Previous research has shown those identifying as a substance user are at a higher risk for harmful substance use. The current study aims to examine PBS as a mediator of the relationship between drinking/marijuana identity and alcohol/marijuana-related outcomes.

The study included three subsets of studies. The first was an intervention study with 605 heavy drinking college students. The second included 2,077 students and was a multisite study of marijuana outcomes. The third study was of substance use in a community and included 369 alcohol users and 146 marijuana users. Drinking/marijuana identity was measured in each study by using a five-item scale with an example being “drinking/marijuana is a part of my self-image.” Alcohol PBS was assessed in studies 1 and 2 by using a 15-item Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale. The scale included Limiting/Stopping Drinking, Manner of Drinking, and Serious Harm Reduction. Marijuana PBS was assessed in study 2 and study 3 and frequency of alcohol use was assessed in study 1 and 3. Other measures assessed throughout the studies was frequency of marijuana use, quantity of alcohol and marijuana use, and consequences of alcohol and marijuana use.

Overall, participants in all three studies reported they did not strongly endorse a substance-related identity. Manner of Drinking (MOD) PBS was the only PBS found to mediate the relationship between drinking identity and alcohol quantity. Marijuana PBS was found to be a mediator between marijuana identity and marijuana-related consequences.  Knowing more about student’s identity and PBS may help create interventions that will help to be more individualized to each student.

Take Away: The current study aims to examine protective behavioral strategies (PBS) as a mediator of the relationship between drinking/marijuana identity and alcohol/marijuana-related outcomes. The study included three different studies including one being an interventional study with heavy drinking students, one identifying marijuana outcomes, and the third being substance use in a community setting. Measures throughout the three studies included drinking/ marijuana identity, alcohol PBS, marijuana PBS, frequency of marijuana use, quantity of alcohol and marijuana use, and consequences of alcohol and marijuana use Manner of Drinking (MOD) PBS was the only PBS found to mediate the relationship between drinking identity and alcohol quantity. Marijuana PBS was also found to be a mediator between marijuana identity and marijuana-related consequences.  

Montes, K. S., Dela Cruz, M., Weinstein, A. P., Pearson, M. R., Lindgren, K. P., & Neighbors, C. (2021). Alcohol and marijuana protective behavioral strategies mediate the relationship between substance use identity and use-related outcomes: A multi-sample examination. Addictive Behaviors, 112, 106613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106613