Validation of factor structures of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire among the Czech young and adult general population

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use is one of the leading public health concerns in the Czech Republic. Drinking motives play a vital role in both initiation and subsequent alcohol use. A revised version of the self-report Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ-R) has been proposed to assess these motives. The present study aims to validate the DMQ-R in the Czech general population.

METHODS

A total sample of 1,784 Czech participants completed a national survey. For the analysis, only a sub-sample of the past 12 months alcohol users was used: N = 1,123; 52.8% male; mean (SD) age = 40.2 (13.3). Drinking motives were assessed by the adopted Czech version of the DMQ-R. Both confirmatory (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted to examine the factorial structure of the instrument. The age of the participant was additionally considered in the analysis (15-24 years as opposed to 25-64 years).

RESULTS

The CFA supported the four-factor model in the 25-64 age group. The analysis supported the construct validity of the Social, Conformity, and Coping factors. The Enhancement factor retained only two items and was found to refer more to a domain of 'Pleasant Feeling'. For the 15-24 age group, the hypothesised four-factor structure was not corroborated.

CONCLUSIONS

The Czech version of the DMQ-R was found to be a reliable measurement tool of the Social, Conformity, and Coping motives. Future research should investigate the dimensionality of the instrument items presumed to correspond to the Enhancement motives. This should be conducted particularly among adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years, where administering the DMQ-R with a large enough sample is also needed.

Confirming Eight-Factor Structure of the Substance Use Motives Measure in a Sample of US College Students

The 2020 National Survey on Drug Use indicates nearly three quarters of individuals ages 18-25 have used substances in the past year. Research suggests individuals who use substances to cope with negative mood states are typically more substance-involved, report more psychological distress, and have a more extensive treatment history. Additionally, the high rate of polysubstance use among substance using adults in the U.S. highlights the need for broadband measures that can adequately capture use, consequences, and motivations for use of multiple substances. However, most measures assessing motives for use are typically substance specific. Recently, Biolcati and Passini (2019) developed a brief, but comprehensive model of broad substance use motives (i.e., Substance Use Motives Measure, SUMM) based on well-established motives questionnaires (e.g., DMQ-R, MMQ). They found support for their proposed eight-factor model in an online sample of Italian citizens (ages 18-60). No studies to date have examined the psychometric properties of the SUMM with an English-speaking or US college student sample. The current study evaluates the factor structure of the SUMM in a sample of 143 college students (74.8% female, 77.6% White, and 94.4% non-Hispanic/Latinx) at a large, southeastern university in the United States. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis showed support for the previously identified eight-factor structure for the SUMM, with acceptable model fit and internal consistency of each factor found. Findings support using the SUMM as a broad measure of substance use motives, but more research is needed to assess measurement invariance across different groups and to evaluate external, concurrent, and convergent validity using other well-established measures of substance use motives, severity, and psychiatric symptomatology.

PTSD Symptom Severity and Alcohol Use among Firefighters: The Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties

OBJECTIVE

Heightened rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol use have been documented among firefighters. Emotion regulation difficulties (ERD) are clinically relevant to both PTSD and alcohol use. Few studies have examined the role of ERD in the association of PTSD symptoms with alcohol use severity and alcohol use motives among firefighters. Thus, the present investigation examined the indirect effect of PTSD symptom severity on alcohol use severity and alcohol use motives through ERD.

METHODS

The sample was comprised of 685 firefighters (Mage = 38.65, SD = 8.57, 93.6% male) recruited from an urban fire department in the southern U.S. to complete an online survey. Indirect effects were calculated using 10,000 bootstrapped samples. Effects were examined after accounting for years of fire service, occupational stress, trauma load (i.e., number of traumatic event types experienced); in models evaluating alcohol use motives as outcomes, other alcohol use motives (i.e., alternate motives subscales) were included as additional covariates.

RESULTS

First, ERD explained the association of PTSD symptom severity with alcohol use coping motives (β = .01, SE = .003, 95% CI [.004-.01]). Furthermore, ERD did not significantly account for the association of PTSD symptom severity with alcohol use severity (β = .02, SE = .01, 95% CI [-.004-.04]), alcohol use enhancement motives (β = -.003, SE = .002, 95%CI [-.007-.000]), alcohol use social motives (β = .004, SE = .002, 95% CI [-.000-.01]), or alcohol use conformity motives (β = -.002, SE = .002, 95% CI [-.006-.02]).

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrated that, among firefighters, PTSD symptom severity is positively related to alcohol use coping motives through heightened ERD. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Sensation seeking, drinking motives, and going out mediate the link between eveningness and alcohol use and problems in adolescence

The present study was aimed at obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of the possible mediating factors in the morningness-eveningness → alcohol consumption relation. We explored the role of mediators such as sensation seeking, the frequency of going out in the evenings, and drinking motives. We tested the proposed mediation model via structural equation modeling based on cross-sectional research conducted among Hungarian adolescents and young adults (N = 1695, 42.5% male, Mage = 18.98, SDage = 1.89). The outcomes included the frequency of alcohol consumption and problematic drinking. Both alcohol consumption and problematic drinking were predicted in similar directions and magnitudes by sensation seeking, "going out," and coping drinking motives. However, eveningness still had a significant direct effect on alcohol consumption and problematic drinking after we controlled for sensation seeking, going out, and drinking motives. For problematic drinking, the possible role of drinking motives seems to be higher and more complex than it is for alcohol consumption. The mediators, such as sensation seeking, the amount of time spent out in the evenings, and drinking motives, can explain the eveningness → alcohol consumption relationship and should be targeted for alcohol prevention programs among evening-type adolescents.

Examining the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Short Form among university students in Australia, New Zealand and Argentina

INTRODUCTION

The Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (DMQ-R-SF) is widely used among alcohol researchers studying adolescents and young adults. The psychometric properties of the DMQ-R-SF have been examined among university students in many countries, but to our knowledge, not in Australia, New Zealand or Argentina. We sought to examine the reliability and endorsement of the items on the DMQ-R-SF, and test the associations between the DMQ-R-SF subscales and alcohol use, and negative alcohol consequences between university students from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

METHOD

University students (N = 820) in Australia (n = 315), New Zealand (n = 265) and Argentina (n = 240) completed a confidential online alcohol survey which included the DMQ-R-SF, the Daily Drinking Questionnaire and the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Using the alignment method, support for the four-factor model on the DMQ-R-SF emerged and the factor loadings for 11 of the 12 items were invariant across sites. Most items (8 out of 12) on the DMQ-R-SF were fully invariant across all sites, but some small differences in item reliability for one item, and endorsement for three items emerged between the sites. Across the three countries, coping motives were positively correlated with negative alcohol consequences. Enhancement motives were positively associated with both alcohol use and negative alcohol consequences among students from Australia and New Zealand.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Most items on the DMQ-R-SF were comparably reliable among the university students sampled from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. Our preliminary findings suggest that the DMQ-R-SF can be reliably used with university students from these countries.

Examining the factors shaping consumer attitude towards the popular alcoholic beverages in Hungary

The study of consumer attitudes is particularly important for products related to tradition. Pálinka is Hungary's national beverage; the homemade distillate is primarily legally different from pálinka and it cannot be marketed. The main goal of the research is to analyse the role of the three attitude components (cognitive, affective and conative), consumer ethnocentrism and drinking motives in shaping the consumer attitude towards the Hungarian pálinka and the homemade distillate and a popular, but not Hungarian beverage, whisky.

Data were collected by questionnaires using a quota sampling method, resulting in a sample of 626 respondents.

In this paper we demonstrate the importance of the affective component using structural equation modelling, and the way consumer ethnocentrism influences the favorable consumer attitude to homemade distillate through emotions. The study has revealed the opposite effect of consumer ethnocentrism in the case of whisky, and the lack of effect in the case of pálinka.

