Do the Effects of Alcohol Differ for Depressed Heavy Drinkers? Study Sheds Light
A new study from the University of Chicago Medicine reveals that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression experience high levels of stimulation and pleasure when intoxicated, similar to drinkers who do not have depression.
The findings counter the long-held belief that the pleasure people experience when drinking alcohol decreases with addiction and that drinking to intoxication is mainly to reduce negative feelings as a form of self-medication. Findings are published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The research followed 232 individuals across the U.S. between the ages of 21 to 35, corresponding to the period when most heavy drinking occurs in a person's lifetime. Half of the study group met criteria for alcohol use disorder in the past year and were evenly divided in terms of those who had or had not experienced a major depressive disorder in the past year.
Through their smartphones, participants answered questions every half hour for three hours during one typical alcohol drinking episode and a non-alcohol episode. The researchers found that alcohol consumption reduced negative feelings, although the reduction was small and nonspecific to their depression or alcohol use disorder status. The positive effects of alcohol were much higher in individuals with alcohol use disorder.
"As treatment providers, we're taught people with alcohol use disorder are drinking to self-medicate and feel better," said Andrea King, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UChicago and lead author of the study. "But what exactly are they feeling? From our study, it seems to be high levels of stimulation and pleasurable effects, with a modest decrease in negative states.”
Reference: King, A. C., Fischer, A. M., Cursio, J. F., Didier, N. A., Lee, Z., & Fridberg, D. J. (2025). Real-Time Assessment of Alcohol Reward, Stimulation, and Negative Affect in Individuals With and Without Alcohol Use Disorder and Depressive Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 182(2), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20240069
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