Expectancies and evaluations of alcohol effects among college students: self-determination as a moderator

OBJECTIVE: This research examined individual differences in self-determination as moderators of both alcohol expectancies and of subjective evaluations of alcohol effects in college students. Previous work has shown lower levels of self-determination to be linked with drinking for more extrinsic reasons and as a means of regulating affect and social approval. We proposed that alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluations of alcohol effects would be more strongly linked to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among students who were more controlled and/or less autonomous. METHOD: Self-reported alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluations of alcohol effects and self-determination were assessed among 560 (347 women) college students, along with self-reported alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences. RESULTS: Alcohol expectancies and subjective evaluation of alcohol effects were examined separately. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that positive alcohol expectancies were more strongly associated with greater alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among students who were lower in autonomy orientation, and among male students who were higher in controlled orientation. Similarly, more favorable evaluations of positive alcohol effects were associated with greater alcohol consumption among students who were lower in autonomy orientation and students, particularly men, who were higher in controlled orientation. CONCLUSIONS: Expectancy theories implicitly assume that individuals who believe alcohol has positive effects and who evaluate alcohol effects favorably are more likely to engage in problematic drinking. This research reveals this assumption is more appropriate among individuals who are generally less self-determined. Implications for interventions are discussed.     

Alcohol-related consequences in African American and European American college students

Approximately 50% of college students report a heavy drinking episode in the past 2 weeks. This pattern of heavy episodic drinking places them at risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems. In addition, important ethnic differences exist between European American and African American college students in terms of drinking. European American college students report consuming more alcohol than African American college students, but little research exists on the differences in types and rates of problems. The current study sought to examine the differences in problems among 451 African American and European American college students using a comprehensive measure of alcohol-related problems. The effect of gender was also examined as research has found consistent gender differences in drinking. European American students experienced more problems overall and greater levels of social/interpersonal problems and risky behaviors even after controlling for drinking level. In addition, women reported significantly greater levels of problems in all domains except physical dependence, risky behaviors, and self-perception when drinking was controlled for.     

The Role of Alcohol Expectancies in the Associations Between Close Friend,Typical College Student,and Personal Alcohol Use

Background Perceptions of peer drinking and alcohol expectancies have been consistently associated with alcohol use among college students. There is evidence that perceived peer drinking also shapes alcohol expectancies. Research has yet to address the potential differential impact of perceived drinking by close friends versus by typical college students on alcohol use among first-semester college students. Relatedly, mediation of these associations by specific domains of alcohol expectancies has yet to be examined. Objectives: The first aim of the present study was to investigate whether perceptions of close friend drinking were more strongly associated with alcohol expectancies, alcohol use, and consequences of alcohol use than perceptions of typical college student drinking. The second aim focused on which alcohol expectancy domains partially accounted for the association between close friend drinking, typical college student drinking, and alcohol use and consequences. Method: Participants (n = 400 first-semester college students) completed survey questionnaires, which included measures of perceived close friend/typical student alcohol use, alcohol expectancies, and drinking behaviors. Results: Results showed that close friend alcohol use was more strongly associated with alcohol use and consequences compared to typical college student use both directly and indirectly through expectancies about alcohol enhancing social behaviors. Conclusions/Importance: These findings suggest that first-semester college student drinking is more influenced by perceived alcohol use among close friends than typical college students. Future intervention efforts for alcohol use on college campuses may benefit from including close friend network components along with targeting alcohol expectancies regarding social behaviors.     

The relationship between assertiveness, alcohol-related expectations for social assertion and drinking patterns among college students

Alcohol-related expectancies have been shown to correlate with and predict a wide range of drinking behaviors. Rotter's social learning theory asserts that behavioral prediction can be improved through the use of reinforcement value in addition to expectancies. The present investigation evaluated this assertion in comparing the ability of alcohol-related expectancies to predict alcohol consumption for low and high assertive college students. It was hypothesized that the expectation that alcohol would facilitate social assertion would be predictive of self-reported heavy drinking by low, but not highly assertive students. Results showed that the typical quantity, maximum quantity, and frequency of drinking by low assertive females were predicted only by the expectation of Social Assertion. For low assertive males, Social Assertion was predictive of frequency of drinking. Moreover, of the students, male and female, high in assertiveness, drinking patterns were not predicted by the expectation of enhanced Social Assertion.     

