Alamdar Sanchez, Daniel (2023) Meaning in Life, an Existential Protection Against Drinking to Cope. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Meaning in Life has been established to have an inverse relationship to drinking behaviour. As such, it has been described as a protective factor against drinking, on the one hand by reducing alcohol valuation, and on the other by helping individuals to adaptively cope with negative events. Considering that drinking to cope is a key element in the understanding of alcohol use disorder, this study proposes firstly that the relationship between meaning and drinking is negatively correlated, and secondly that such relationship is mediated by a reduction in drinking to cope. Additionally, meaning is often distinguished by the process of search for meaning and presence of meaning. The connection between search and drinking is explored, by arguing that experiencing negative affect during such search plays a moderating role. Surveying 459 Dutch individuals (226 males, 229 females, average age 28.6 years) in a cross-sectional correlational study, no significant direct relationship between meaning and drinking was found. However, upon consideration of drinking to cope as a mediating factor, said relationship turned significant, suggesting a protective role of meaning in life against drinking behaviour via reducing drinking to cope. No significant moderation of search for meaning and drinking behaviour by negative affect was established, which further indicates the independence of the presence and search for meaning concepts. This study is consistent with the view that meaning in life disincentivizes the use of drinking as a coping mechanism by protecting against negative events and promoting alternative coping mechanisms, and may therefore offer opportunity for application in treatment settings.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Jong, P.J. de |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Jul 2023 08:42 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Jul 2023 08:42 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2435 |
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