Abstract

Alcohol use tends to peak in early adulthood, often coinciding with university attendance—a period linked with increased alcohol consumption. During this period, using alcohol to cope with negative emotions (coping motives) is associated with alcohol-related problems. The stress-response dampening hypothesis and empirical evidence suggest that those who are high in intolerance of uncertainty (IU) are at a greater risk of coping motives, and that stress perception may explain part of this association. The goal of the current study was to examine the mediating role of perceived stress (PSS) in the association between IU and coping motives across time in university students. We hypothesized that IU would predict PSS and coping motives, that PSS would predict coping motives, and that PSS would mediate the association between IU and coping motives. In our study, (N = 379 at baseline) first-year undergraduate students completed four online questionnaires at 1-month intervals. Using Confirmatory Factor Analyses and Latent Curve Models with Structured Residuals, we found a positive correlation between IU, PSS, and coping motives at the trait level, consistent with our hypotheses. However, at the state level, there were no cross-lagged effects between these constructs except for IU negatively predicting PSS, contradicting our initial hypotheses. Our results suggest that while IU, PSS, and coping motives are related to each other at a trait level, their association is more nuanced at the state level. This indicates a distinction in the dynamics of these constructs between and within individuals.