It is well known that alcohol misuse among U.S. college students is a major public health concern. Better understanding of motivations behind responsible drinking may health to develop interventions that are more effective than current interventions. The current study looks at Self Determination Theory (SDT) motivations for college students to drink responsibly.

507 students were recruited who reported alcohol consumption in the previous 3 months and were 22.8 years of age on average. They assessed four motivation for responsible drinking including autonomous motivation, introjected regulation, external regulation, and amotivation. Researchers used the Index of Autonomous Functioning to look at overall dispositional autonomy. The Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale was used to assess stopping/limiting drinking, manner of drinking, and serious harm reduction. Alcohol use was assessed by looking at frequency, typical quantity, peak quantity, and heavy episodic drinking. Alcohol related problems were assessed.

Results showed that overall, participants had 36 drinking days during the previous 3 months with 5.4 heavy drinking episodes. The participants were split into 3 classes. The first class (53%, “High Quality”) of the sample and was defined by high levels of autonomous motivation and introjected regulation along with low levels of external regulation and amotivation. The second class (24.5%, “High Quantity”) was defined by high levels on all subscales. The final class (22.5%, “Low Quantity”) was defined by low levels on all subscales. The High Quality class was found to have the highest level of psychological need satisfaction, dispositional autonomy, and frequent use of serious harm reduction PBS. The High Quality and High Quantity reported less alcohol use and problems overall. These results show support for different motivations based on SDT for responsible drinking.

Take Away: The current study looks at Self Determination Theory (SDT) motivations for college students to drink responsibly. To complete the study, 507 students were recruited who reported alcohol consumption in the previous 3 months. Measures included motivation for responsible drinking, overall dispositional autonomy, protective behavior strategies, alcohol use, and alcohol related problems. The participants were split into 3 classes. The classes included “High Quality,” “High Quantity,” and “Low Quantity.” The High Quality class was found to have the highest level of psychological need satisfaction, dispositional autonomy, and frequent use of serious harm reduction PBS. The High Quality and High Quantity reported less alcohol use and problems overall. These results show support for motivations based on SDT for responsible drinking.

Richards, D. K., Pearson, M. R., & Field, C. A. (2020). Profiles of motivations for responsible drinking among college students: A self-determination theory perspective. Addictive Behaviors, 111, 106550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106550