College student heavy drinking in social contexts versus alone

Heavy drinking is common among college students and typically occurs in social contexts. Heavy drinking when alone, however, is less common. The present study hypothesized that students who drink heavily when alone (HD-Alone) would differ from college students who only drink heavily in social contexts (Social HD). Forty-nine HD-Alone students (at least one heavy-drinking episode when alone), 213 Social HDs, and 63 non-heavy drinkers (Non-HDs) were compared on alcohol-related consequences, drinking milestones, alcohol-outcome expectancies, and symptoms of depression. HD-Alone students reported more negative drinking consequences, earlier onset of regular drinking, more alcohol expectancies, less self-efficacy and motivation to reduce drinking, and higher depression scores than Social HDs and Non-HDs. Findings imply individual differences among heavy-drinking college students according to their drinking context.     

Alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies as a mediator of the relationship between drinking motives and risky sexual behaviors

Risky sexual behaviors (RSB) frequently occur in the context of alcohol use and are associated with distinct drinking motives among college students. Use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) is associated with reductions in alcohol use and related problems, which may extend to alcohol-related RSB. Moreover, as PBS use mediates the relationship between positive reinforcement drinking motives and alcohol-related problems, the same may be true for alcohol-related RSB, specifically. The current study examined whether PBS mediates the relationship between drinking motives and RSB among college students. Participants (N = 2039, 72.8% female, M_age = 19.79) from ten universities across ten U.S. states completed an online survey assessing past-month drinking motivation, alcohol PBS, alcohol consumption, and RSB. To test study aims, a saturated path model in which drinking motives were modeled as predictors of RSB via PBS use subscales and alcohol consumption was conducted. Several double mediation effects were found, such that stronger endorsement of motives (i.e., social, enhancement, conformity, coping for depression) were associated with lower PBS (particularly manner of drinking and serious harm reduction), which was associated with higher alcohol use, which was associated with higher RSB. Multi-group models found the mediation effects to be gender invariant, although several differences in direct associations were found across genders. For college students high in positive reinforcement motives (i.e., social or enhancement) for drinking, interventions that aim to increase PBS use, specifically related to modifying the manner in which one drinks and avoiding very dangerous consequences, may be effective in reducing alcohol-related RSB.     

Reinforcement expectancies for studying predict drinking problems among college students: approaching problem drinking from an expectancies choice perspective

Molar behavioral choice theories point to the important role reinforcement for alternative behaviors may play in reducing problem drinking [Psychol. Addict. Behav. 9 (1995) 223.]. A similar molar choice perspective may apply to a cognitive mediational level of analysis: the molecular link between alcohol expectancies and drinking behavior depends on expectancies for alternative behaviors. In this study, 82 college students completed the Alcohol Effects Questionnaire (AEFQ), the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI), a self-report measure of drinking quantity and frequency, and a five-item studying expectancies questionnaire devised for the current study. Analyses indicated that, among students who hold high alcohol expectancies, those who reported high studying expectancies drink less and develop significantly fewer drinking problems than those who hold low studying expectancies. Future research may address the possibility of reducing drinking problems among college students by enhancing studying expectancies.     

Alcohol Expectancies Mediate the Relationship Between Age of First Intoxication and Drinking Outcomes in College Binge Drinkers

Background: While prior research has shown that age of first intoxication (AI) is associated with negative alcohol outcomes, limited research has examined factors accounting for this relationship. Alcohol expectancies, or beliefs about the effects of alcohol, may explain such associations as both positive and negative expectancies have been shown to be key predictors of drinking outcomes. Objective: The present study examined expectancies as mediators between early AI and alcohol-related outcomes. Method: Data collection occurred in 2012 and 2013. Participants were college students (N = 562, 65.8% women) who completed an online survey including measures of alcohol use history, alcohol expectancies, typical alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results: Our findings support a model whereby AI is associated with drinking through its influence on both positive and negative expectancies. Specifically, an earlier AI was associated with stronger alcohol expectancies, which in turn, was associated with heavier alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Conclusions/Importance: These findings are consistent with expectancy theory and previous research suggesting that more experienced drinkers hold stronger drinking-related beliefs, be it positive or negative, and these expectancies ultimately explain variability in alcohol use and problems. Our findings further support that expectancies play an important role in the initiation of drinking behavior.     