The social alcohol drinking motivation also shapes the favorable consumer attitudes towards the homemade distillate and whisky. The consumer preference is also supported by using the Multiattribute Attitude Model and the conjoint-analysis.

The scientific value of the study lies in using different methods for understanding the factors that can shape the consumer attitude towards national beverages.

Improving the consumer attitude towards pálinka requires a comprehensive marketing strategy covering all three attitudinal components, and from a consumer ethnocentrism perspective, the positioning of pálinka as a national drink needs to be strengthened by the producers.

The study has ignored the role of brand, tradition, packaging and nostalgia. Future research can examine the role of these factors in consumer attitude towards national alcoholic beverages. By inserting the conceptual model of this study into the Theory of Planned Behaviour model, the effects of the subjective norms and perceived behavioral control can also be analysed.

Development of a 20-item questionnaire for drinking behavior pattern (DBP-20) toward personalized behavioral approaches for alcohol use disorder

Although screening tools are available for alcohol use disorders (AUD), such as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), these tools do not directly characterize individual drinking behavior for patients with AUD. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a new self-report questionnaire to identify the characteristics of drinking behavior patterns in patients with AUD.The study team developed a self-administered 20-item questionnaire for drinking behavior pattern (DBP-20) based on semi-structured interviews of patients with AUD. The DBP-20 and AUDIT were administered to 232 patients with AUD and 222 normal drinkers (1 ≤ AUDIT <20) as controls. Exploratory factor analysis of the DBP-20 was conducted for patients with AUD, followed by comparisons of its item and subscale scores between patients with AUD and controls. Correlations of AUDIT with total and subscale scores of the DBP-20 were also analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses for the DBP-20 and its subscales were performed to distinguish patients with AUD from controls.Exploratory factor analysis revealed a multidimensional 4-factor model of the DBP-20: coping with negative affect, automaticity, enhancement, and social use. Significant differences in DBP-20 total and subscale scores were observed for patients with AUD versus controls for all factors, except the social use subscale. Both the coping with negative affect and automaticity subscale scores as well as total DBP-20 scores were highly correlated with AUDIT scores. Total DBP-20 scores showed the greatest sensitivity, negative predictive value, and area under the ROC curve to distinguish patients with AUD from normal drinkers.Drinking as a means of coping with negative affect and automaticity may be specific for patients with AUD. DBP-20 may help patients with AUD to be aware of their own targeted problematic drinking behaviors and to seek their personalized behavioral approaches in a collaborative relationship with therapists.

Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised: Psychometric Validation in a Psychiatric Sample of Young Adults with Predominantly Polysubstance Use

INTRODUCTION

Measures of motives for alcohol use provide an important avenue for understanding underlying psychological reasons that drive substance use and predict distinct patterns of use. The Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (MDMQ-R; Grant, Stewart, O'Connor, Blackwell, Conrod, 2007) measures five drinking motives: social, enhancement, conformity, coping-with-anxiety, and coping-with-depression. The MDMQ-R and its predecessors have previously been validated only in non-clinical normative samples.

PURPOSE

Therefore, the present study aimed to validate the factor structure and internal consistency of the MDMQ-R in a diverse psychiatric sample of substance-using young adults that presented with either exclusive alcohol use or polysubstance use.

METHOD

Participants were 255 substance-using young adults (18-26 years; M = 21.17) admitted to the young adult partial hospitalization treatment program at a private psychiatric hospital (62% female; 78% White; 43% students).

RESULTS

A confirmatory factor analysis revealed that items loaded on their respective latent factors (ps < 0.01; loadings between 0.50 and 0.90; reliabilities between 0.80 and 0.94). However, goodness of fit statistics were not reflective of model fit found in Grant et al. (2007) in the overall sample, as well as in alcohol-only and polysubstance-using samples.

DISCUSSION

Results suggest that the factor structure of the MDMQ-R did not replicate in the present sample. Potential explanations and future directions are discussed in light of the results, including generalizability and clinical utility.

The Effects of Sleep Quality and Resilience on Perceived Stress, Dietary Behaviors, and Alcohol Misuse: A Mediation-Moderation Analysis of Higher Education Students from Asia, Europe, and North America during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the already high levels of stress that higher education students experience. Stress influences health behaviors, including those related to dietary behaviors, alcohol, and sleep; yet the effects of stress can be mitigated by resilience. To date, past research studying the connections between dietary behaviors, alcohol misuse, sleep, and resilience commonly investigated singular relationships between two of the constructs. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationships between these constructs in a more holistic manner using mediation and moderation analyses.

METHODS

Higher education students from China, Ireland, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and the United States were enrolled in a cross-sectional study from April to May 2020, which was during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic for most participants. An online survey, using validated tools, was distributed to assess perceived stress, dietary behaviors, alcohol misuse, sleep quality and duration, and resilience.

RESULTS

2254 students completed the study. Results indicated that sleep quality mediated the relationship between perceived stress and dietary behaviors as well as the relationship between perceived stress and alcohol misuse. Further, increased resilience reduced the strength of the relationship between perceived stress and dietary behaviors but not alcohol misuse.

CONCLUSION

Based on these results, higher education students are likely to benefit from sleep education and resilience training, especially during stressful events.

The Role of Psychological Distress in the Relationship between Drinking Motives and Hazardous Drinking in Older Adults

INTRODUCTION

Drinking motives seem to be the most proximal predictors of alcohol outcomes. Consequently, these are an essential factor to consider as they may influence the extent to which alcohol is used in a risky way, even in older adults.

OBJECTIVE

We studied the moderating effect of distress on the relationship between drinking motives and drinking behaviour in a community-dwelling older adult sample.

METHOD

In a retrospective cross-sectional research study, participants were community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older. All respondents completed a questionnaire covering the Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the General Severity Index (GSI) of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI).

RESULTS

In this sample of 1,148 older adults, drinking motives and hazardous alcohol use were associated (enhancement motives r = 0.478, p < 0.001; coping motives r = 0.367, p < 0.001; and social motives r = 0.235, p < 0.001). Furthermore, moderation analysis showed that older adults drinking predominantly for enhancement or coping motives (respectively, β = 0.433, CI [95%] = 2.557-3.222 and β = 0.327, CI [95%] = 1.077-1.491, p < 0.001), and older adults who had higher levels of psychological distress (β = 2.518, CI [95%] = 2.017-3.019, p < 0.001) were more likely to report higher degree of hazardous alcohol use.

CONCLUSION

The relations between coping drinking motives and enhancement drinking motives on hazardous drinking depended on the level of distress. The associations between drinking for coping and drinking for enhancement were stronger in high levels of distress. Although causality cannot be interpreted from cross-sectional data, tackling psychological distress and drinking to cope with negative affect or to enhance positive affect might have strong effects on reducing hazardous drinking behaviour among older adults.

Patterns and temporal change of psychopathological symptoms among inpatients with alcohol use disorder undergoing a twelve-step based treatment

•

Psychopathological symptom profiles and trajectories were examined among AUD inpatients.

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Three quantitatively different subgroups were identified in terms of psychopathological symptoms.

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Classes were discriminated by different psychopathological symptom change trajectories.

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Subgroups with more severe psychopathological symptoms used alcohol in a more harmful way.

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Drinking of the more severely affected classes were more motivated by coping and conformity motives.

Background

Patients diagnosed with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) present an increased risk for experiencing severe internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Involvement in twelve-step based treatment programs, such as the Minnesota Model (MM), can contribute to improvement of an individual’s psychopathological symptom profile. The present study’s main objective was to examine profiles and change trajectories of psychopathological symptoms of AUD subgroups during an eight-week long period of MM treatment attendance.

