Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan;39(1):133-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.09.016. Epub 2013 Sep 20.

Drinking motives as moderators of the effect of ambivalence on drinking and alcohol-related problems

Dawn W Foster  1 , Clayton Neighbors, Alexander Prokhorov
Affiliations

Drinking motives as moderators of the effect of ambivalence on drinking and alcohol-related problems

Dawn W Foster et al. Addict Behav. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

The current study seeks to evaluate relationships between drinking motives and alcohol-related ambivalence in the prediction of problem drinking. We expected that: 1) main effects would emerge such that alcohol-related ambivalence would be positively associated with peak drinking and problems; drinking motives would be positively associated with drinking and problems, and 2) interactions would emerge between motives and ambivalence in predicting problematic drinking such that drinking motives would be positively associated with peak drinking and problems, especially among those high in ambivalence over drinking. Six hundred sixty-nine undergraduate students (mean age=22.95, SD=5.47, 82.22% female) completed study materials. Results showed that consistent with expectations, ambivalence was positively associated with peak drinking and problems. Further, consistent with expectations, drinking motives were positively associated with peak drinking and problems. Additionally, ambivalence was positively associated with drinking motives. Significant interactions emerged between drinking motives (social and coping) and ambivalence when predicting peak drinking and alcohol-related problems. These findings highlight the importance of considering motives in the relationship between ambivalence and drinking. Clinical implications include the need for tailoring interventions to target individual difference factors that increase risk for heavy drinking and associated problems. This is especially important among college students who may be at risk for problematic behavior.

Keywords: Conformity; Coping; Drinking; Enhancement; Social.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Coping drinking motives and ambivalence interacted when predicting alcohol-related problems.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Social drinking motives and ambivalence interacted when predicting alcohol-related problems.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Coping drinking motives and ambivalence interacted when predicting peak drinks.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abbey A, Smith MJ, Scott RO. The relationship between reasons for drinking alcohol and alcohol consumption: An interactional approach. Addictive Behaviors. 1993;18(6):659–670. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Armitage CJ. Beyond attitudinal ambivalence: Effects of belief homogeneity on attitude–intention–behaviour relations. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2003;33(4):551–563.
    1. Baer JS. Etiology and secondary prevention of alcohol problems with young adults. In: Baer J, Marlatt G, McMahon R, Baer J, Marlatt G, McMahon R, editors. Addictive behaviors across the life span: Prevention, treatment, and policy issues. Sage Publications, Inc.; Thousand Oaks, CA US: 1993. pp. 111–137.
    1. Baumeister RF, Stillwell AM, Heatherton TF. Personal narratives about guilt: Role in action control and interpersonal relationships. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 1995;17(1–2):173–198.
    1. Benson PL. Religion and substance use. In: Schumaker JF, editor. Religion and mental health. Oxford Univ. Press; New York: 1992. pp. 211–220.