Alcohol consumption is a prevalent issue on college campuses, with approximately half of students reporting recent use and 39% engaging in binge drinking, a significant public health concern due to its associated negative consequences. Previous research has shown a strong association between coping-motivated drinking and adverse outcomes, highlighting the need to further investigate drinking motivations. This study aims to explore whether coping-motivated and social-motivated drinking mediates the relationship between trait mindfulness and alcohol-related outcomes, and whether the quantity of alcohol consumed moderates these relationships, intending to propose an effective intervention to address alcohol-related issues among college students.
This study involved 296 undergraduate students, with data collected from those who had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days through an anonymous university participant pool, to examine the relationship between trait mindfulness, drinking motivations (coping and social motives), and alcohol-related consequences. The study employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to analyze the factor structure of alcohol-related consequences. Additionally, eight moderated mediation models were tested to explore whether drinking motivations mediate the relationship between trait mindfulness and alcohol-related consequences, and whether alcohol consumption moderates these relationships.
The study identified four factors of alcohol-related consequences: romantic/sexual, positive, mild negative, and severe negative consequences. Lower levels of trait mindfulness were linked to increased coping motives for drinking, which in turn resulted in adverse outcomes across all factors. It suggests that students who drink to cope are more likely to experience various negative consequences. In contrast, social drinking motives did not mediate the relationship between mindfulness and alcohol-related outcomes, indicating no direct link to negative consequences through social drinking. Alcohol consumption strengthened the relationship between coping motives and mild negative consequences but did not affect severe consequences. Additionally, coping motives were also associated with positive consequences, such as increased confidence, potentially reinforcing further drinking. These findings suggest that mindfulness-based interventions could be effective in addressing alcohol-related problems, particularly for students who drink to cope, as they are more vulnerable to negative outcomes.
Takeaway: Low mindfulness is linked to coping-motivated drinking and negative alcohol outcomes, indicating that mindfulness-based interventions may be effective for college students.