The role of cognitive structure in college student problem drinking

Although motivational models of alcohol use often invoke constructs relevant to affective distress (e.g., depressive symptoms), to date, no study has assessed the potential role of cognitive structures (enduring cognitive belief systems) in promoting problematic drinking behavior. Thus, the current study evaluated the relationship between cognitive structure, specifically dysfunctional attitudes and automatic negative thoughts, and problem-related drinking, while controlling for the influence of alcohol consumption, drinking motives related to affect management, demographic variables, and depressive symptoms. Participants were 182 male and female (80%) college undergraduates, who completed a battery of self-report questionnaires on two occasions, separated by 8 weeks. Initial correlational analyses indicated strong (positive) associations among the cognitive structure variables, depressive symptoms, and problem drinking behavior. Findings from set-wise hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that dysfunctional attitudes measured at Time 1 (T1) predicted problem drinking eight weeks later at Time 2 (T2) even after controlling for age and sex, alcohol consumption (T2), depressive symptoms (T2), and drinking motives linked to affect regulation (T1). These findings highlight the potential importance of cognitive structure as a risk factor for problem drinking, above and beyond the risk posed by more traditionally studied variables.