender Differences in Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Processes

Pathways between alcohol use and internalizing symptoms, controlling for comorbid externalizing symptoms, within a sample of 593 ethnically diverse emerging adults (age 20-22; 49% female) collected between 2013 and 2018 in the United States were examined. Peer deviance and emotional disengagement were used to examine mediation between internalizing symptoms and alcohol use. Results demonstrate that alcohol and internalizing pathways varied across gender. For males, no significant direct paths between internalizing symptoms and alcohol use were observed. However, there was an indirect path between age 20 alcohol use and reduced age 22 internalizing symptoms, via age 21 peer deviance. For females, significant bidirectional links between alcohol use and internalizing symptoms were observed from age 21 to 22. Additionally, an indirect path between age 20 internalizing symptoms and increased age 22 alcohol use via age 21 emotional disengagement was observed. Results suggest unique targets for intervention for males and females.