Method

Inpatients with AUD (N = 303) who attended MM treatment programs participated in the present study. Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) was used to evaluate the psychopathological symptom change trajectories assessed by using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Multiple comparisons and multinomial logistic regression were performed to validate the subgroups.

Results

Three subgroups were identified: low severity (48.5%), moderate severity (35.2%), and high severity (16.2%) symptomatic subgroups. The moderate severity class demonstrated the largest effect in terms of symptoms decrease. Higher severity classes showed significantly higher rates of harmful alcohol drinking and drinking motives.

Conclusions

The present study identified three severity-based subgroups which indicate that psychopathology sits on a spectrum of severity among AUD patients. The findings highlight the associations between AUD and internalizing symptoms, negative reinforcement drinking motives, and the symptomatic improvement that can occur among those participating in MM treatment programs.

An examination of the extent to which drinking motives and problem alcohol consumption vary as a function of deprivation, gender and age

INTRODUCTION

Existing research points to a link between socioeconomic factors, alcohol consumption and harms, while another body of work documents the importance of varying motivations to drink in shaping alcohol behaviours. Yet, little is currently known about the extent to which alcohol consumption may be differentially associated with drinking motives as a function of deprivation, gender and age.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of data from a UK sample aged between 18 and 75 years (n = 1639; 51% male, Mage 47.74, SD 14.66). Structural equation modelling, using clustering to account for the multi-level nature of the data set, was carried out to assesses the relationships between deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation), occupation, age, gender and problem alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) and social, conformity, enhancement and coping drinking motives.

RESULTS

Coping, enhancement and conformity, but not social, motives were associated with problem alcohol consumption. Drinking motives were stronger predictors of problem consumption than gender and age, with motives tending to be endorsed more strongly by younger and male respondents. Responses from participants with working-class occupations tended to be characterised by elevated endorsements of coping motives.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Drinking motives are stronger predictors of problem alcohol consumption than socio-demographic variables although these factors exert influences on people's motives to drink.

Alcohol consumption and risk for feeding and eating disorders in adolescence: The mediating role of drinking motives

BACKGROUND

A complex and bidirectional association has been assumed between feeding and eating disorders (FEDs) and alcohol consumption. Previous research has demonstrated that alcohol use among individuals with different forms of FEDs is more frequently motivated by two subtypes of internal drinking motives: coping and enhancement motives. Namely, these individuals might use alcohol primarily to regulate internal states, such as to mitigate negative emotions or enhance positive emotions.

OBJECTIVES

The present study investigated the mediating role of internal drinking motives on the association between risk for FEDs and alcohol consumption over the effects of relevant covariates, such as depressive symptoms or body mass index (BMI).

METHODS

Hungarian data of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) from 2015 were used. The final sample included responses from 5457 adolescents (50% males; mean age: 16.62 years). Validated self-report psychometric instruments assessed the level of alcohol use, depressive symptoms and risk for FEDs, and drinking motives.

RESULTS

Risk for FEDs presented a significant positive relationship with internal drinking motives and alcohol use. In the mediation analysis, a significant indirect effect was identified between risk for FEDs and alcohol use via internal drinking motives among females.

CONCLUSIONS

Results demonstrated that risk for FEDs was positively associated with internal drinking motives and alcohol use. An indirect effect of risk for FEDs on alcohol consumption via internal drinking motives was discriminated over the impact of depressive symptoms. However, the latter relationship was only found among females which may highlight the gender differences in the relationship between risk for FEDs and alcohol use.

Posttraumatic stress, alcohol use severity, and alcohol use motives among firefighters: The role of anxiety sensitivity

INTRODUCTION

Firefighters are vulnerable to developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is a cognitive-affective mechanism with clinical relevance to both PTSD and AUD. The current study examined the potential role of AS in the association of PTSD symptomatology with alcohol use severity and alcohol use motives among a large sample of firefighters. Heightened PTSD and high AS were expected to be associated with alcohol use severity and coping-oriented alcohol use motives. Heightened PTSD symptomatology was expected to be indirectly associated with alcohol use severity and coping motives through high AS. Covariates included number of years in the fire service and the number of traumatic event types endorsed.

METHODS

Participants included 652 urban firefighters (93.3% male; M_age = 38.7, SD = 8.57). Firefighters completed an online questionnaire battery.

RESULTS

PTSD symptomatology was positively associated with alcohol use and coping motives. AS was positively associated with alcohol use coping motives but not alcohol use severity. AS partially explained the association between PTSD symptomatology and coping, conformity, and social motives, but did not significantly account for the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and enhancement motives or alcohol use severity.

CONCLUSIONS

Among firefighters, the association between PTSD and alcohol use coping, conformity, and social motives is partially accounted for by AS. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Posttraumatic stress, alcohol use, and alcohol use motives among firefighters: The role of distress tolerance

Firefighters represent a unique, vulnerable population at high risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology due to the high rates of occupational exposure to traumatic events. To inform specialized alcohol use interventions for firefighters, it is important to understand relevant malleable cognitive-affective factors related to PTSD and AUD symptoms. Distress tolerance (DT), defined as the perceived ability to withstand negative emotional states, is one promising factor relevant to this domain. The current study examined the moderating role of DT in the association of PTSD symptom severity with alcohol use severity and alcohol use motives. Participants included 652 trauma-exposed firefighters (93.3% male; M_age = 38.7 years, SD = 8.6) who endorsed lifetime (ever) alcohol use. Results indicated that there was a significant interactive effect of PTSD symptom severity and DT on coping-oriented alcohol use motives but not other alcohol-related outcomes. These findings were evident after adjusting for alcohol consumption, romantic relationship status, number of years in the fire service, occupational stress, and trauma load. This is the first study to concurrently examine these variables among firefighters and this line of inquiry has great potential to inform intervention efforts for this vulnerable, understudied population.

The Relationship Between Pain Severity and Alcohol Use Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Drinking Motives

Objective

Evidence from adult samples suggests a co-occurrence between pain and alcohol abuse. However, studies in adolescents are scarce and results are inconsistent, with some studies observing heightened and others observing reduced alcohol consumption in adolescents suffering from pain. We hypothesized that in adolescents the association between pain and alcohol use will be moderated by drinking motives.

Methods

Data from a large representative sample of Flemish school children and adolescents (N = 10,650, 50.8% boys, age range = 10-21 years, Mage = 14.33 years) were collected as part of the World Health Organization collaborative Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey. Pain severity was graded based on a pediatric pain classification system that accounts for both pain intensity and disability. Alcohol consumption was operationalized using two variables: frequency of drinking and drunkenness. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised was used to capture drinking motives; it assesses four motive categories (enhancement, coping, social, and conformity).

Results

Findings indicated that higher pain severity was associated with greater frequency of alcohol use and drunkenness. However, drinking motives moderated this association. The positive association between pain severity and drinking frequency was stronger in case of high conformity motives. Likewise, the association between pain severity and drunkenness frequency was stronger at high levels of conformity motives and reached significance only at high levels of coping motives.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that specific drinking motives are linked to problematic alcohol use in adolescents with pain. Future studies using a longitudinal design are needed to draw conclusions about direction of effects.

Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire – Revised Among Irish Drinkers

Abstract. Motives ascribed to drinking represent an important area of investigation in alcohol research. The most commonly used measure is the 20-item Drinking Motives Questionnaire – Revised (DMQ-R: Cooper, 1994 ), which assesses four motives: Enhancement, Social, Coping, and Conformity. Although researchers in Europe have begun to assess the DMQ-R, to date, no published assessment has been undertaken among English-speaking, non-American samples. The current study addressed this omission by conducting exploratory ( N = 437) and confirmatory ( Ns = 437 and 344) factor analyses with Irish participants. A three-factor solution was optimal: Coping (four items), Conformity (five items), and Positive Motives (seven items). The need to conduct culturally specific psychometric testing is discussed as are directions for future research.

