Drinking motives predict alcohol-related problems in college students

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Addiction Research
• Public Health

Background:

• Drinking motives are linked to alcohol consumption and negative consequences.
• Motivational models require motives to predict alcohol problems independently.
• Previous research has not fully accounted for high-risk drinking and gender.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the predictive power of drinking motives on alcohol-related problems.
• To assess if motives predict problems independent of high-risk drinking and gender.
• To explore the mediating role of drinking quantity in the motive-problem relationship.

Main Methods:

• Hierarchical regression analysis was used.
• 139 college undergraduates (61% female) completed self-report questionnaires.
• Lifetime alcohol-related problems were measured.

Main Results:

• Maximum daily alcohol quantity and negative reinforcement motives explained 61% of the variance in alcohol-related problems.
• Gender and positive reinforcement motives were not significant predictors in the full model.
• Maximum daily quantity partially mediated the relationship between motives and problems, but motives retained unique predictive power.

Conclusions:

• Drinking motives contribute to alcohol problems both directly and indirectly via heavy drinking.
• Motivational models are useful for understanding alcohol use and problems in college students.
• Negative and positive reinforcement motives independently predict alcohol-related problems.