Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Drinking Motives as Mediators of the Associations Between Alcohol Expectancies and Risky Drinking Behaviors Among High School Students

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Alcohol use among adolescents is a health-risk behavior that can result in serious consequences. Furthermore, adolescents participate in drinking games—a risky drinking behavior designed to facilitate heavy alcohol consumption in a short period of time. Both alcohol expectancies and drinking motives have been identified as robust correlates of alcohol consumption during adolescence. The present study examines the direct and indirect effects of alcohol expectancies on hazardous alcohol use and frequency of drinking game participation. Participants (n = 254) were local high school students who reported alcohol use in the past month. Structural equation models showed that both positive expectancy outcomes and valuations were directly associated with hazardous alcohol use. Moreover, enhancement motives significantly mediated the associations between positive expectancy outcomes and hazardous alcohol use. Finally, social motives mediated the associations of both positive expectancy outcomes and valuations with frequency of drinking games participation and with hazardous alcohol use. Implications for intervention and prevention programs are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A table of the SEM results is available upon request to the senior author.

References

  • Adams, C. E., & Nagoshi, C. T. (1999). Changes over one semester in drinking game playing and alcohol use and problems in a college student sample. Substance Abuse, 20, 97–106. doi:10.1023/A:1021468400635.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barroso, T., Mendes, A., & Barbosa, A. (2009). Analysis of the alcohol consumption phenomenon among adolescents: Study carried out with adolescents in intermediate public education. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 17, 347–353. doi:10.1590/S0104-11692009000300011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bollen, K. (1996). An alternative 2SLS estimator for latent variable models. Psychometrika, 61, 109–121. doi:10.1007/BF02296961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borsari, B. (2004). Drinking games in the college environment: A review. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 48, 29–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borsari, B., Bergen-Cico, D., & Carey, K. B. (2003). Self-reported drinking-game participation of incoming college students. Journal of American College Health, 51, 149–154. doi:10.1080/07448480309596343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cable, N., & Sacker, A. (2007). Typologies of alcohol consumption in adolescence: Predictors and adult outcomes. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 43, 81–90. doi:10.1093/alcalc/agm146.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, J. M., Heidelberg, N., Simmons, L., Lyle, S. B., Mitra-Varma, K., & Correia, C. (2010). Drinking game participation among undergraduate students attending national alcohol screening day. Journal of American College Health, 58, 499–506. doi:10.1080/07448481003599096.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chassin, L., Hussong, A., & Beltran, I. (2009). Adolescent substance use. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 723–763). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chung, T., Colby, S. M., Barnett, N. P., Rohsenow, D. J., Spirito, A., & Monti, P. M. (2000). Screening adolescents for problem drinking: Performance of brief screens against DSM-IV alcohol diagnoses. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61, 579–587.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, L. M., & Cater, S. (2004). Fourteen to 17-year olds’ experience of ‘risky’ drinking–a cross-sectional survey undertaken in south-east England. Drug and Alcohol Review, 23, 351–353. doi:10.1080/09595230412331289509.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conrod, P. J., Stewart, S. H., Comeau, N., & Maclean, A. M. (2006). Efficacy of cognitive–behavioral interventions targeting personality risk factors for youth alcohol misuse. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 35, 550–563. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3504_6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, M. L. (1994). Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 6, 117–128. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, M. L., Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Mudar, P. (1995). Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 990. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.990.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, W. M., & Klinger, E. (1988). A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 168–180. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.97.2.168.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin, C. (1997). Reasons for drinking versus outcome expectancies in the prediction of college student drinking. Substance Use and Misuse, 32, 1287–1311.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cruz, I. Y., & Dunn, M. E. (2003). Lowering risk for early alcohol use by challenging alcohol expectancies in elementary school children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 493–503. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.3.493.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fromme, K., & D’Amico, E. J. (2000). Measuring adolescent alcohol outcome expectancies. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 14, 206–212. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.14.2.206.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fromme, K., Stroot, E., & Kaplan, D. (1993). Comprehensive effects of alcohol: Development and psychometric assessment of a new expectancy questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 5, 19–26. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.5.1.19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, B. F., & Dawson, D. A. (1997). Age at onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence: Results from the national longitudinal alcohol epidemiologic survey. Journal of Substance Abuse, 9, 103–110. doi:10.1016/S0899-3289(97)90009-2.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ham, L. S., Stewart, S. H., Norton, P. J., & Hope, D. A. (2005). Psychometric assessment of the comprehensive effects of alcohol questionnaire: Comparing a brief version to the original full scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 27, 141–158. doi:10.1007/s10862-005-0631-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ham, L. S., Zamboanga, B. L., Olthuis, J. V., Casner, H. G., & Bui, N. (2010). No fear, just relax and play: Social anxiety, alcohol expectancies, and drinking games among college students. Journal of American College Health, 58, 473–479. doi:10.1080/07448480903540531.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hasking, P., Lyvers, M., & Carlopio, C. (2011). The relationship between coping strategies, alcohol expectancies, drinking motives and drinking behaviour. Addictive Behaviors, 36, 479–487. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.01.014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, T. J., & Sheets, V. L. (2004). Measuring college students’ motives for playing drinking games. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18, 91–99. doi:10.1037/0893-164x.18.2.91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B. T., Corbin, W., & Fromme, K. (2001). A review of expectancy theory and alcohol consumption. Addiction, 96, 57–72. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.961575.x.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kenney, S. R., Hummer, J. F., & LaBrie, J. W. (2010). An examination of prepartying and drinking game playing and their impact on alcohol-related risk upon entrance into college. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 999–1011. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9473-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, J. R., Sherritt, L., Harris, S. K., Gates, E. C., & Chang, G. (2003). Validity of brief alcohol screening tests among adolescents: A comparison of the AUDIT, POSIT, CAGE, and CRAFFT. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 27, 67–73. doi:10.1097/01.alc.0000046598.59317.3a.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche, E., Knibbe, R., Engels, R., & Gmel, G. (2007). Drinking motives as mediators of the link between alcohol expectancies and alcohol use among adolescents. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68, 76–85.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche, E., Knibbe, R., Gmel, G., & Engels, R. (2005). Why do young people drink? A review of drinking motives. Clinical Psychology Review, 25, 841–861. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2005.06.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche, E., Knibbe, R., Gmel, G., & Engels, R. (2006). Replication and validation of the drinking motives questionnaire revised (DMQ-R, Cooper, 1994) among adolescents in Switzerland. European Addiction Research, 12, 161–168. doi:10.1159/000092118.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche, E., Stewart, S. H., & Cooper, M. L. (2008). How stable is the motive–alcohol use link? A cross-national validation of the drinking motives questionnaire revised among adolescents from Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 69, 388–396.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuntsche, E., Wiers, R. W., Janssen, T., & Gmel, G. (2010). Same wording, distinct concepts? Testing differences between expectancies and motives in a mediation model of alcohol outcomes. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 18, 436–444. doi:10.1037/a0019724.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyvers, M., Hasking, P., Hani, R., Rhodes, M., & Trew, E. (2010). Drinking motives, drinking restraint and drinking behaviour among young adults. Addictive Behaviors, 35, 116–122. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.09.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediational analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 593–614. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085542.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, V. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7, 83–104. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.1.83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Magid, V., MacLean, M. G., & Colder, C. R. (2007). Differentiating between sensation seeking and impulsivity through their mediated relations with alcohol use and problems. Addictive Behaviors, 32, 2046–2061. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.01.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martens, M. P., Kilmer, J. R., Beck, N. C., & Zamboanga, B. L. (2010). The efficacy of a tailored personalized drinking feedback intervention among intercollegiate athletes: A randomized controlled trial. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24, 660–669. doi:10.1037/a0020299.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morawska, A., & Oei, T. P. S. (2005). Binge drinking in university students: A test of the cognitive model. Addictive Behaviors, 30, 203–218. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.05.011.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mushquash, C. J., Comeau, M. N., McLeod, B. D., & Stewart, S. H. (2010). A four-stage method for developing early interventions for alcohol among aboriginal adolescents. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8, 296–309. doi:10.1007/s11469-009-9240-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagoshi, C. T., Wood, M. D., Cote, C. C., & Abbit, S. M. (1994). College drinking game participation within the context of other predictors of alcohol use and problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 8, 203–213. