| Research has shown that there is a complex association between emotion regulation difficulties and increased substance use. This study investigated men's gender role conflict (GRC) as a possible moderator of this relationship. A sample of 144 adult males from the United States completed measures of alcohol use (MAST), non-alcohol substance use (DAST-20), emotion regulation difficulties (DERS), and men's GRC (GRCS). GRCS was found to significantly correlate with DERS, MAST, and DAST-20. DERS emerged as a significant predictor for alcohol use severity and GRCS as a significant predictor for the non-alcohol substance use severity. In the regression models that included covariates, the age of first use emerged as a significant predictor of substance use severity and only DERS continued to significantly predict alcohol use severity. Men's GRC was not found to significantly moderate the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and substance use severity in this sample. A trend was observed where the association between emotion regulation difficulties and alcohol use severity appeared to be stronger at higher levels of men's GRC. These findings support previous research that has found an association between men's gender role conflict and substance use severity; however, further research is needed to clarify the nature of this association. |