Impulsivity and Problem Drinking in College: Examining the Mediating Role of Sex-Related Alcohol Expectancies and Alcohol Use at Sex

Background: Dispositional impulsivity has been consistently implicated as a risk factor for problem drinking among college students and research suggests that this relationship may be explained in part by alcohol expectancies. A subset of alcohol expectancies, sex-related alcohol expectancies, is particularly linked to problem drinking among college students. The acquired preparedness model of risk postulates that people with dispositional impulsivity develop stronger sex-related alcohol expectancies, are subsequently more likely to drink at problematic levels in sexual situations, and thus, engage in more problem drinking. Objectives: Using this model, the current study examined whether sex-related alcohol expectancies and alcohol use at sex mediated the relationship between impulsivity and problem drinking among college students. Methods: College students (N = 101) completed self-report measures of alcohol use, sex-related alcohol expectancies, and five dimensions of impulsivity: negative urgency, positive urgency, sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, and lack of perseverance. Results: Two facets of impulsivity—sensation seeking and lack of premeditation—provided unique contributions to problem drinking. Sex-related alcohol expectancies significantly mediated the effects of lack of premeditation and sensation seeking on problem drinking. In support of the acquired preparedness model, the relationship between the impulsivity traits and problem drinking was serially mediated by sex-related alcohol expectancies and alcohol use at sex. Conclusions: Results suggest that sensation seeking and lack of premeditation continue to be areas of intervention for problem drinking among college students, and implicate sex-related alcohol expectancies as an area of intervention for alcohol use at sex and problem drinking.     

Suicidal ideation and drinking to cope among college binge drinkers

Suicidality among college students is associated with binge drinking and alcohol-related problems. Consistent with motivational models of alcohol use, drinking to cope (DTC) is a significant intervening variable in the association between suicidal ideation and alcohol use and problems among students. This study examined whether several factors shown to be associated with both suicidal ideation and DTC (i.e., impulsivity, mood regulation expectancies, and coping skills) account for the relationship between these variables, as well as the associations of depression and hopelessness with DTC. Participants were 109 emerging adult (18- to 25-year-old) college students who reported at least one episode of binge drinking during a typical month in the past year. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that while greater negative urgency and low negative mood regulation expectancies were significantly associated with DTC, suicidal ideation remained significantly associated with DTC, even when controlling for depression. Suicidal ideation showed a stronger association with DTC than either depression or hopelessness both before and after accounting for other variables. These findings suggest that suicidal ideation has a direct association with DTC, and that negative urgency and mood regulation expectancies may be useful treatments targets for reducing alcohol misuse among emerging adult students who experience suicidal ideation.     

Implicit and explicit alcohol-related motivations among college binge drinkers

Rationale

Positive alcohol outcome expectancies and behavioral economic indices of alcohol consumption are related to binge drinking among college students and may reflect explicit and implicit motivations that are differentially associated with this behavior.

Objectives

The present study hypothesized that implicit (alcohol purchase task) and explicit (positive expectancy for alcohol’s effects) motivations for drinking would not be correlated. It was also hypothesized that greater implicit and explicit motivations would predict alcohol-related risk.

Methods

Participants were 297 college student binge drinkers (54% female; 88% European-American; Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: M?=?9.53, SD?=?5.04). Three indices from the alcohol purchase task (APT) were modeled as a latent implicit alcohol-related motivations variable. Explicit alcohol-related motivations were measured using a global positive expectancy subscale from the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Questionnaire. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test total, Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index total, and age of drinking onset were modeled as a latent alcohol-related risk variable. Structural equation modeling was used to examine associations amongst implicit motivations, explicit motivations, and alcohol-related risk.

