(PS10-30) Posttraumatic Cognitions and Drinking Behaviors: Examining Indirect Effects of Anxiety Sensitivity among Women Sexual Trauma Survivors

Abstract Text: Women are at an increased risk for experiencing sexual trauma (ST). Among ST survivors, posttraumatic cognitions, such as self-blame and negative beliefs about oneself and the world, may exacerbate drinking behaviors. Anxiety sensitivity (AS; i.e., beliefs that anxiety symptoms are dangerous) is a malleable, transdiagnostic factor that has been independently associated with trauma-related alterations in cognition and drinking behaviors, such as alcohol use expectancies and alcohol use severity. No empirical work, however, has examined these variables in tandem among survivors of sexual trauma. Thus, we hypothesized that posttraumatic cognitions would be indirectly associated with (1) alcohol use severity, (2) trauma-related drinking, (3) positive alcohol expectancies, and (4) negative alcohol expectancies, examined as separate outcomes, via AS. The sample was comprised of 302 college women who experienced sexual trauma (Mage = 22.24, SD = 5.94; 54.9% White, 17.5% Black/African American, 15.2% Asian, 8.6% Other, 3.0% American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.7% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; 37.0% Hispanic/Latina). Results revealed significant indirect effects of posttraumatic cognitions on 1) alcohol use severity (β = .02, 95% CI [.01, .04]); 2) trauma-related drinking (β = .03, 95% CI [.02, .06]); and 3) positive expectancies (β = .12, 95% CI [.06, .19]). Given AS is malleable via intervention, this work has potential to inform trauma-alcohol treatment strategies among survivors of ST.