Differentiating between sensation seeking and impulsivity through their mediated relations with alcohol use and problems

Abstract

Disinhibition is a strong correlate of alcohol use, yet limited alcohol research has examined the facets of this personality construct. Recent work suggests that sensation seeking and impulsivity show differential relations with alcohol outcomes, indicating unique mechanisms of risks associated with each of these dimensions of disinhibition. The goal of the study was to examine sensation seeking and impulsivity as unique predictors of alcohol use and problems, and to test a broad range of drinking motives as potential mediators of these relations. Self-reported data from college students (N=310) were utilized for the study. Results suggested that sensation seeking and impulsivity were associated with alcohol use and problems through different mediational pathways. There was some evidence for gender moderating these pathways.The findings indicate that alcohol prevention and intervention programs should be tailored to specifically target individuals elevated on impulsivity versus sensation seeking.

Drinking Motives in the Prospective Prediction of Unique Alcohol-Related Consequences in College Students

“…Of note, we observed no direct or indirect effects of conformity or social motives on alcohol use or consequences over the course of the year. The lack of effects of social motives on alcohol use and consequences replicates other cross-sectional work (Magid et al, 2007;Merrill and Read, 2010;Patrick et al, 2011). Other work also has shown nonsignifi cant associations between conformity motives and alcohol use (Crutzen et al, 2013;Magid et al, 2007;Merrill and Read, 2010;Patrick et al, 2011) and suggests that conformity motives may not be particularly relevant for college students (e.g., Karwacki and Bradley, 1996).…”

“…These motive types have less affect regulatory basis and are less frequently related to college drinking (Brown and Finn, 1982;Cooper, 1994;Johnston et al, 2003;Karwacki and Bradley, 1996;MacLean and Lecci, 2000). Nonetheless, research examining the impact of affectrelevant motives typically controls for the shared variance that exists across the range of motives for drinking (Cooper, 1994;Crutzen et al, 2013;Magid et al, 2007;Merrill and Read, 2010), allowing for isolation of the specifi c roles for coping and enhancement motives in drinking behavior.…”

“…Although coping motives are shown to be associated with consequences in college students (Carey and Correia, 1997;Kassel et al, 2000), evidence that coping motives are associated with greater alcohol use is more equivocal. Although some research supports an association (Cooper et al, 2000;Labouvie and Bates, 2002), other research, particularly with college students, has not shown a direct link between coping motives and alcohol use (LaBrie et al, 2012;Magid et al, 2007;Merrill and Read, 2010;Patrick et al, 2011). Of importance, however, theory and data suggest that coping motives predict alcohol consequences regardless of quantity or frequency of drinking (Cooper et al, 1995;Molnar et al, 2010;Patrick et al, 2011;Read et al, 2003).…”

“…Of importance, however, theory and data suggest that coping motives predict alcohol consequences regardless of quantity or frequency of drinking (Cooper et al, 1995;Molnar et al, 2010;Patrick et al, 2011;Read et al, 2003). In contrast, enhancement motives consistently predict alcohol use and tend to be linked to alcohol consequences indirectly, through higher levels of drinking (Cooper et al, 1988(Cooper et al, , 1995Magid et al, 2007;Merrill and Read, 2010;Read et al, 2003). The primary goal of the present study was to establish whether direct and indirect effects of coping and enhancement motives, respectively, replicate in a prospective test examining unique consequence types as outcomes.…”

Las cenas navideñas de empresa. ¿Un modelo de consumo recreativo de alcohol y otras drogas?

“…En este caso son los adultos quienes toman el ejemplo de los más jóvenes e inician un consumo de sustancias. Los adultos, además, instrumentalizan el consumo como una vía de rejuvenecimiento y de búsqueda de sensaciones, especialmente las de euforia y desinhibición; éstas, tal y como indican investigaciones previas 44,45 , constituyen unas de las motivaciones principales para iniciar un consumo de sustancias.…”