Motives to drink alcohol among individuals with body dysmorphic disorder

•Individuals with a history of BDD are most likely to drink to cope with distress due to body image concerns.•Drinking for coping reasons is positively associated with a lifetime history of attempted suicide.•Further study on the use of alcohol to alleviate BDD-related distress is greatly needed.

Lifetime prevalence rates of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are high. However, no studies have examined drinking motives using a standardized measure. This study examined drinking motives and clinical correlates in 101 adults with lifetime BDD who completed the Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Scores for drinking to cope with negative affect were 1.6 SD units higher than published community sample scores, followed by enhancement (1.1 SD units higher) and social motives (0.5 SD units higher). Participants reported drinking sometimes, often, or almost always/always because body image concerns were upsetting (49.5%), to forget about body image concerns (52.5%), or to feel more comfortable about their appearance around others (59.4%). Both coping and enhancement motives were strongly associated with drinking because body image concerns were upsetting. Coping motives were also positively associated with lifetime BDD severity and attempted suicide. These findings suggest that drinkingin BDD is often used to cope with distress over body image concerns.