Alcohol use variability in a community-based sample of nonstudent emerging adult heavy drinkers

While nonstudent emerging adults are at elevated risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems, there remains a paucity of research devoted specifically to addressing drinking in this group.

The present study sought to offer unique insights into nonstudent drinking by examining drinking variability across 30 days using a retrospective diary method. Specific aims were to: (1) compare within- and between-person variability in alcohol use across 30 days, and (2) determine the extent to which central social-cognitive between-person factors (i.e., social expectancies, perceived drinking norms, social drinking motivations) predict between-person alcohol use as well as within-person variability in drinking.

Participants were 195 (65.1% men) nonstudent emerging adults recruited from the community with a mean age of 21.9 (SD = 2.1) years.

Findings showed that a substantial portion of variation in daily alcohol consumption was attributable to the within-person (83%) rather than between-person (17.2%) level. Social expectancies, perceived drinking norms, and social motives were found to influence variability in daily alcohol consumption.

Our findings contribute to knowledge that could guide efforts to design and tailor intervention strategies to minimize the harms experienced by an understudied and at-risk population of drinkers.