Alcohol is a public health concern across university campuses and is known to regulate individuals’ mood. It has been evidenced that alcohol’s impact on mood yields negative consequences such as impaired judgment and an increase in drinking to cope. Drinking to cope is very common among college students and has been shown to increase one’s alcohol consumption. In addition, research suggests that music can be a powerful tool in regulating one’s mood. However, the effects of how mood is regulated by the interplay of music and alcohol has yet to be studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the regulation of mood through alcohol and music. Using anonymous, online survey sampling, data was collected at a Midwest, mid-sized university. A connection between music and alcohol in regulating mood was expected. Thus, students who reported higher regulation of mood through music would also relay higher regulation of their mood via alcohol. Drinking to cope was positively correlated with the motives of entertainment, diversion, discharge, and solace for music in regulating mood. Positive correlations were also found between these regulatory strategies relating to music as well as between drinking to cope and negative affect. The ultimate goal of this study was to discover a correlation between music and alcohol in regulating one’s mood in order to reduce the likelihood of college students partaking in negative regulatory drinking strategies. Information from this study could be used to better understand the individuals who are more susceptible to partaking in drinking to cope in order to find healthier mechanisms they can turn to instead of alcohol.
Author: Melissa Elias
Faculty Advisor: Rose Marie Ward, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health
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