Results

Implicit and explicit motivations were not correlated. Partially consistent with the second hypothesis, greater implicit motivations were associated with greater alcohol-related risk. Relations between explicit motivations and alcohol-related risk were marginally significant.

Conclusions

Implicit and explicit drinking motivations are differentially associated with problem drinking behaviors. Future research should examine the underlying neurobiological mechanisms associated with these factors.     

Smack and Grab

In college students, solitary (i.e., while alone) heavy episodic drinking is associated with depression, suicidal ideation, drinking to cope, and having greater alcohol-related problems than heavy drinking only in social contexts. This study explored the possible explanatory factors for solitary heavy drinking. Social (n?=?58) and solitary heavy episodic drinking (n?=?32) emerging adult college students were compared in regards to: alcohol-related problems and dependence severity, negative affect, social relationship issues, socially related coping skills, and negative mood regulation. Multiple analyses of covariance revealed that solitary heavy drinkers were significantly higher in alcohol-related problems, severity of dependence, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, depression, loneliness, and drinking to cope and were lower in negative mood regulation expectancies and social competence. Heavy drinking groups did not differ in social network size, perceived social support, or in their drinking social network size or satisfaction. Our findings suggest that solitary heavy drinkers are not socially isolated or lacking in social support; however, they do experience greater social discomfort and difficulties with negative mood regulation than social heavy drinkers. Interventions focused on depression, affect regulation, adaptive coping, and alcohol abuse would be helpful with this population to address their related problems.     

Extroversion, anxiety and the perceived effects of alcohol

To test the hypothesis that personality characteristics are related to alcohol-effect expectancies, 256 (115 men) college students were divided into groups on the basis of self-reported alcohol consumption and anxiety and introversion scores on the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. Three-way multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to determine expectancy differences by drinking behavior, personality characteristics and sex. Alcohol expectancy scores were found to vary with drinking behavior and personality measures. Elevated expectancy scores were associated with higher quantity-frequency measures of drinking; however, no significant sex differences were obtained. Extroverted students expected more social and physical pleasure, more relaxation and less arousal with drinking. Students with higher levels of trait anxiety expected more global positive changes, sexual enhancement, social assertion and arousal. The association of drinking behavior and personality with expectancies appears to be independent and additive.     

Non-intercourse and intercourse hookup intentions,drinking expectancies,and college students’ heavy drinking

Background: The current study tested the associations between college students’ intentions to hookup (i.e., specifically intending to go out and engage in sexual behavior with a non-romantic partner) and self-reported heavy drinking. Further, social and sexual enhancement drinking expectancies were tested as moderators of those associations. Methods: College students (N = 235) reported (a) if they had specifically intended to hookup (reported separately for non-intercourse and intercourse hookup intentions) in the past 6 months; (b) social and sexual enhancement drinking expectancies; and (c) heavy drinking (a composite of past-30-day drinking frequency, typical amount consumed per drinking occasion, and how many times they got drunk). Data were analyzed using a hierarchical multiple regression (HMR), controlling for demographic variables. Results: Non-intercourse hookup intentions were positively associated with heavy drinking, but intercourse hookup intentions were not. Sexual but not social enhancement drinking expectancies moderated the associations between both types of hookup intentions and heavy drinking. Among those who had intended a non-intercourse hookup, heavy drinking was greater when they also reported high (+1 SD) sexual enhancement drinking expectancies. For intercourse hookup intentions, higher (+1 SD) sexual enhancement drinking expectancies were associated with less heavy drinking. Conclusions: Pursuing non-intercourse hookups appears to be associated with heavy drinking, but intercourse hookup intention is not. Sexual enhancement drinking expectancies moderated those associations. Thus, an interest in some types of casual sexual experiences may promote heavy drinking among college students.     

"This would be better drunk": alcohol expectancies become more positive while drinking in the college social environment

The current study examined whether drinking and/or presence in the college social environment led to augmented positive alcohol expectancies among college students (N=225). Participants were approached during popular drinking nights as they exited events at which alcohol was consumed or in front of their residence as they returned home. Participants completed a brief questionnaire that included an assessment of demographics, breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), and positive expectancies. Within 48 h of baseline assessment, participants received via email a follow-up survey that re-assessed positive expectancies while sober. Positive sexual expectancies were more strongly endorsed while drinking in the college social environment for both males and females, while males also reported heightened liquid courage expectancies. In addition, positive expectancies were more strongly endorsed at higher doses of alcohol for males but not females. These findings suggest that interventions which seek to prevent alcohol abuse by targeting alcohol expectancies may wish to challenge positive expectancies in naturalistic college social settings.     