Cross-cultural examination of negative alcohol-related consequences: Measurement invariance of the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire in Spain, Argentina, and USA

The present study examined measurement invariance of the 48-item, 8-factor, Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) across nationality in college students from the United States, Spain, and Argentina. We also compared latent mean differences and criterion-related validity (i.e., correlation with other alcohol-related outcomes) across countries. Last month drinkers (1,511) from the United States (n = 774, 70.5% female), Argentina (n = 439, 50.6% female), and Spain (n = 298, 72.1% female) completed an online survey measuring alcohol use, drinking motives, college alcohol beliefs, and negative alcohol-related consequences. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses supported configural and scalar invariance of a 47-item, 8-factor YAACQ across countries. Overall, the correlation analysis supported criterion-related validity (i.e., strong bivariate correlations between the 8 subscales and alcohol consumption, drinking motives and college alcohol beliefs) across countries. Some nonsignificant bivariate correlations and differences in the magnitude of the correlations across countries are discussed. Our findings expand previous work, mostly focused on U.S. samples, by supporting the YAACQ as an adequate measure to assess alcohol-related consequences in youths across countries marked by unique cultural traditions, attitudes, and policies pertaining to alcohol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Posttraumatic stress, alcohol use, and alcohol use reasons in firefighters: The role of sleep disturbance

BACKGROUND

Firefighters are at elevated risk for posttraumatic stress and alcohol use, with research indicating that individuals with posttraumatic stress are likely to use alcohol as a coping strategy. A behavioral mechanism of clinical relevance to these associations is sleep disturbance. Thus, it was hypothesized that higher posttraumatic stress and sleep disturbance would be associated with higher alcohol use and alcohol use coping reasons; and sleep disturbance would moderate the association between posttraumatic stress and alcohol use and alcohol use coping reasons.

PROCEDURE

Participants included 639 urban career firefighters (93.6% male; 77.9% White; Mage = 38.5). Covariates included fire department years and occupational stress. Structural equation models were tested.

RESULTS

Posttraumatic stress severity was significantly, positively associated with alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping reasons. Similarly, sleep disturbance severity was significantly, positively associated with alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping reasons. After accounting for covariates and main effects, the interaction of PTSD severity and sleep disturbance was significantly associated with alcohol use severity, with the model accounting for 23.6% of variance, and alcohol use coping reasons, with the model accounting for 37.6% of variance. As predicted, the interaction of posttraumatic stress severity and sleep disturbance was not significantly associated with alcohol use enhancement, conformity, or social reasons.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that posttraumatic stress severity is related to heightened alcohol use severity and alcohol use coping reasons, and this association is markedly stronger when firefighters' levels of sleep disturbance are heightened. Clinical and research implications are to be discussed.

Difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse: A path analysis

INTRODUCTION

Alcohol and drugs are widely used among college students. Emotion dysregulation has been identified as a key mechanism in the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of alcohol and drug misuse. Yet, research in this area has been limited by its narrow focus on dysregulation stemming from negative emotions. The goal of the current study was to extend past research by examining the relation of difficulties regulating positive emotions to alcohol and drug misuse.

METHODS

Participants were 311 college students (M_age = 19.24; 66.1% female; 66.0% White) who completed measures assessing difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse.

RESULTS

Structural equational modeling was used to model the relation between difficulties regulating positive emotions and alcohol and drug misuse. In a hypothesized structural model, higher levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions were found to relate to greater alcohol and drug misuse. Moreover, an alternative model provided support for an association of greater drug (but not alcohol) misuse to higher levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions.

CONCLUSIONS

If replicated, findings may suggest the utility of targeting difficulties regulating positive emotions in treatments aimed at reducing alcohol and drug misuse among college students.

Daily relationship between positive affect and drinking to cope: the moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use is highly prevalent and linked to a wide range of negative outcomes among college students. Although emotion dysregulation has been theoretically and empirically linked to alcohol use, few studies have examined emotion dysregulation stemming from positive emotions.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the current study was to extend extant research by using daily diary methods to examine the potentially moderating role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the daily relation between positive affect and alcohol use to cope with social and non-social stressors.

METHODS

Participants were 165 college students (M age = 20.04; 55.2% male) who completed a baseline questionnaire assessing difficulties regulating positive emotions. Participants then responded to questions regarding state positive emotions and alcohol use once a day for 14 days.

RESULTS

Difficulties regulating positive emotions moderated the daily relation between positive affect stemming from social stressors and alcohol use to cope with social stressors. Positive affect stemming from social stressors predicted alcohol use to cope with social stressors with high (but not low) levels of difficulties regulating positive emotions.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings underscore the potential utility of targeting difficulties regulating positive emotions in treatments aimed at reducing alcohol use to cope with social stressors among college students.

Psychometric Properties of Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) in Spanish Adolescents

Abstract. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R; Cooper, 1994 ) is the most widely used questionnaire to assess drinking motives. This research aimed to adapt and study the validity and reliability of the Spanish DMQ-R and its short form in a sample of adolescents. We assessed 504 drinkers at Time 1 (T1, Mage = 14.15, SD = 0.60, 52.38% female), of whom 238 participated in a 1-year follow-up (T2, Mage = 15.05, SD = 0.54, 58.82% female). They completed the DMQ-R at T1, the alcohol use measure at T1 and T2, and the alcohol-related problems questionnaire at T2. We performed Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFAs) to test the structure validity of the questionnaire, Cronbach’s alphas to test the internal consistencies of the scales, and path analyses to test the concurrent and predictive validity of motives on alcohol outcomes. CFA indicated that the short form of the 4-factor model best fitted the data. Cronbach’s alphas were .70 or higher. Direct effects of the path analysis showed that social motives cross-sectionally predicted alcohol use, while coping motives prospectively predicted alcohol-related problems. Indirect effects showed that social motives prospectively predicted alcohol use and problems. To conclude, the DMQ-R short form appears to be reliable and valid to assess drinking motives among Spanish adolescents.

Problem drinking among Flemish students: beverage type, early drinking onset and negative personal & social consequences

Background

Although alcohol is socially accepted in most Western societies, studies are clear about its associated negative consequences, especially among university and college students. Studies on the relationship between alcohol-related consequences and both beverage type and drinking onset, however, are scarce, especially in a European context. The aim of this research was, therefore, twofold: (1) What is the relationship between beverage type and the negative consequences experienced by students? and (2) Are these consequences determined by early drinking onset? We will examine these questions within the context of a wide range of alcohol-related consequences.

Methods

The analyses are based on data collected by the inter-university project ‘Head in the clouds?’, measuring alcohol use among students in Flanders (Belgium). In total, a large dataset consisting of information from 19,253 anonymously participating students was available. Negative consequences were measured using a shortened version of the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (CADS_D). Data were analysed using negative binomial regression.

Results

Results vary depending on the type of alcohol-related consequences: Personal negative consequences occur frequently among daily beer drinkers. However, a high rate of social negative consequences was recorded for both daily beer drinkers and daily spirits drinkers. Finally, early drinking onset was significantly associated with both personal and social negative consequences, and this association was especially strong between beer and spirits drinking onset and social negative consequences.

