Background and objectives: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a well-documented risk factor for problem drinking, but the possibility that recent stressful events exacerbate risk conferred by CSA has rarely been examined, and the few studies to do so have limited their investigations to negative events. The aim of the current study was to examine the associations between CSA, recent positive and negative stressful events, and women's alcohol consumption.
Methods: Eighty-nine women (42.7% reporting CSA) completed weekly web-based alcohol use surveys and a stressful event inventory assessing negative and positive events over a 12 week period.
Results: Independent of CSA history, experiencing negative events was associated with elevated likelihood of drinking to intoxication.
Discussion and conclusions: Proximal distressing events are more closely linked than CSA history to short-term drinking patterns.
Scientific significance: Tracking stressful negative events may be informative for identifying precipitants of heavy drinking.
© 2016 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.