Incorporating social anxiety into a model of college student problematic drinking

College problem drinking and social anxiety are significant public health concerns with highly negative consequences. College students are faced with a variety of novel social situations and situations encouraging alcohol consumption. The current study involved developing a path model of college problem drinking, including social anxiety, in 316 college students referred to an alcohol intervention due to a campus alcohol violation. Contrary to hypotheses, social anxiety generally had an inverse relationship with problem drinking. As expected, perceived drinking norms had important positive, direct effects on drinking variables. However, the results generally did not support the hypotheses regarding the mediating or moderating function of the valuations of expected effects and provided little support for the mediating function of alcohol expectancies in the relations among social anxiety and alcohol variables. Therefore, it seems that the influence of peers may be more important for college students than alcohol expectancies and valuations of alcohol's effects are. College students appear to be a unique population in respect to social anxiety and problem drinking. The implications of these results for college prevention and intervention programs were discussed.     

Sexual Experience and Risky Alcohol Consumption among Incoming First-Year College Females

This study examines the relationship between sexual experience and various drinking measures in 550 incoming first-year college females. During this transition period, sexually experienced participants reported stronger alcohol expectancies and endorsed higher drinking motives, and drank more frequently and in greater quantities than sexually inexperienced participants. Sexual status was also a significant predictor of alcohol-related nonsexual consequences, over and above amount consumed. Furthermore, controlling for drinking, sexual status moderated the relationship between coping motives and consequences. Among women who endorsed strong coping motives for drinking, sexual experience was linked to greater nonsexual alcohol-related consequences. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Acculturation, gender, and alcohol use among Mexican American college students

Prior research with non-college samples of Mexican Americans has demonstrated that gender moderates the association between acculturation and alcohol use. We replicated this finding in a college student sample and attempted to account for the differential impact of acculturation on Mexican American men and women by examining the mediating effects of social context, family conflict and psychological functioning. Participants were 148 Mexican Americans (67% female; M age 23 years) from three state universities in California and Texas who completed self-report surveys. In multivariate analyses controlling for age, maternal education, living situation, and site, linguistic acculturation was associated with increased alcohol use and misuse among women but not men. Two social context variables (social facilitation and family drinking) mediated the association between acculturation and alcohol use (heavy drinking, past year alcohol use, and a composite drinking variable) among women. The findings highlight the importance of social context for understanding alcohol use by Latina college students and indicate directions for future research and intervention development.     

"I'll never drink like that again": characteristics of alcohol-related incidents and predictors of motivation to change in college students

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol use and its associated behaviors are among the most common reasons for medical treatment and disciplinary infractions among college students. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of students who had recent serious alcohol-related incidents and to identify predictors of motivation to change alcohol use and heavy drinking in particular, with specific attention to gender. METHOD: Students (N = 227; 52% female) who had been mandated to attend a session of alcohol education following alcohol-related medical treatment and/or a disciplinary infraction were assessed on their alcohol use, alcohol problems, characteristics of their alcohol-related incident, reactions to the incident, attributions about the incident, and motivation to change drinking and heavy drinking. Path and regression analyses were used to identify the individual and incident-related characteristics that were related to motivation to change. RESULTS: Perceived aversiveness of the incident was directly and positively related to motivation to change drinking and heavy drinking. Alcohol consumption in the month before the incident and past-year alcohol problems were negatively related to motivation to change heavy drinking, and women were more motivated to change heavy drinking than men. The more students consumed in the incident, the more likely they were to feel responsible for it, and the more responsible they felt about the incident, the greater its aversiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Individual and incident-related characteristics are both directly and indirectly associated with motivation to change following an alcohol-related incident, and therefore have implications for interventions with college drinkers who have experienced an alcohol-related incident.