Conclusions

Numerous negative consequences, both personal and social, are related to frequent beer and spirits drinking. Our findings indicate a close association between drinking beer and personal negative consequences as well as between drinking beer and/or spirits and social negative consequences. Similarly, early drinking onset has a major influence on the rates of both personal and social negative consequences. The earlier students started drinking, the more negative consequences they experienced during college or university. Several (policy) interventions are discussed. This study is the first to incorporate detailed information on both beverage type and drinking onset, and its associated negative consequences, as measured by the CADS_D, in a large student population.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5120-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparing the predictive validity of the four-factor and five-factor (bifactor) measurement structures of the drinking motives questionnaire

INTRODUCTION

The Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ-R) is the most widely administered instrument to assess reasons for consuming alcohol and is conventionally premised on a four-factor structure. Recent research instead reveals that a bifactor measurement model of five motive factors (one general and four specific) represents a superior psychometric embodiment of the scale. The current study evaluated and compared the predictive validity of the four-factor and five-factor models of drinking motives in longitudinally explaining alcohol use and problems.

METHODS

Adult participants (N=413; age range=18-79 years) completed measures of drinking motives (Time 1) and alcohol use and problems one month later (Time 2).

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analyses corroborated the four-factor (social, enhancement, conformity, and coping motives) and five-factor (each item double loading on general motives and a specific motives factor) measurement structures, but the latter rendered stronger fit indices. Structural equation models revealed that lower social motives, higher enhancement motives, and higher coping motives prospectively contributed to alcohol use. Furthermore, lower social motives, higher conformity motives, higher coping motives, and greater alcohol use contributed to alcohol problems.

DISCUSSION

The same set of paths emerged as significantly predictive in both models, but general motives additionally explained alcohol use and problems in the five-factor model. The incremental contribution of general motives (beyond the specific motives) on alcohol intake and detrimental consequences supports the predictive validity of the drinking reasons paradigm embodied by the inclusion of a global factor.

Who does not cut down? Comparing characteristics and drinking motives of drinkers and abstainers during the exam periods

OBJECTIVE

Drinking alcohol during the exams can affect academic performance and future career options, but is rarely investigated. Drinking motives, sociodemographics and personality characteristics are investigated in nonabstainers and weekly drinkers during the exams.

PARTICIPANTS

7,181 Belgian university students who anonymously responded to an email invitation to an online survey.

METHODS

Logistic regressions and mixed design analysis of variance on cross-sectional data.

RESULTS

One-third of the students continued drinking during the exams, with 40% drinking weekly. Nonabstainers were mainly men, elder, internally motivated when drinking, and housed with parents or independently. Weekly drinkers were similar, except mainly housed in student apartments or independently. Personality characteristics were nonsignificant. All drinking motives were less pronounced during the exams, with smaller differences for internal motives.

CONCLUSIONS

Mainly linked to internal drinking motives, drinking during the exams in higher education is underestimated. The characteristics and motives of students doing so can be used in future interventions.

Relationship of drinking motives with alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems identified in a representative community-based study from Ningxia, China

BACKGROUND

Drinking motives have been linked to alcohol consumption and drinking-related problems in western countries, but evidence about this relationship is largely lacking for Asian countries. We aim to assess the relationship between drinking motives and drinking-related outcomes in China, where alcohol use disorders are an increasingly important contributor to the overall burden of illness.

METHODS

Validated Chinese versions of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) were used to assess drinking motives and drinking-related outcomes among 612 current drinkers identified from a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 2425 adults living in Ningxia Province in 2013. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the relationships linking specific drinking motives ('enhancement', 'conformity', 'social' and 'coping') to drinking-related outcomes ('level of alcohol consumption', 'alcohol dependence' and 'adverse consequences').

FINDINGS

The enhancement motive is significantly associated with the level of alcohol consumption (β=0.52, 95% CI=0.27, 0.78). The conformity motive is associated with higher levels of alcohol dependence (β=0.74, 95% CI=0.50, 0.98) and adverse consequences of drinking (β=0.43, 95% CI=0.04, 0.81). The social motive and drinking to cope motive are not significantly associated with any of the three drinking outcomes.

INTERPRETATION

The relationships between drinking motives and drinking-related outcomes in China are quite different from those reported in western countries. This study highlights the need to consider local context when adapting prevention or intervention strategies developed in western countries to address the problem of the harmful use of alcohol in China.

Comparison of the Original and Short Form Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised With High School and Underage College Student Drinkers

Cooper developed and provided initial support for the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R). More recently, Kuntsche and Kuntsche introduced the briefer DMQ-R SF. Psychometric properties of the DMQ-R and the DMQ-R SF were examined in samples of high school (n = 131) and underage college student drinkers (n = 189). The original and short-form versions of the DMQ-R were similar with regard to composite score validity, concurrent validity, and internal consistency. Only the Enhancement Motives subscale showed slight decrements in reliability and validity for the short form. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the DMQ-R SF was associated with slightly better goodness-of-fit and invariant factor loadings between the high school and college student samples. Despite its briefer form and reduced task demands for participants, the DMQ-R SF appears to provide nearly equivalent, and in some instances slightly improved, measurement of drinking motives in underage drinkers as does the original DMQ-R.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and substance abuse: An investigation in young Austrian males

BACKGROUND

Many studies have found an association between Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children, adolescents and adults. We intended to determine whether substance abuse and SUDs are associated with former and current ADHD symptomatology in a non-clinical sample of 17 and 18 year old males.

METHOD

A representative sample of 3280 young men (6.8% of all males born in Austria in the respective year) was investigated during the examination for military service. We collected data on past (WURS) and current (ADHD symptom checklist) ADHD symptomatology, substance abuse, parental substance use and abuse and motives for substance use.

RESULTS

Measured by WURS, 10.1% had scored positive for past ADHD symptoms. 2.7% of all subjects stated that they have been treated for ADHD and 1.5% reported that they had at one point received pharmacological treatment for the condition. Abuse of alcohol, nicotine and illicit substances was significantly (p<.01) more frequent in subjects with ADHD syndrome. Perceived parental alcohol abuse increased the risk for ADHD in the offspring. Motives for substance use differed greatly between groups.

LIMITATIONS

The sample consists of men only. Subjects had to be fit enough to be enlisted military service, generating a possible bias towards healthier subjects. The cross-sectional design does not allow conclusions about the temporal relationships between ADHD symptoms and substance abuse.

CONCLUSION

Identification of vulnerability factors for comorbid ADHD and SUD in adolescence should be intensified. Preventive strategies ought to be established.

Alcohol use from adolescence through early adulthood: an assessment of measurement invariance by age and gender

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Studies on alcohol use and related constructs rarely test for measurement invariance to assess the reliability and validity of measures of alcohol use across different subpopulations of interest or ages. This failure to consider measurement invariance may result in biased parameter estimates and inferences. This study aimed to test measurement invariance of alcohol use across gender and age using a US nationally representative sample to inform future longitudinal studies assessing alcohol use.

DESIGN

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a school-based, nationally representative longitudinal study conducted in 1994-95, 2001-02 and 2008.

SETTING

All regions within the United States; participants were selected via a clustered sample design from 80 high schools that represented the national population.

PARTICIPANTS

Youth and young adults aged 13-31 years who had valid data on all three alcohol items within wave: 18 923 from wave 1; 14 315 from wave 3; and 14 785 from wave 4.

MEASUREMENTS

Alcohol use measurement models were constructed using past-year general drinking frequency, heavy episodic drinking frequency and average quantity when drinking. Configural (factor structure), metric (factor loadings) and scalar (item intercepts) measurement invariance models were tested by gender and for each year of age from 13 to 31 years.

FINDINGS

All models passed the threshold for configural invariance. Comparisons between males and females demonstrated metric (and usually scalar) non-invariance for most ages beyond middle adolescence. Nearly all 1- and 2-year contrasts passed metric invariance. Scalar non-invariance was most prevalent in age comparisons between late adolescence and early adulthood, particularly for tests using 2-year age increments.

CONCLUSIONS

Studies that do not account for the effects of gender and age on the measurement of alcohol use may be statistically biased.

