Binge drinking among adolescents: the role of stress, problematic internet use, and emotional regulation

Diaz-Moreno, A, Bonilla, I, Chamarro, A, Ballabrera, Q, Gómez-Romero, MJ, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524 and Limonero, JT, 2024. Binge drinking among adolescents: the role of stress, problematic internet use, and emotional regulation. PeerJ, 12: e18479. ISSN 2167-8359

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Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period marked by significant physical, psychological, and emotional changes as youngsters transition into adulthood. During this time, many adolescents consume alcohol, and in some cases, this leads to binge drinking, a behavior associated with various health risks and other problematic behaviors. However, knowledge about binge drinking in this population remains limited. Additionally, many adolescents engage in intensive technology use, which has been linked to mental health issues and substance abuse. Stress is often considered a precursor to both alcohol consumption and problematic internet use. In this context, emotional regulation could serve as a protective factor. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between stress, problematic internet use, emotional regulation, and binge drinking among adolescents using structural equation modeling.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was completed by a sample of 876 high school adolescents (63.57% female, mean age 16.86 years). Data were collected using an online survey, which included sociodemographic information and measures of perceived stress, emotional regulation, excessive alcohol consumption, and problematic internet use. Problematic alcohol use was assessed using several questions adapted from the ‘Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education in Spain’.

Results: Problematic internet use emerged as a mediator between stress and binge drinking, suggesting that stress contributes to the development of problematic internet use, which in turn increases the likelihood of binge drinking. Furthermore, stress was negatively correlated with emotional regulation, indicating that inadequate emotional management may predispose adolescents to problematic internet use and binge drinking. The complex interplay between stress, emotional regulation, problematic internet use, and binge drinking underscores the need for comprehensive interventions targeting these factors among adolescents.

Conclusions: The results provide insights into potential pathways linking stress and binge drinking via problematic internet use and highlight the importance of emotional regulation as a protective mechanism against maladaptive behaviors.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	PeerJ
Creators:	Diaz-Moreno, A., Bonilla, I., Chamarro, A., Ballabrera, Q., Gómez-Romero, M.J., Griffiths, M.D. and Limonero, J.T.
Publisher:	PeerJ
Date:	27 November 2024
Volume:	12
ISSN:	2167-8359
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.7717/peerj.18479 DOI 2303895 Other
Rights:	© 2024 Diaz-Moreno et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	29 Nov 2024 09:37
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2024 09:37
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52671

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