Psychology Commons^™

Examining The Relationships Between Acculturation Orientations, Perceived And Actual Norms, And Drinking Behaviors Of Short-Term American Sojourners In Foreign Environments, Eric R. Pedersen, Rick A. Cruz, Joseph W. Labrie, Justin F. Hummer

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As little research has examined factors influencing increased and heavy drinking behavior among American sojourners abroad, this study was designed to examine how acculturation orientations (i.e., separation versus assimilation), host country per capita drinking rates, and perceptions about the drinking behavior among other sojourners and natives in the host country predicted alcohol risk abroad. A sample of 216 American college students completing study abroad programs completed a pre-abroad questionnaire to document their pre-abroad drinking levels, followed by a post-return questionnaire to assess drinking while abroad, acculturation orientations and perceived norms of drinking behavior within the foreign environment. A dichotomous variable …

The Structure Of Client Language And Drinking Outcomes In Project Match, Tim Martin, Paulette J. Christopher, Jon M. Houck, Theresa B. Moyers

Faculty and Research Publications

Client language during Motivational Interviewing interventions is an important predictor of drinking outcomes, but there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding what aspects of client language are most predictive. We characterized the structure of client language by factor analyzing frequency counts of several categories of client speech. The results provide limited support for a model proposed by Miller et al. (2006) and Amrhein et al. (2003) but with some important differences. While Amrhein et al. (2003) found that only increasing strength in client commitment language predicted behavior change, the current study revealed that client language preparatory to commitment predicted drinking …

A Naturalistic Study Of The Associations Between Changes In Alcohol Problems, Spiritual Functioning And Psychiatric Symptoms, Melissa L. Miller, Stephen M. Saunders

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The study evaluated how spiritual and religious functioning (SRF), alcohol-related problems, and psychiatric symptoms change over the course of treatment and follow-up. Problem drinkers (n = 55, including 39 males and 16 females) in outpatient treatment were administered questionnaires at pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow up, which assessed two aspects of SRF (religious well-being and existential well-being), two aspects of alcohol misuse (severity and consequences), and two aspects of psychiatric symptoms (depression and anxiety). Significant improvements in SRF, psychiatric symptoms and alcohol misuse were observed from pretreatment to follow-up. Although SRF scores were significantly correlated with psychiatric symptoms at all three …

“This Would Be Better Drunk”: Alcohol Expectancies Become More Positive While Drinking In The College Social Environment, Joseph W. Labrie, Sean Grant, Justin F. Hummer

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The current study examined whether drinking and/or presence in the college social environment led to augmented positive alcohol expectancies among college students (N = 225). Participants were approached during popular drinking nights as they exited events at which alcohol was consumed or in front of their residence as they returned home. Participants completed a brief questionnaire that included an assessment of demographics, breath alcohol concentration (BrAC), and positive expectancies. Within 48 hours of baseline assessment, participants received via email a follow-up survey that re-assessed positive expectancies while sober. Positive sexual expectancies were more strongly endorsed while drinking in the …

Identifying Factors That Increase The Likelihood Of Driving After Drinking Among College Students, Joseph W. Labrie, Shannon R. Kenney, Tehniat Mirza, Andrew Lac

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Driving after drinking (DAD) is a serious public health concern found to be more common among college students than those of other age groups or same-aged non-college peers. The current study examined potential predictors of DAD among a dual-site sample of 3,753 (65% female, 58% Caucasian) college students. Results showed that 19.1% of respondents had driven after 3 or more drinks and 8.6% had driven after 5 or more drinks in the past three months. A logistic regression model showed that male status, fraternity or sorority affiliation, family history of alcohol abuse, medium or heavy drinking (as compared to light …

Child/Adolescent Sexual Abuse And Alcohol: Proposed Pathways To Problematic Drinking In College Via Ptsd Symptoms, Emotion Dysregulation, And Dissociative Tendencies, Alicia K. Klanecky

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research has discussed the use of alcohol to self-medicate posttraumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms following child/adolescent sexual abuse (CASA). Less research has examined the self-medication hypothesis in college students. Further, investigation of the self-medication hypothesis generally precludes the integration of additional psychological vulnerabilities that may impact students’ alcohol consumption. Supported by the “dynamic” stress-diathesis perspective, emotion regulation (ER) difficulties and insufficient dissociative tendencies existing prior to and potentially altered after CASA exposure may relate to problematic alcohol use. The current study aimed to provide an initial, cross-sectional examination of 1) the relations between CASA exposure severity and alcohol use, 2) the …

Protective Behavioral Strategies Mediate The Effect Of Drinking Motives On Alcohol Use Among Heavy Drinking College Students: Gender And Race Differences, Joseph W. Labrie, Andrew Lac, Shannon R. Kenney, Tehniat Mirza

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Objective

This study examined the extent to which protective behavioral strategies (PBS) mediated the influence of drinking motives on alcohol consumption, and if these hypothesized relationships were corroborated across subsamples of gender and race.

Method

Online surveys were completed by 1592 heavy drinking college undergraduates from two universities (49.9% male and 50.1% female; 76.9% Caucasian and 23.1% Asian). Independent samples t-tests compared males and females as well as Caucasians and Asians on measures of drinking motives, PBS use, and alcohol consumption, and structural equation models examined the mediating role of PBS.

Results

Consistent with predictions, t-tests revealed that males reported …

Identifying Factors That Increase The Likelihood For Alcohol-Induced Blackouts In The Prepartying Context, Joseph W. Labrie, Justin F. Hummer, Shannon Kenney, Andrew Lac, Eric Pedersen

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The present study examined risk factors related to “blacking out” (e.g., temporary periods of memory loss during drinking) during preparty drinking events (i.e., pregaming, predrinking). Participants were students from two universities on the West Coast who reported past month prepartying (N = 2,546) in online surveys administered in the fall of 2008. Among these students, 25% (n = 636) reported blacking out during at least one occasion in which they prepartied in the past month. A logistic regression model underscored that Greek student affiliation, family history of alcohol abuse, frequency of prepartying, and both playing drinking games and …

Work Intensity And Substance Use Among Adolescents Employed Part-Time In Entry-Level Jobs, Jessica Samuolis

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated the relationship between number of hours worked, or work intensity, and substance use in a sample of adolescent employees of a supermarket chain. Employees working half-time or more per week (high-intensity hours) were over three times as likely to smoke compared to those working an average of 10 hours or less per week (low-intensity hours). Males working a high intensity number of hours were more than twice as likely to drink compared to males working at low intensity. Utilizing participants drawn from a uniform employment setting, the research findings add to the growing body of evidence linking …