A dynamic risk factor is a variable that can change across time, and as it changes, there is a corresponding change in the likelihood of the outcome. In corrections, there is evidence for dynamic risk factors when relatively more proximal reassessments enhance predictive validity for recidivism. In this article, we tested the proximity hypothesis with longitudinal, multiple-reassessment data gathered from 3,421 individuals supervised on parole in New Zealand (N ϭ 68,667 assessments of theoretically dynamic risk factors conducted by corrections case managers). In this sample, reassessments consistently improved prediction as demonstrated by (1) incremental prediction over initial baseline scores and (2) improved model fit of the most recent assessment compared with the average of earlier scores. These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that support community corrections agencies conducting repeated assessments of the risk for imminent recidivism using a dynamic risk instrument. Public Significance StatementCorrections agencies should regularly reassess risk for recidivism during parole because updated assessments are more accurate than prior assessments. Promoting personal and situational changes related to patterns of reducing risk in the community should be a core objective for psychologists and other professionals engaged with the successful reintegration of individuals with a history of crime.

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Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are cognitive-behavioral strategies used before, during, and/or after drinking to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a potentially useful framework to understand motivations for responsible drinking, which is operationalized in the present study as PBS use. In the present study, we examined the relation of motivations for responsible drinking, as assessed by the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ), with other SDT constructs (psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy) and PBS use. A sample of 507 college students who reported consuming alcohol at least once in the past 3 months were recruited from a random sample of students enrolled at a Hispanic serving institution to complete an online survey. Consistent with SDT and previous studies of the TSRQ, we found support for a 4-factor structure of the TSRQ. The TSRQ demonstrated measurement invariance across several sociodemographic subgroups within the sample (e.g., biological sex, age, year in school), supporting the use of the TSRQ across these subgroups. Further, consistent with SDT-based hypotheses, greater psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy were related to more self-determined motivations for responsible drinking. Also consistent with SDT, more self-determined motivations for responsible drinking were related to more frequent PBS use. The present findings further support the utility of the TSRQ for assessing motivations for responsible drinking and support SDT as a framework for understanding responsible drinking. Future directions for research applying SDT to understand and promote responsible drinking among college students are discussed. Public Health SignificanceThis study suggests that college students are more likely to engage in alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies if they endorse more autonomous reasons for responsible drinking. Satisfaction of three psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as well as higher dispositional autonomy are related to more autonomous reasons for responsible drinking. Promoting more autonomous reasons for responsible drinking through alcohol interventions may increase harm reduction behaviors among college students.

Drinking motives, or reasons people choose to drink, are well-established risk factors for alcohol use and related negative consequences. Recent research has shown utility in a self-determination theory (SDT) approach for describing motivation for engaging in behaviors that reduce the harms associated with alcohol use (i.e., drinking responsibly). In the present study, we examined the relationship between drinking motives and motivations for drinking responsibly as well as their unique and incremental associations with alcohol-related outcomes (protective behavioral strategies [PBS], consumption, and negative consequences) in two samples of college student drinkers: (a) a random sample (n = 507) recruited from a Hispanic-Serving Institution on the U.S. border with Mexico (M age = 22.84, SD = 5.84; 67.3% female; 90.9% Hispanic) and (b) a convenience sample (n = 2,808) from Psychology Department research participation pools at 10 universities in 8 U.S. states (M age = 20.59, SD = 4.18; 72.9% female; 58.2% non-Hispanic White). Autonomous motivations (experience of volition and choice) for drinking responsibly were negatively correlated with drinking motives, but these correlations were small-to-medium in magnitude suggesting nonredundancy between the constructs. Drinking motives were risk factors for alcohol-related outcomes, especially alcohol-related problems, and autonomous motivations for drinking responsibly were protective factors for alcohol-related outcomes, especially PBS. Both motivational constructs predicted alcohol-related outcomes beyond the other, but drinking motives generally accounted for more variance. These findings suggest that integrating motivation in relation to both drinking and drinking responsibly may lead to a better understanding of alcohol-related behaviors and the associated negative consequences among college students. Implications for college drinking interventions are discussed.

Aims This study assessed the factor, concurrent and predictive validity of the revised Readiness to Change Questionnaire [Treatment Version] (RCQ[TV]) among non-treatment-seeking individuals. Methods Non-treatment-seeking patients (Mage = 34.8, SD = 12.4) who screened positive for alcohol misuse were recruited from three urban Level I Trauma Centers and completed the RCQ[TV] (Heather et al. [(1999) Development of a treatment version of the Readiness to Change Questionnaire. Addict Res7, 63–83]). Results A confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of the RCQ[TV]. Observed scores for precontemplation, contemplation and action demonstrated concurrent validity, as they were correlated with drinking and alcohol-related problems prior to baseline assessment. Finally, RCQ[TV] scores at baseline added to the predictability of an alcohol consumption composite score at a 3-month follow-up after controlling for baseline alcohol consumption and randomization to treatment arm. Conclusions The results of the present study suggest that the RCQ[TV] has desirable psychometric properties and supports the use of the RCQ[TV] among non-treatment-seeking patients with alcohol misuse.