Pain and Alcohol Use among Latinos in Primary Care: Examining Rumination as an Explanatory Factor.

BACKGROUND

Alcohol is a widely abused substance among Latinos. Yet, little is known regarding factors underlying hazardous drinking in this population. Growing work has linked pain to hazardous drinking, although highly limited work has focused on Latinos.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the current study was to test rumination as an underlying mechanism explaining relations between pain severity and alcohol use among Latinos.

METHODS

Data from 252 low-income Latino adults (Mage = 38.7 years, SD = 10.8; 86.1% female) attending a community-based primary health care clinic were available. Participants completed measures of pain, rumination, and alcohol use. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the indirect effect of pain severity via rumination on alcohol use.

RESULTS

The model displayed good fit to the data. There was a statistically significant indirect effect of pain severity via rumination on alcohol use. Conclusions/

Importance

The current findings suggest that rumination may underlie associations of pain and alcohol use among Latinos. Future work in primary care medical settings may benefit from targeting ruminative thinking among Latinos who are experiencing pain to address hazardous drinking.