Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2025
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The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
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Self-Determined Motivation for Alcohol Use and Drinking Frequency, Intensity, and Consequences
J B Courtney1,2, M A Russell3, D E Conroy4,5
1Department of Exercise and Sport Science, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Substance Use & Misuse
|December 10, 2024
Summary
Self-determination theory (SDT) motives for drinking, like autonomous reasons, predict enjoyable, low-risk alcohol use. Conversely, amotivation for drinking signals increased negative alcohol-related consequences.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Health Behavior
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Drinking motives influence adult drinking behaviors and outcomes.
- Self-determination theory (SDT) offers a complementary framework to understand drinking motives and alcohol-related consequences.
- Existing frameworks rarely incorporate SDT, limiting explanations for drinking motive heterogeneity and outcome variance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine associations between five SDT-based drinking motives and drinking frequency, intensity, and consequences.
- To assess the added explanatory power of SDT-based motives beyond existing questionnaires.
- To explore the utility of SDT in understanding diverse drinking patterns and risks.
Main Methods:
- 630 adults (mean age 21.5, 55% female, 88% undergraduates) completed measures of drinking motives (CRAI-Drinking, DMQ), alcohol consumption, and consequences.
- Poisson regressions analyzed the relationship between SDT-based motives and drinking frequency, intensity, and consequences.
- Statistical models controlled for demographic variables, other motive scores, and drinking intensity.
Main Results:
- Intrinsic and identified regulations were linked to higher drinking frequency.
- Identified and positive introjected regulations were associated with drinking intensity.
- Amotivation and intrinsic regulation predicted negative and positive consequences, respectively.
- SDT-based motives explained an additional 1.7%-9.9% of the variance in drinking behaviors and consequences, controlling for other factors.
Conclusions:
- Autonomous drinking motives (intrinsic, identified) are associated with positive drinking experiences (low-risk, high-enjoyment).
- High amotivation for drinking predicts more negative consequences, independent of drinking intensity, suggesting it's a risk indicator.
- SDT provides a valuable theoretical lens for understanding the complexity of drinking motives, behaviors, and associated risks.
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