Measuring drinking motives in undergraduates: an exploration of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised in Swedish students

Narcissism and alcohol use: The mediating role of drinking motives among college students

Objective: The current study examined associations between grandiose and vulnerable subclinical narcissistic traits and alcohol use among college students and whether drinking motives mediated these associations.

Methods and Participants: Young adult college students who reported past month alcohol use were invited to complete self-report online surveys (N = 406; 81% female; Mage = 20.13, SD = 1.69; 10% Hispanic; 85% White).

Results: Results from path analysis using structural equation modeling indicated that there were no direct associations between grandiose or vulnerable subclinical narcissistic traits and alcohol use. However, several drinking motives mediated these associations. Specifically, the association between grandiose traits and alcohol use was mediated by enhancement and social motives. Similarly, the association between vulnerable traits and alcohol use was mediated by enhancement, social and coping motives.

Conclusions: Findings highlight a potential mechanism by which personality traits may contribute to a health risk behavior among young people.

Mental health, self-rated health, risky sexual behaviour, alcohol use, and drug use among students who intend to spend a semester abroad - a cross-sectional study

Aim

Our aim was to investigate potential differences in mental health, self-rated health, risky sexual behaviour, alcohol use, and drug use between (1) Prospective exchange students and campus students separated by sex, and (2) male and female students as a group.

Method

Comparative cross-sectional design using an online survey containing the following instruments: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Sexual Behaviour in Young People in Sweden; Self-Rated Health Questionnaire; and General Health Questionnaire 12. One-hundred and fourteen prospective exchange students and 451 campus students participated in the study.

Results

Male prospective exchange students rated their mental health as being better and had used cannabis more often compared with female prospective exchange students. Male prospective exchange students also rated their mental health as being better than male campus students. Female students, in general, rated their mental health as worse than male students. A larger proportion of male prospective exchange students had sex together with alcohol compared with male campus students, and a larger proportion of female prospective exchange students had sex with a new partner and drank more alcohol compared to female campus students.

Conclusion

The result shows that risky alcohol use and sexually risky behaviour is prominent amongst prospective exchange students. It is possible that they will continue, and even increase their risky behaviour whilst abroad as they find themselves in a new social context, and free from influence of the rules and restrictions that they might have at home. With limited knowledge of the local culture, native language, and in an unfamiliar environment, it is possible that the risks will be enhanced and possibly decrease their health. This highlights the need for proactive interventions, conceivably with some variations in content between sexes.

[Motives for occasional and excessive alcohol consumption in Mexican high-school adolescents]

Background

In Mexico, alcohol consumption in adolescents has increased and the reasons why adolescents do that have hardly been studied. Likewise, studies on the possible differences in the reasons for consumption among adolescents who consume alcohol occasionally and excessively are scarce at the international level.

Objective

To examine the reasons for consuming alcohol in adolescents, and to study if these differ depending on whether the consumption is occasional or excessive.

Material and methods

The DMQ-R-SF (Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised-Short-Form) and AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) scales were administered to Mexican adolescents from 4 schools (one middle-school and 3 high schools) who had ever consumed alcohol.

Results

The sample consisted of 307 adolescents (mean 16.17 ± SD = 1.24), out of which 174 (56.7%) were female. It was observed that the most frequently mentioned reason was social, followed by improvement and coping, with conformity being the least recognized. In the results extracted from the multiple regression analyses, it was observed that alcohol consumption in the total sample is explained by three of the four reasons. However, occasional consumption is explained by the social and improvement reasons, but excessive consumption is only explained by coping with aversive experiences.

Conclusions

These results suggest that it is very useful to detect those adolescents who consume as a way of coping, and offer them adaptive regulation strategies against anxiety and depression.

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.

Clusters of older adults with and without experience of alcohol-related harms based on affective motivations for drinking

Aim: This cross-sectional study explores profiles of community-residing Norwegian older adults (aged 62–95 years) in relation to their personally expressed motives for alcohol use. It specifically investigates drinking motives as they uniquely characterise alcohol consumers reporting problem and non-problem drinking assessed using the Drinking Problem Index (DPI). Methods: Two-step cluster analysis was used to delineate subgroups of alcohol consumers on seven drinking motivation variables, together with DPI score. The clusters were evaluated by gender, physical health and psychological health status. Results: Four clusters of alcohol consumers were identified in relation to drinking motives: Low motivated drinkers, Ambivalent drinkers, Enhancement drinkers, and Coping drinkers. For one subgroup, a strong reliance on alcohol to cope with negative feelings was most relevant to both non-problem and problem drinkers. For another subgroup, enjoying the effects of alcohol, but non-reliance on alcohol to cope with negative mood were associated with reporting drinking problems. Ambivalent drinkers reported overall low satisfaction with mental health. Very poor physical and mental health were more prevalent in men than in women characterised as Coping drinkers. Predominantly mental health status supported distinctiveness of delineated clusters. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the classification approach to profiling of characteristics of alcohol consumers based on their motivations to drink may have a potential utility in human care settings to identify individuals who incur or may be at risk of developing alcohol-related problems in later life, and those who are not.

Drinking Behavior, Taste Preferences and Special Beer Perception among Romanian University Students: A Qualitative Assessment Research

The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be a challenging period for many students. This period is associated with an increase in alcohol consumption (AC) which can develop a drinking behavior or shape the preferences for certain alcoholic beverages. The purpose of this study was to analyze the AC pattern among Romanian university students, by investigating the association between taste and consumption, including preferences for special beer. A 30-item omnibus-type questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate students and used to gather sociodemographic data, alcohol expectancies, drinking motives and consequences, and special beer consumption. Results showed a statistically significant relationship between the age of first alcohol use and the existence of an alcoholic family member. The main reasons for AC are taste, sensation, relaxation, and socialization. Both female and male students tend to drink occasionally, with a preference for public places. Female students prefer a sweet taste, choosing special beers over the regular ones. The students' residence may also influence the choice of special beers. Understanding the students' drinking behavior and taste preferences is essential to create useful strategies to discourage excessive AC. Special beer, a growing segment in the beverage industry, could represent a healthier and safety alternative to AC.