There were two specific aims of this study. First, it sought to replicate previous research exploring links between caffeine consumption and certain types of internalizing psychopathology. Second, it examined whether motivations for caffeine use account for links between caffeine consumption and internalizing psychopathologies. For both of these aims, total weekly caffeine consumption, caffeine consumption frequency, and caffeinated beverage choice were examined. The sample for this study was 194 undergraduates (mean age=19.8, SD=3.5; 47% male; 51% white, 19% African-American, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 12% Asian, 5% other), and data were collected using self-report questionnaires. Previous findings indicating positive associations between depressive symptoms and increased caffeine consumption were replicated. Both Self-Medication and Dependence motivations for use significantly mediated the association between depressive symptoms and caffeine consumption, both in total weekly consumption amount and caffeine use frequency. Energy and Enjoyment motivations were not significant mediators. Associations between depressive symptoms and more frequent tea consumption, adjusting for all other caffeinated beverage types, were also found. Panic symptoms were not found to be significantly associated with any beverage choice, total caffeine consumption, or caffeine consumption frequency. While causality cannot be drawn from these findings, they serve as a useful knowledge base to inform future longitudinal studies.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Psychology
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Caffeine
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_9024
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (iii, 67 p.)
Note (type = degree)
M.A.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Corey Frederick Doremus
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Camden Graduate School Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10005600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
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