A similar pattern of findings played out at the between-person level in both Study 1 (Table 2) and Study 2 (Table 3). Specifically, individuals in Study 1 who experienced more stress on average reported significantly higher overall craving (abetween:R2=.403-.414, p’s<.001; b=.484-.502, p’s<.001). A one-unit increase in craving on the five-point craving scale increases the probability of drinking by .883 on average (bbetween:R2=. 452, p<.001; b=1.089, p<.001) and the number of drinks by 1.83 on average (bbetween:R2=.367, p<.001; b=1.796, p<.001; Figure 4). The indirect effect of stress on drinking mediated via craving (defined as the product of the abetween and bbetween paths) was significant (indirectbetween:b=2.541–3.963, p’s<.001) but the direct effect of stress on drinking was not (cwithin & c’within p’s>.08).
