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Do changes in drinking motives mediate the relation between personality change and "maturing out" of problem
Andrew K Littlefield1, Kenneth J Sher, Phillip K Wood
1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, Missouri 65211-0001, USA. littlefielda@missouri.edu
Changes in drinking motives, particularly coping motives, help explain how personality shifts relate to reduced problem drinking in young adults. This clarifies the "maturing out" process.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Developmental changes in neuroticism and impulsivity are linked to problem drinking in young adulthood.
- Mechanisms explaining the link between personality changes and alcohol problems are not fully understood.
- Drinking motives, such as coping and enhancement, are proposed mediators.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine changes in drinking motives (coping and enhancement) as mediators.
- To investigate the relationship between changes in personality (neuroticism, impulsivity) and alcohol problems.
- To understand the developmental trajectory of alcohol involvement from emerging to young adulthood.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 489 college students (ages 18-35) at varying risk for alcohol use disorders.
- Parallel process latent growth modeling used to analyze developmental changes.
- Assessment of personality traits, drinking motives, and alcohol problems over time.
Main Results:
- Changes in coping motives significantly mediated the relationship between changes in neuroticism and alcohol problems.
- Changes in coping motives also mediated the relationship between changes in impulsivity and alcohol problems.
- Enhancement motives did not show a significant mediating effect.
Conclusions:
- Change in coping motives is a key mechanism linking personality development to reduced problematic alcohol use.
- This finding sheds light on the process of "maturing out" of alcohol problems during emerging and young adulthood.
- Targeting coping motives may be crucial for interventions aimed at preventing or reducing alcohol-related issues.
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