%0 Journal Article
%T The Great Recession and Drinking Outcomes: Protective Effects of Politically Oriented Coping
%A Judith A. Richman
%A Robyn Lewis Brown
%A Kathleen M. Rospenda
%J Journal of Addiction
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/646451
%X Research derived from the stress paradigm suggests that certain types of coping (e.g., problem-focused coping instead of behavioral disengagement) are protective against problem-related drinking to deal with social stressors. Going beyond the typical focus in the coping literature, we hypothesize that stressors engendered by macrolevel social forces may require coping actions within the political realm in contrast to modes of coping focused outside of the political realm. A United States sample of 663 respondents completed a mail survey in 2010, including measures of stressful consequences of the Great Recession, drinking patterns and problems, modes of coping encompassed in the Brief COPE instrument, and politically oriented coping. Structural equation modeling examined whether modes of coping mediated the links between stressors and drinking outcomes. A substantial portion of the associations between stressors and drinking was explained by modes of coping. Politically oriented coping was protective against problem drinking for both genders. Future studies should further explore politically oriented coping in addition to modes of coping outside of the political realm when studying the relationships between macrolevel social stressors and deleterious drinking outcomes. 1. Introduction Social scientists who explore factors mediating and moderating the relationships between social stressors and mental health, including drinking outcomes, have highlighted modes of coping [1, 2]. These studies have explored behaviors which protect people from being psychologically harmed [3] and cognitive appraisals which influence behaviors such as problem-focused coping [4] or using alcohol to self-medicate distress [5]. However, studies have not considered the characteristics of the stressful situation itself that may make certain coping strategies more or less effective [6]. In particular, psychiatric epidemiologic studies have tended to emphasize microlevel stressors (e.g., stressors in individuals¡¯ role domains) and, until recently, have ignored the linkages between macrolevel social forces and the daily stressors in people¡¯s lives [7¨C9]. However, macrolevel social conditions can affect the magnitude of stressors experienced in people¡¯s lives and the extent to which they experience ¡°cumulative adversity¡± [10]. This paper focuses on coping with the fallout from one type of macrolevel social stressor: the recent Great Recession. This economic downturn constituted the most severe economic crisis in the United States since the Great Depression [11] and had persisting
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jad/2014/646451/