Alcohol consumption is the most widespread form of substance use in the United States, being responsible for a litany of public health and sociological consequences.  Harmful drinking is found ubiquitously within college campus communities, and the consequences of the practice have the potential to impact student health, safety, academic performance, amongst other important life facets.  Though the physiological effects of acute and chronic alcohol use have been studied extensively, the motivations and influences are considered complex and in need of greater elucidation.  Individuals’ emotional profiles are thought to influence various forms of substance use and are often included as potential factors in alcohol use.  This study evaluates emotion-decision making as it relates to shaping alcohol use and consequences in college students.   

The study’s sample consists of 814 undergraduate students from three large public universities in the United States.  Participants completed surveys concerning their emotional profiles and alcohol use during their second year of enrollment.  The following two years allowed for participants to report their alcohol use behaviors which were used in developing predictive value of the initial survey assessment.  The following measures were included in the initial assessment: demographics, alcohol use (via Daily Drinking Questionnaire), emotion-based decision-making, and alcohol consequences (via Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire and Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test).  Data analysis was performed using zero-order correlations and latent growth modelling across the study’s proposed follow-up timeline.   

Results from the data model indicated emotion-based decision-making to be significantly related to alcohol consequences over time (p<0.001).  In particular, emotion-based decision-making was found to predict the number of alcohol consequences experienced, but the total number of consequences were not found to change significantly over time after initial baseline predictive measures were reached. 

Takeaway: emotional regulation is suggested to play a role in predicting alcohol use behaviors in university students.  Interventions designed to treat substance use in at-risk individuals may benefit from incorporating treatment strategies which involve emotional regulation.

McClain LM, Hultgren BA, Geisner IM, Mallett KA, Turrisi R, Larimer ME. Emotion-based decision-making as a predictor of alcohol-related consequences in college students. Addictive Behaviors. 2022;124:107083. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107083