Reasons for drinking alcohol: their relationship to psychosocial variables and alcohol consumption

The present investigation was designed to gain a better understanding of the psychosocial factors that predict reasons for drinking alcohol and how these drinking motives differentially relate to alcohol consumption. Four distinct reasons for drinking alcohol scales were established through factor analysis: drink to cope, drink to be sociable, drink to enhance social confidence, and drink for enjoyment. Multiple regression analyses showed that 1) each reason for drinking was predicted by a somewhat different set of demographic and psychosocial variables, and 2) the reasons for drinking, in turn, differentially predicted multiple indicators of quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption. Theoretical implications of the study results and suggestions for future research are discussed.