College life is commonly associated with drinking and drinking-related problems. Many of these behaviors decrease as students transition into post-college life, however some do not. One main factor that may be associated to this is drinking to cope (DTC) with stress and negative affect. The goal of this study was to look at association between DTC motivation and drinking-related problems as individuals progress through early adulthood.
The study began with 1141 college students who reported at least one heavy drinking day in two separate assessments. The students were then contacted five years later with 939 participants surveyed. Drinking motives were assessed by asking how often participants drank for various reasons. Drinking level was assessed by reports of number of drinking days and heavy drinking days. Drinking related problems were assessed by asking about different subscales such as interpersonal, impaired control, and blackout drinking. Drinking motives, alcohol use, and drinking related problems at the beginning of the study while participants were in college and again during the post-college survey.
Results showed drinking motives, problems, and drinking level all decreased from college to post-college. Self-care problems and drinking days increased over time. DTC motivation was correlated to all problems during both surveys except for blackout drinking post-college. Social motivation was negatively related to self-control, risky behaviors, and academic/occupational problems post-college. This shows social motives may have a protective effect post-college. DTC motivation and interpersonal problems became stronger from college to post-college and DTC motivation and blackout drinking became weaker. These findings show the importance of understanding how drinking motives effect specific drinking-related problems and how these change throughout early adulthood.
Take Away: The goal of this study was to look at association between drinking to cope (DTC) motivation and drinking-related problems as individuals progress through early adulthood. The study included 939 participants at the end point who completed a survey while in college and one post-college. Measures included drinking motives, alcohol use, and drinking related problems. Results showed that drinking motives, problems, and drinking level all decreased from college to post-college. DTC motivation was found to be correlated to all problems except for blackout drinking post-college. Social motivation was negatively related to self-control, risky behaviors, and academic/occupational problems post-college. All these findings show the importance of understanding how drinking motives effect specific drinking-related problems and how these change throughout early adulthood.
Shank, F., Armeli, S., Hamilton, H. R., & Tennen, H. (2020). Post-college changes in the association between drinking motives and drinking-related problems. Addictive Behaviors, 111, 106568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106568