Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Preliminary Investigation Of Caffeinated Alcohol Use During Spring Break, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael, Cathy Lau-Barraco

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Caffeinated alcoholic beverages (e.g., Red Bull and vodka) are popular but associated with negative consequences. CABs may be particularly popular during Spring Break, a potentially risky social event.

Objectives: We aimed to identify the prevalence of Spring Break caffeinated alcohol use, determine how caffeinated alcohol use Spring Break drinking habits differ from usual, and examine the association between Spring Break caffeinated alcohol use and alcohol-related problems.

Methods: Data were collected from 95 college students during March of 2013 and 2014. Students completed questionnaires of their alcohol and caffeinated alcohol use before and during Spring Break and Spring Break alcohol-related …

Alcohol Expectancies Mediate The Relationship Between Age Of First Intoxication And Drinking Outcomes In College Binge Drinkers, Amy L. Stamates, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Ashley Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: While prior research has shown that age of first intoxication (AI) is associated with negative alcohol outcomes, limited research has examined factors accounting for this relationship. Alcohol expectancies, or beliefs about the effects of alcohol, may explain such associations as both positive and negative expectancies have been shown to be key predictors of drinking outcomes.

Objective: The present study examined expectancies as mediators between early AI and alcohol-related outcomes.

Method: Data collection occurred in 2012 and 2013. Participants were college students (N = 562, 65.8% women) who completed an online survey including measures of alcohol use history, alcohol expectancies, …

A Latent Profile Analysis Of Drinking Patterns Among Nonstudent Emerging Adults, Cathy Lau-Barraco, Abby L. Braitman, Amy L. Stamates, Ashley N. Linden-Carmichael

Psychology Faculty Publications

Research indicates that nonstudent emerging adults, as compared to their college-attending peers, are at higher risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems, including alcohol use disorders. The present study sought to extend the limited research on nonstudent drinking by (1) identifying sub-groups of nonstudent drinkers based on their drinking patterns and (2) determining the extent to which social-cognitive between-person factors related to drinking (i.e., social expectancies, perceived drinking norms, social drinking motivations) distinguish these sub-groups. Participants were 195 (65.1% men) nonstudent emerging adult heavy episodic drinkers recruited from the community. Mean age was 21.88 (SD = 2.08) years and 45.4% were unemployed. …