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Pre-drinking and alcohol-related harm in undergraduates: the influence of explicit motives and implicit alcohol identity

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Abstract

The present study investigated how pre-drinking could be explained using a model based on dual-systems theory, incorporating measures of explicit and implicit constructs. Undergraduate students (N = 144; 44 male; 100 female; M age = 20.1 years), completed an online survey comprising measures of pre-drinking motives, a measure of pre-drinking cost motives, and an alcohol identity implicit association test. Variance-based structural equation modelling revealed that the predictors explained 34.8 % of the variance in typical pre-drinking alcohol consumption and 25 % of the variance in alcohol-related harm. Cost, interpersonal enhancement, and barriers to consumption motives predicted higher typical pre-drinking alcohol consumption and greater alcohol-related harm. Higher situational control scores predicted lower typical pre-drinking alcohol consumption, and lower alcohol-related harm. Positive implicit alcohol identity predicted alcohol-related harm, but not typical alcohol consumption. Results indicate that a dual-systems approach to pre-drinking has utility in predicting alcohol-related harm and may inform interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and associated harm.

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Conflict of interest

Authors Kim M. Caudwell, Martin S. Hagger declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Animal and Human Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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  1. Health Psychology and Behavioural Medicine Research Group, School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, 6530, Australia

    Kim M. Caudwell & Martin S. Hagger

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  1. Kim M. Caudwell
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Correspondence to Kim M. Caudwell.

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Caudwell, K.M., Hagger, M.S. Pre-drinking and alcohol-related harm in undergraduates: the influence of explicit motives and implicit alcohol identity. J Behav Med 37, 1252–1262 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-014-9573-6

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