Stress-induced Drinking in Emerging Adults: the Role of Trauma History

This study will be conducted with a 3 x 2 between subjects design. The between groups factors are (1) trauma group (3 levels: Control, Trauma Exposed with, and without PTSD) and (2) exposure to stress (2 levels: yes and no). To decrease intra-group variability, trauma type will be limited to interpersonal trauma. Potential participants will be screened over the phone. Those meeting basic eligibility criteria will complete an assessment at the MUSC Institute of Psychiatry, and those meeting final eligibility criteria will be scheduled for the laboratory session to be completed at the Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC). Half of each trauma history group will receive the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST); the other half will receive a no-stress control condition. Baseline and post-stress objective and subjective measures of stress reactivity will be collected. Following the stress task, all participants will be given a priming dose and subsequently presented with an alcohol taste test. The primary analyses will examine the effect of trauma group membership on response to stress and subsequent voluntary drinking. Based on power analyses using preliminary data from similar samples, a sample size of 240 participants (40 per cell) is required.