A daily diary exploration of contexts and experiences associated with planned drinking decisions in young adults

Social/Party Incentives Increase the Risk of Heavier Alcohol Use in Impulsive Individuals

BACKGROUND

Impulsivity is associated with excessive drinking and negative alcohol-related consequences. However, studies have not used an in-vivo approach (i.e., daily diary) to examine how the effect of impulsivity on excessive alcohol use could be moderated by context-specific mechanisms, such as incentives.

METHOD

The study recruited a sample of young adults (n = 102, 61.8% females), who, for two weeks, responded to questions about their total number of drinks and the incentives (alcohol incentives and social/party incentives) that influenced their decisions to drink. At baseline, participants completed a questionnaire assessing trait impulsivity.

RESULTS

The findings indicated a significant main effect of social/party incentives and alcohol incentives on the total number of drinks consumed, such that individuals decided to drink more alcohol on days when they reported higher levels of either incentive dimension. The results also revealed that only social/party incentives interacted with impulsivity, such that highly impulsive individuals decided to drink more at events with more social/party incentives.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight that highly impulsive individuals appear to be more responsive to social/party incentives at drinking events. Future research could benefit from continued exploration of social rewards as potential precursors to heavy drinking in highly impulsive individuals.

Influence of positive consequences on subsequent incentive ratings and drinking quantity

Alcohol use is prevalent among young adults, with significant rates of binge drinking and frequent reports of both positive and negative consequences. The current study investigates how positive drinking consequences influence subsequent incentives ratings and drinking behavior. Utilizing mobile daily diary data from 104 young adults over two weeks (event N = 507), we assessed the impact of event-specific positive consequences on future incentive ratings and drinking quantity. Findings revealed that positive consequences were not consistently associated with higher sensitivity to incentives, opposing hypotheses. Specifically, positive alcohol consequences were associated with a slight decrease in next-event alcohol incentive ratings, contrary to the expected positive feedback loop (b = -0.13, p = 0.03). While previous event experiences did not significantly moderate the relationship between incentive ratings and drinking quantities, within-subject increases in incentive ratings for social/party (IRR = 0.45, p < 0.001) and alcohol (IRR = 0.39, p < 0.001) incentives were linked to changes in drinking quantity. Results underscore the complexity of the relationship between positive consequences and drinking behavior, indicating that individual differences, experienced consequences, and salient rewards (i.e., incentives) may play crucial roles in future drinking behavior. Future research should explore additional mechanisms of learning and diverse populations to expand on these findings and enhance strategies for reducing risky drinking behaviors.

Day-level examination of ego-network effects on college students' alcohol consumption

OBJECTIVE

Egocentric social network analyses show that drinking habits of college students' friends predict personal alcohol consumption. To date, most of this research focused on between-person, cross-sectional, or long-term longitudinal designs to evaluate these effects. This study used intensive longitudinal methods to examine episode-specific effects of social networks (network drinking, network composition) on college students' drinking, comparing within-person and between-person effects on individual episodic drinking, and highlighted social network characteristics that might be targeted for intervention.

METHOD

College students (N = 1,151, 54% female, Mage = 19.26, 81% White) identified their ego network: five close alters (e.g., friends, family) whom they met frequently. For 30 days using an internet-based diary, participants reported their daily drinking levels, indicated whether they met with each alter the previous night, and reported how many drinks each alter consumed.

RESULTS

Two-part multilevel models were used to examine participant drinking. At the within-person level, when a higher proportion of a participant's ego network drank and when network total drinks were higher than average, the odds that a participant drank were significantly increased, and if they did drink, they consumed more alcoholic drinks than usual. Participants were more likely to drink on days when their network was comprised of more friends and more opposite-gender alters.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide preliminary evidence that daily network drinking appears to influence drinking patterns and quantities among students. Such information could be used within ecological momentary interventions to prevent harmful drinking patterns such as heavy drinking episodes and incapacitation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Making decisions one drink at a time and the "just one drink" effect: A fuzzy-trace theory model of harmful drinking

BACKGROUND

Understanding the decision factors that drive harmful alcohol use among young adults is of practical and theoretical importance. We apply fuzzy-trace theory (FTT) to investigate a potential danger that may arise from the arguably correct notion that a single drink carries no meaningful risk. Decisions that are mentally represented as one drink at a time could contribute to excessive drinking.

METHODS

College students (N = 351) made a series of decisions to take or decline eight hypothetical drinks presented one at a time. Outcome measures included each decision, recent alcohol consumption (weekly drinks, peak blood alcohol content, and binges), and alcohol-related harms (scores on the Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). Linear regression models predicted each outcome from sex, perceived risk of a single drink, perceived risk of heavy drinking, perceived consequences of drinking, and general health-related risk sensitivity.

RESULTS

Consistent with FTT, decisions to have a first drink and up to four additional drinks in short succession were each associated with lower perceived risk of one drink-a "just-one drink" effect-independent of perceived risks of heavy drinking, perceived consequences of drinking, and general risk sensitivity. Similarly, all measures of recent alcohol consumption and consequent harms were associated with perceived risk of one drink. Participants reporting "zero risk" of a single drink had worse outcomes on all measures than those reporting at least "low risk."

CONCLUSIONS

Results are consistent with the theoretically informed premise that consumption decisions are typically made one drink at a time rather than by deciding the total number of drinks to be consumed in a sitting. When decisions about alcohol use proceed one drink at a time, a perception of zero risk in a single drink may contribute to heavy drinking.