Web-Based Alcohol Intervention: Study of Systematic Attrition of Heavy Drinkers

BACKGROUND

Web-based alcohol interventions are a promising way to reduce alcohol consumption because of their anonymity and the possibility of reaching a high numbers of individuals including heavy drinkers. However, Web-based interventions are often characterized by high rates of attrition. To date, very few studies have investigated whether individuals with higher alcohol consumption show higher attrition rates in Web-based alcohol interventions as compared with individuals with lower alcohol consumption.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to examine the attrition rate and predictors of attrition in a Web-based intervention study on alcohol consumption.

METHODS

The analysis of the predictors of attrition rate was performed on data collected in a Web-based randomized control trial. Data collection took place at the University of Konstanz, Germany. A total of 898 people, which consisted of 46.8% males (420/898) and 53.2% females (478/898) with a mean age of 23.57 years (SD 5.19), initially volunteered to participate in a Web-based intervention study to reduce alcohol consumption. Out of the sample, 86.9% (781/898) were students. Participants were classified as non-completers (439/898, 48.9%) if they did not complete the Web-based intervention. Potential predictors of attrition were self-reported: alcohol consumption in the last seven days, per week, from Monday to Thursday, on weekends, excessive drinking behavior measured with the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), and drinking motives measured by the Drinking Motive Questionnaire (DMQ-R SF).

RESULTS

Significant differences between completers and non-completers emerged regarding alcohol consumption in the last seven days (B=-.02, P=.05, 95% CI [0.97-1.00]), on weekends (B=-.05, P=.003, 95% CI [0.92-0.98]), the AUDIT (B=-.06, P=.007, 95% CI [0.90-0.98], and the status as a student (B=.72, P=.001, 95% CI [1.35-3.11]). Most importantly, non-completers had a significantly higher alcohol consumption compared with completers.

CONCLUSIONS

Hazardous alcohol consumption appears to be a key factor of the dropout rate in a Web-based alcohol intervention study. Thus, it is important to develop strategies to keep participants who are at high risk in Web-based interventions.

Binge eating and binge drinking among adolescents: The role of drinking and eating motives

This study aimed to investigate the motivations underlying binge eating and binge drinking in a sample of 302 adolescents. Our findings showed that binge eating was significantly correlated with gender, environmental, emotional, and social eating. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that emotional and environmental eating were significant positive predictors of binge eating, whereas binge drinking was significantly correlated with enhancement, social, and coping motives. Only enhancement motives were significant predictors of binge drinking. Our results support the argument that the reasons underlying binge eating and binge drinking in adolescents may be similar and may perform the same function.

Different drinking motives, different adverse consequences? Evidence among adolescents from 10 European countries

INTRODUCTION AND AIM

This study, which builds on previous research demonstrating that drinking motives are associated with adverse consequences, investigates the associations between drinking motives and non-alcohol-attributed adverse consequences and disentangles alcohol-related and direct effects.

DESIGN AND METHOD

On the basis of a sample of 22 841 alcohol-using 13- to 16-year-olds (50.6% female) from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Switzerland and Wales, structural equation models were used to estimate direct and indirect effects. Additionally, differences across countries were tested in a multigroup analysis.

RESULTS

The indirect effect (via alcohol use) was greater for injuries and academic problems than for more general outcomes such as life dissatisfaction and negative body image. For social, enhancement and coping motives, we found positive indirect effects (via alcohol use) on injuries and academic problems; the association was negative for conformity motives. The direct effect, that is, the effect above and beyond alcohol use, indicated more negative consequences among those who tended to drink more frequently for coping motives. More negative consequences, such as injuries and negative body image, were also found among those who drink for conformity motives. The pattern of association was largely comparable across countries.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

While the actual mean level of drinking motives, alcohol use and adverse consequence varied across countries, the consistency of association patterns implies that drinking motive-inspired health promotion efforts are likely to be beneficial across Europe. This is particularly important for coping drinkers because they are especially prone to adverse consequences over and above their alcohol use. [Wicki M, Kuntsche E, Eichenberger Y, Aasvee K, Bendtsen P, Dankulincová Veselská Z, Demetrovics Z, Dzielska A, Farkas J, de Matos MG, Roberts C, Tynjälä J, Välimaa R, Vieno A. Different drinking motives, different adverse consequences? Evidence among adolescents from 10 European countries.

Cross-cultural comparisons of drinking motives in 10 countries: Data from the DRINC project

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS

This study tested the measurement invariance of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Short Form (DMQ-R-SF) in undergraduates across 10 countries. We expected the four-factor structure to hold across countries, and for social motives to emerge as the most commonly endorsed motive, followed by enhancement, coping and conformity motives. We also compared individualistic and collectivistic countries to examine potential differences in the endorsement of drinking motives when countries were divided according to this broad cultural value.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A sample of 8478 undergraduate drinkers from collectivistic (Portugal, Mexico, Brazil, Spain; n = 1567) and individualistic (Switzerland, Hungary, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, and the USA; n = 6911) countries completed the DMQ-R-SF. Countries were classified as individualistic or collectivistic based on world-wide norms.

RESULTS

Using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, the 4-factor model of the DMQ-R-SF showed configural and metric invariance across all 10 countries. As predicted, the rank order of undergraduates' drinking motive endorsement was identical across countries (social > enhancement > coping > conformity), although a mixed model analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction where undergraduates from individualistic countries more strongly endorsed social and enhancement motives relative to undergraduates from collectivistic countries.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

There was broad cross-cultural consistency in the factor structure and mean patterns of drinking motives. Undergraduate students appear to drink mainly for positive reinforcement (i.e. for social and enhancement reasons), although this tendency is particularly pronounced among those from more individualistic countries. [Mackinnon SP, Couture M-E, Cooper ML, Kuntsche E, O'Connor RM, Stewart SH, and the DRINC Team. Cross-cultural comparisons of drinking motives in 10 countries: Data from the DRINC project.

Validation of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised across US and Portuguese college students

The present study aimed to evaluate the invariance of the factor structure of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised (DMQ-R) between Portuguese and US university students. Following tests of factor model invariance we further evaluated cross-cultural differences in (1) mean levels of the four motives, and (2) the association of the four motives with weekly drinking, peak drinking, and binge drinking among college students from the United States and Portugal. Participants were 983 undergraduate students (67% female) from the US (N=515) and Portugal (N=468). Participants completed a confidential online (US) or paper and pencil (Portugal) survey. Results of a CFA demonstrated that the four-factor model of the DMQ-R was invariant with respect to factor loadings, factor variances, and factor covariances across the two countries. Mean differences in ratings of drinking motives were found, with US students ranking all motives higher than Portuguese students. However, rank order of motives (social>enhancement>coping>conformity) were equivalent across countries. Support for convergent validity was demonstrated by significant associations between drinking motives and alcohol consumption for men and women of both samples. Results support the factorial invariance and convergent validity of the DMQ-R across US and Portuguese college students, making it a trustworthy means of assessing college students' drinking motives, and a useful instrument for clinical and research purposes, both within and across cultures.

A Multilevel Study of Students in Vietnam: Drinking Motives and Drinking Context as Predictors of Alcohol Consumption

BACKGROUND

This study used multi-level analysis to estimate which type of factor explains most of the variance in alcohol consumption of Vietnamese students.

METHODS

Data were collected among 6011 students attending 12 universities/faculties in four provinces in Vietnam. The three most recent drinking occasions were investigated per student, resulting in 12,795 drinking occasions among 4265 drinkers. Students reported on 10 aspects of the drinking context per drinking occasion. A multi-level mixed-effects linear regression model was constructed in which aspects of drinking context composed the first level; the age of students and four drinking motives comprised the second level. The dependent variable was the number of drinks.

