Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
The Belief that Alcohol Use is Inconsistent with Personal Autonomy: A Promotive Factor for Younger Adolescents
Kimberly L Henry1, Annette Shtivelband, Maria Leonora G Comello
1Colorado State University, Department of Psychology, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1876.
Abstract:
This study explored an understudied promotive factor, a belief that alcohol use is inconsistent with personal autonomy, which may reduce adolescent intention to drink and subsequent alcohol use. Autonomy was examined as an attitudinal construct within the Theory of Reasoned Action. Longitudinal data from 2,493 seventh grade students nested in 40 schools were analyzed using a structural equation model. Autonomy was negatively correlated with intention to use alcohol and subsequent alcohol use at a later wave, and intention to use fully mediated the effect of autonomy on subsequent alcohol use. These results are consistent with the proposition that when personal autonomy is perceived as inconsistent with alcohol use among younger adolescents, students indicate a lower intention to use alcohol and use less alcohol during the following school year.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Cognitive Dissonance
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
Self-Regulation
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

