The Role of Alcohol Use Severity in the Link Between Attitude and Microaggression Perpetration Toward Sexually- and Gender-Diverse Individuals

Prior studies have implicated alcohol in the realization of preexisting evaluative contents into bias-motivated behaviors. However, the role of alcohol use in the association between negative attitudes and the enactment of more subtle forms of aggressive acts, such as microaggressions, has not been examined. Hence, through a cross-sectional survey in a university-based sample (<i>N =</i> 2,193, <i>M</i>_<i>age</i> <i>=</i> 21.41 years old, <i>SD =</i> 5.14; 78.6% assigned female at birth, 87% heterosexual straight, 98.6% cisgender, 81.5% white-identifying), the present study examined the moderating role of alcohol use severity in the association between negative attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and the enactment of sexual orientation (SO) and gender identity (GI) microaggressions. Positive bivariate associations among negative attitude, alcohol use severity and microaggression perpetration were found. A two-part generalized linear regression-based moderation analysis showed evidence of a significant exacerbating role of alcohol use severity in the relationship between negative attitudes toward LGBT individuals and the magnitude, but not likelihood, of enacting both SO and GI microaggressions. The positive association between negative attitude and the magnitude of microaggression perpetration became stronger as the severity of alcohol use increased.