RESULTS

Of the aspects of context, drinking duration had the strongest association with alcohol consumption while, at the individual level, coping motive had the strongest association. The drinking context characteristics explained more variance than the individual characteristics in alcohol intake per occasion.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that, among students in Vietnam, the drinking context explains a larger proportion of the variance in alcohol consumption than the drinking motives. Therefore, measures that reduce the availability of alcohol in specific drinking situations are an essential part of an effective prevention policy.

Effectiveness of a drinking-motive-tailored emergency-room intervention among adolescents admitted to hospital due to acute alcohol intoxication - A randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study is to develop and test the effectiveness of a drinking-motive-tailored intervention for adolescents hospitalized due to alcohol intoxication in eight cities in Germany between December 2011 and May 2012 against a similar, non-motive-tailored intervention. In a randomized controlled trial, 254 adolescents received a psychosocial intervention plus motive-tailored (intervention group; IG) or general exercises (control group; CG). Adolescents in the IG received exercises in accordance with their drinking motives as indicated at baseline (e.g. alternative ways of spending leisure time or dealing with stress). Exercises for the CG contained alcohol-related information in general (e.g. legal issues). The data of 81 adolescents (age: M = 15.6, SD = 1.0; 42.0% female) who participated in both the baseline and the follow-up were compared using ANOVA with repeated measurements and effect sizes (available case analyses). Adolescents reported lower alcohol use at the four-week follow-up independently of the kind of intervention. Significant interaction effects between time and IG were found for girls in terms of drinking frequency (F = 7.770, p < 0.01) and binge drinking (F = 7.0005, p < 0.05) but not for boys. For the former, the proportional reductions and corresponding effect sizes of drinking frequency (d = - 1.18), binge drinking (d = - 1.61) and drunkenness (d = - 2.87) were much higher than the .8 threshold for large effects. Conducting psychosocial interventions in a motive-tailored way appears more effective for girls admitted to hospital due to alcohol intoxication than without motive-tailoring. Further research is required to address the specific needs of boys in such interventions. (German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS ID: DRKS00005588).

Drinking Motives As Mediators of the Associations between Reinforcement Sensitivity and Alcohol Misuse and Problems

Alcohol may be used and misused for different reasons, i.e., to enhance positive affect and to cope with negative affect. These to pathways are thought to depend on two distinct and relatively stable neurobiological systems: the behavioral activation (BAS; i.e., fun seeking, drive, reward responsiveness) and behavioral inhibition (BIS) systems. This study investigates the associations of BAS and BIS sensitivity with risky single-occasion drinking and alcohol use disorder in a representative sample of 5362 young Swiss men. In order to better understand the contribution of more proximal motivational factors in the associations of BIS and BAS with alcohol outcomes, mediations via drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, social, coping, conformity) was also tested. Risky single-occasion drinking and alcohol use disorder were positively associated with fun seeking and negatively with reward responsiveness. Drive was negatively associated with risky single-occasion drinking. BIS was positively associated with alcohol use disorder and negatively with risky single-occasion drinking. Positive associations of fun seeking with risky single-occasion drinking and alcohol use disorder were partially mediated mainly by enhancement motives. Negative association of drive with risky single-occasion drinking was partially mediated by conformity motives. The negative reward responsiveness—alcohol use disorder association was partially mediated, whereas the negative reward responsiveness—risky single-occasion drinking association was fully mediated, mainly by coping and enhancement motives. The positive BIS–alcohol use disorder association was fully mediated mainly by coping motives. Fun seeking constitutes a risk factor, whereas drive and reward responsiveness constitute protective factors against alcohol misuse and disorder. BIS constitutes a protective factor against risky single-occasion drinking and a risk factor for alcohol use disorder. The results of the mediation analysis suggest that prevention strategies targeting coping and enhancement motives may reduce the risk associated with high BIS and with high fun seeking, respectively.

The influence of drinking motives on hookah use frequency among young multi-substance users

PURPOSE

The present work examined the influence of drinking motives on hookah use frequency among individuals reporting both alcohol and hookah use (multi-substance users). Despite growing documentation of cross-substance effects between motives and substance use, limited research has examined these relationships specifically with respect to hookah use.

METHODS

Participants were 134 (75.37% female) hookah and alcohol users, aged 18-47 years (M = 22.17, SD = 3.66) who completed measures of substance use, drinking motives, and reported demographic information. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to investigate the predictive value of drinking motives on hookah use frequency, age taken into account.

RESULTS

Findings showed that hookah use was negatively associated with age (β = -.22, p ≤ .01). The model regressing hookah use on the four drinking motives provided adequate fit (χ² = 314.31, df = 180, p < .05, CFI = .92, RMSEA = .075 [95% CI, .06-.09]). Hookah use was associated negatively with social motives (β = -.43, p < .001) and positively with conformity motives (β = .24, p ≤ .05).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings are consistent with multi-substance use literature suggesting that drinking motives are associated with the use of other substances, including increased hookah use frequency. Additional examinations of cross-substance cognitive processes are needed, particularly with respect to understanding whether hookah use among multi-substance users may be contingent in part on individual factors including negative affectivity.

Drinking motives mediate cultural differences but not gender differences in adolescent alcohol use

PURPOSE

To test whether differences in alcohol use between boys and girls and between northern and southern/central Europe are mediated by social, enhancement, coping, and conformity motives.

METHODS

Cross-sectional school-based surveys were conducted among 33,813 alcohol-using 11- to 19-year-olds from northern Europe (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, and Wales) and southern/central Europe (Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, and Switzerland).

RESULTS

Particularly in late adolescence and early adulthood, boys drank more frequently and were more often drunk than girls. Instead of mediation, gender-specific motive paths were found; 14- to 16-year-old girls drank more because of higher levels of coping motives and lower levels of conformity motives, whereas 14- to 19-year-old boys drank more because of higher levels of social and enhancement motives. Geographical analyses confirmed that adolescents from southern/central European countries drank more frequently, but those from northern Europe reported being drunk more often. The strong indirect effects demonstrate that some of the cultural differences in drinking are because of higher levels of social, enhancement, and coping motives in northern than in southern/central Europe.

CONCLUSIONS

The results from the largest drinking motive study conducted to date suggest that gender-specific prevention should take differences in the motivational pathways toward (heavy) drinking into account, that is, positive reinforcement seems to be more important for boys and negative reinforcement for girls. Preventive action targeting social and enhancement motives and taking drinking circumstances into account could contribute to tackling underage drinking in northern Europe.

Unemployment and substance use in young adults: does educational attainment modify the association?

We studied whether patterns of substance use in relation to unemployment vary depending on educational level. Data come from 1,126 community-based young adults in France (18-35 years of age in 2011) and their parents (TEMPO and GAZEL studies). Tobacco use (≥1 cigarette/day, 22.5% prevalence), nicotine dependence (Fagerström test ≥2, 7.1% prevalence), alcohol use (≥2 units/week, 25.3% prevalence), alcohol abuse (WHO AUDIT ≥7 in women and ≥8 in men, 10.8% prevalence), cannabis use (≥1 time, 16.5% prevalence), and cannabis abuse (CAST ≥2, 5.0% prevalence) were assessed by interview. We conducted logistic regression analyses controlled for inverse probability weights of unemployment, calculated based on demographics, negative life events, health, and juvenile and parental characteristics. Compared to participants who were always employed, those who were unemployed and had no higher education were more likely to smoke tobacco (OR: 2.76, 95% CI: 1.86-4.10), to be nicotine dependent (OR: 5.70, 95% CI: 3.03-10.73), to use cannabis (OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.42-3.64), and to abuse cannabis (OR: 3.38, 95% CI: 1.63-7.04). Those who were unemployed and had higher education were especially likely to abuse alcohol (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.16-3.09). Increases in unemployment may impact population levels of substance use, particularly in young adults with low educational attainment.

