Examining Whether Young Adults Differ in Their Endorsement and Subjective Evaluation of Alcohol Consequences by Age,...

There is considerable variability in how young adults (YAs) perceive drinking-related consequences, and some researcher-identified "negative" consequences are viewed by YAs as neutral or even somewhat positive. Little is known about individual difference factors that may influence subjective evaluations of alcohol consequences.

We tested whether endorsement and subjective evaluation ("extremely negative" to "extremely positive") of 24 alcohol-related negative consequences differed by age (18-20, 21-27), past-3-month drinking frequency (three times/month or less, weekly or more), and current undergraduate status (4-year undergraduate, nonstudent). YAs were recruited for a longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study on cognitions and alcohol use. Participants in the analytic sample (N = 640; 48.1% White non-Hispanic/Latinx, 50.0% female, M age = 22.2 years, SD = 2.3) reported past-3-month drinking. Past-3-month drinking frequency, negative consequences (total and item-level), and subjective evaluations of consequences were assessed cross-sectionally.

Compared with YAs age 18-20, YAs 21 and older experienced fewer total consequences, were significantly less likely to endorse experiencing physical/behavioral consequences, and rated these consequences more negatively if they were endorsed. YAs who drank weekly or more reported experiencing more consequences and were significantly more likely to experience all 24 consequences in comparison with YAs who drank three times/month or less. Subjective evaluation ratings did not significantly differ by drinking frequency. There were few differences between 4-year undergraduates and non-undergraduates; non-undergraduates rated several health/responsibility-related consequences more negatively.

Findings highlight the importance of identifying individual difference factors that contribute to subjective evaluation ratings and may be useful for tailoring brief, personalized alcohol interventions for YAs.