Moderate alcohol use and mental health

Tait & Hulse (2006) conclude from their prospective cohort study that there was tentative evidence that moderate alcohol use was associated with a reduction in mental health admissions compared with abstinence. They cite evidence for more favourable physical, mental and cognitive health in moderate drinkers compared with both problem drinkers and abstainers (the so-called J-shaped curve of alcohol use). They speculate that any association between moderate alcohol use and improved health may be mediated by improved general or cardiovascular health, improved psychological well-being, or as yet unidentified causal variables such as increased social stability. However, they do not speculate on the potential role of personality differences between the different drinking categories. Preliminary evidence from the Dublin Healthy Ageing Study has demonstrated that, when assessed using the Eysenck Personality Inventory, lifelong alcohol abstainers have higher levels of introversion and neuroticism compared with moderate drinkers. This may have an impact not only on measures of social stability, but also mental and physical health characteristics such as depression and hypertension.

Another study has demonstrated that abstinence was more common among people who scored higher on social inadequacy, rigidity and self-sufficiency subscales of the Dutch Personality Inventory and the amount of alcohol consumed was higher in drinkers who scored lower on rigidity and social inadequacy (Koppes et al, 2001). Rodgers et al (2000) demonstrated higher depression and anxiety levels in non-drinkers and occasional drinkers compared with moderate drinkers, along with contributory factors such as lower-status occupations, poorer education, more current financial hardship, poorer social support and more recent stressful life events. Furthermore, abstainers and occasional drinkers scored lower on extraversion, fun-seeking and drive.

Therefore the personality types and temperaments of abstainers, and not simply their zero alcohol consumption, may account for their relatively poorer health characteristics in comparison with moderate drinkers.