An Exploration of the Four-Factor Structure of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Among Undergraduate Students in China

BACKGROUND

College drinking has become a significant health issue in China; the current study addressed the gap that no prior research has investigated drinking motives among Chinese undergraduate students.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to replicate the four-factor structure of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) reported for Western populations. Additionally, the relationships between drinking motives and alcohol use were investigated.

METHODS

In 2012, 436 participants (mean age = 20.49 and SD = 1.49; 50% male) recruited from a college in China completed a self-administered survey in their classroom setting. Drinking motives were measured by the Chinese version of the DMQ-R; three indicators of alcohol use were assessed. Factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structure of the DMQ-R, followed by regression analysis to investigate the associations between drinking motives and alcohol-related outcomes.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis failed to replicate the measurement model tested, but exploratory factor analysis identified a similar four-dimensional factor structure. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the four factors were acceptable. The results also showed that social motives were related to alcohol use and heavy drinking; conformity motives were related to alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Enhancement motives were the strongest correlates of alcohol use; coping motives were the strongest correlates of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE

The DMQ-R was a reliable and valid scale measuring four types of drinking motives among Chinese college students. Findings suggested that the motivational model of alcohol use may apply to studying college drinking in China.

Person-related determinants of TV viewing and computer time in a cohort of young Dutch adults: Who sits the most?

We aimed to assess the associations of person-related factors with leisure time television (TV) viewing and computer time among young adults. We analyzed self-reported TV viewing (h/week) and leisure computer time (h/week) from 475 Dutch young adults (47% male) who had participated in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study at the age of 32 and 36 years. Sociodemographic factors (i.e., marital and employment status), physical factors (i.e., skin folds, aerobic fitness, neuromotor fitness, back problems), psychological factors (i.e., problem- and emotion-focused coping, personality), lifestyle (i.e., alcohol consumption, smoking, energy intake, physical activity), and self-rated health (i.e., general health status, mild health complaints) were assessed. Univariable and multivariable generalized estimating equations were performed. Male gender, higher sum of skin folds, lower values of aerobic fitness, higher rigidity, higher self-sufficiency/recalcitrance, and smoking were positively associated with TV time. Male gender, higher sum of skin folds, higher scores on self-esteem, low energy intake, and a not so good general health status were significantly associated with higher computer time. Determinants of TV viewing and computer time were not identical, suggesting that both behaviors (a) have different at-risk populations and (b) should be targeted differently.

Social motives for drinking in students should not be neglected in efforts to decrease problematic drinking

High heavy drinking prevalence persists in students. Recently, drinking motivation received a lot of attention as an important determinant. Enhancement and coping motives are mostly positively related and conformity motives are mostly negatively related with heavy drinking. Relations are less clear for social motives. This study aimed at gaining more insight in the role of drinking motives in heavy drinking students. Overall, 15 897 Belgian university and college students (mean age: 20.7, SD = 2.6) anonymously participated in an online survey. Logistic regressions tested relationships between motives and problematic drinking (>weekly drinking, ≥monthly binge drinking and being at risk for problematic drinking by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT]). Social motives had the highest prevalence, followed by enhancement, coping and conformity motives. Men engaged more in problematic drinking and reported more motives, except for coping. Enhancement, coping and social-motivated students have higher chances for problematic drinking, while the opposite is true for conformity-motivated students. Although this study found a similar ranking of motives as in other studies, a relationship between problematic drinking and all motives, including social motives, was revealed. This might indicate the different functions of social motives in heavy drinking in different cultures/sub-populations and countries. This finding is relevant for the development of interventions.

Hungarian adaptation of the long and the short form of the drinking motives questionnaire (DMQ-R)

Háttér: Az alkoholmotiváció kutatása mindeddig kevés figyelmet kapott Magyarországon. Jelen tanulmány célja, hogy ismertesse az Alkoholfogyasztás Motivációi Módosított Kérdőív hosszú (DMQ-R-HU) és rövid (DMQ-R-SF-HU) változatának hazai alkalmazásáról szóló tapasztalatokat. Módszer és minta: Egyéb, az alkoholfogyasztáshoz kapcsolódó kérdésekkel kiegészítve egy középiskolás (N=922, átlagéletkor=16,6, szórás=1,44), valamint egy egyetemista (N=346, átlagéletkor=21,6, szórás=2,61) mintán alkalmaztuk a DMQ-R-HU kérdőívet. Mivel a konfirmációs faktorelemzés eredménye nem volt kielégítő, így a DMQ-R-SF-HU illeszkedését is megvizsgáltuk. Ezt követően a DMQ-R-SF-HU alkalmazhatóságát egy harmadik, speciális populációs, fiatal felnőtt mintán (N=390 fő, átlagéletkor=23,6, szórás=4,4) is ellenőriztük. Ezen vizsgálat további célja az volt, hogy a korábbi nemzetközi vizsgálatoktól eltérően egy idősebb, rekreációs mintán is vizsgáljuk a kérdőív alkalmazhatóságát. A vizsgálatok során a motivációk és az alkoholhasználati indikátorok közötti kapcsolatot a többváltozós strukturális egyenlet modelljeinek segítségével elemeztük. Eredmények: Az alkoholmotivációk átlagértékeinek rangsora mindhárom minta esetében ugyanúgy alakult (szociális > fokozásos > megküzdéses > konformitás). A motivációk és az alkoholhasználati indikátorok közötti kapcsolatokat vizsgálva az egyetemisták esetében a fokozásos motivációk jelezték előre az alkoholfogyasztás és a részegség gyakoriságát, a középiskolások esetében a szociális és konformitás motivációk jelezték előre az alkoholfogyasztás gyakoriságát, a konformitás és fokozásos motivációk pedig a részegség gyakoriságát. A fiatal felnőtt rekreációs populációban is a szociális motivációk jelezték előre az alkoholfogyasztás gyakoriságát, míg a részegség gyakoriságát mind a négy motiváció megbízhatóan előrejelezte. Az alkoholhasználattal összefüggő problémáknak a megküzdéses motiváció volt minden esetben a szignifikáns magyarázója a fiatal felnőttek között. Ezen kívül a szociális motiváció az iskolai, illetve munkahelyi problémákat, a konformitás motiváció pedig a verekedést jelezte előre. Következtetések: A DMQ-R-SF-HU kiváló statisztikai tulajdonságai és illeszkedési mutatói miatt széles körben, különböző sajátosságokkal bíró mintákon jól alkalmazható kérdőív. Az alkoholmotivációk fontos előrejelzői az alkoholfogyasztás különböző indikátorainak. Az eltérő korosztályokban eltérő motivációk játszanak kitüntetett szerepet, amelyek figyelembe vétele a prevenció során meghatározó jelentőséggel bírhat.

Implicit Coping and Enhancement Motives Predict Unique Variance in Drinking in Asian Americans

Automatic cognitive processes have been shown to be unique predictors of drinking behavior and can be assessed using implicit measures. Drinking motives (e.g., enhancement and coping motives), which are also predictive of alcohol use, have not been studied using implicit measures. Moreover, in the U.S., implicit measures have been studied in samples largely consisting of Caucasian or White Americans. This study adapted the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to examine automatic analogues of enhancement and coping drinking motives and approach/avoid tendencies in 56 Asian-American undergraduates. Enhancement and coping IATs were correlated with self-reported drinking motives and predicted unique variance in drinking frequency and heavy drinking when controlling for self-reported motives. Approach IAT scores were neither associated with self-reported approach/avoid tendencies nor predictive of drinking behaviors. These findings provide initial support for the unique predictive utility of drinking motives in Asian Americans, an understudied population.