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.8.4.203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neighbors, C., Lee, C. M., Lewis, M. A., Fossos, N., & Larimer, M. E. (2007). Are social norms the best predictor of outcomes among heavy-drinking college students? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68, 556–565.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olthuis, J. V., Zamboanga, B. L., Martens, M. P., & Ham, L. S. (2011). Social influences, alcohol expectancies, and hazardous alcohol use among college athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 5, 24–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, E. R., & LaBrie, J. (2006). Drinking game participation among college students: Gender and ethnic implications. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 2105–2115. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.02.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. P., Wood, M. D., Kahler, C. W., Maddock, J. E., & Palfai, T. P. (2003). Examining the role of drinking motives in college student alcohol use and problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17, 13–23. doi:10.1037/0893-164x.17.1.13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Renna, F. (2007). The economic cost of teen drinking: Late graduation and lowered earnings. Health Economics, 16, 407–419. doi:10.1002/hec.1178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, J. B., Aasland, O. G., Babor, T. F., De La Fuente, J. R., & Grant, M. (1993). Development of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption—II. Addiction, 88, 791–804. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Staff, J., Patrick, M. E., Loken, E., & Maggs, J. L. (2008). Teenage alcohol use and educational attainment. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 69, 848–858.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Urbán, R., Kökönyei, G., & Demetrovics, Z. (2008). Alcohol outcome expectancies and drinking motives mediate the association between sensation seeking and alcohol use among adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 33, 1344–1352. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.06.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Valdivia, I., & Stewart, S. H. (2005). Further examination of the psychometric properties of the comprehensive effects of alcohol questionnaire. Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 34, 22–33. doi:10.1080/16506070410001009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteside, U., Cronce, J. M., Pedersen, E. R., & Larimer, M. E. (2010). Brief motivational feedback for college students and adolescents: A harm reduction approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 150–163. doi:10.1002/jclp.20667.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zamboanga, B. L., Bean, J. L., Pietras, A. C., & Pabón, L. C. (2005). Subjective evaluations of alcohol expectancies and their relevance to drinking games involvement in female college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37, 77–80. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.12.007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zamboanga, B. L., Calvert, B. D., O’Riordan, S. S., & McCollum, E. C. (2007). Ping-pong, endurance, card, and other types of drinking games: Are these games of the same feather? Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 51, 26–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zamboanga, B. L., & Ham, L. S. (2008). Alcohol expectancies and context-specific drinking behaviors among female college athletes. Behavior Therapy, 39, 162–170. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2007.06.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zamboanga, B. L., Ham, L. S., Van Tyne, K., & Pole, N. (2011). Alcohol expectancies among adolescent non-drinkers: They may not be drinking now but they’re “think bout it”. Journal of Adolescent Health, 49, 105–107. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.12.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zamboanga, B. L., Schwartz, S. J., Ham, L. S., Hernandez Jarvis, L., & Olthuis, J. V. (2009). Alcohol expectancy outcomes and valuations as mediators of peer influences and alcohol use among early adolescents. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170, 359–376. doi:10.1080/00221320903218380.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

This investigation was supported by a grant to Byron L. Zamboanga from the Committee on Faculty Compensation and Development, Smith College. Special thanks to the second author’s research staff for their assistance with this project.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Kathryne Van Tyne

    Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA

    Kathryne Van Tyne, Byron L. Zamboanga & Nnamdi Pole

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Lindsay S. Ham

  3. Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Janine V. Olthuis

Authors
  1. Kathryne Van Tyne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Byron L. Zamboanga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lindsay S. Ham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Janine V. Olthuis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nnamdi Pole
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathryne Van Tyne.

Additional information

This manuscript was derived from the first author’s honors thesis at Smith College. Portions of this manuscript were also presented as a poster at the Society for Research on Adolescence, 2010, Philadelphia, PA.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Van Tyne, K., Zamboanga, B.L., Ham, L.S. et al. Drinking Motives as Mediators of the Associations Between Alcohol Expectancies and Risky Drinking Behaviors Among High School Students. Cogn Ther Res 36, 756–767 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-011-9400-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-011-9400-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation