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Peer victimization—otherwise known as bullying victimization—is a known risk factor for increased alcohol use, however the neural correlates of this association remain unknown. Early life peer victimization may impact neural affect reactivity, which may contribute to alcohol use as a maladaptive coping mechanism later in life. Peer victimization has been associated with differential structure and/or function of the orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate and insula cortices, and amygdala. These neural networks have also been implicated in affect reactivity and regulation, heavy drinking, and addiction. Whether differential structure and/or function of these neural regions is associated with greater alcohol use in young adults with history of peer victimization has not been directly investigated. This dissertation comprised a secondary data analysis in IMAGEN—a multinational European research project. This study aimed to investigate whether greater early life peer victimization (ages:14-22) is associated with differential structure and function (Angry-Neutral-Faces Task) in orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate and insula cortices, and amygdala in 674 young adults (53% female, mean age:22 [SD:1]). Additionally, this study investigated whether increased alcohol use associated with peer victimization is mediated by greater endorsement of coping anxiety and depression drinking motives, and whether this mediation is, in turn, moderated by differences in gray matter volume and/or functional activation in a priori regions of interest. Higher peer victimization scores were associated with greater gray matter volume in left anterior insula, and lower functional activation in left orbitofrontal cortex when viewing angry compared to neutral faces. Coping anxiety and depression drinking motives fully mediated relations between most severe peer victimization scores and greater frequency and quantity of recent alcohol use. Additionally, most severe peer victimization scores were associated with greater coping depression drinking motives in participants with lower gray matter volume in left anterior insula, and in young adult females with lower functional activation in left orbitofrontal cortex. Follow-up studies are needed to replicate—and expand upon—these findings. Identifying biomarkers of greater alcohol use in young adults with history of peer victimization may provide the foundation for future clinical trials and development of prevention initiatives aimed at decreasing risk of alcohol misuse.

College is a pivotal time when many individuals begin to cultivate social relationships and engage in heavy drinking practices, resulting in alcohol-related consequences. Two potential factors associated with college drinking behaviors are loneliness and drinking motivation. Loneliness has mixed associations with drinking behaviors, meanwhile, drinking motives have clear associations with drinking behaviors. Prior research suggests that individuals experiencing loneliness are more likely to drink to cope, yet the existing research examining loneliness, drinking motives, and drinking behaviors is limited. Thus, this study aims to examine associations between 1) loneliness and drinking behaviors; 2) loneliness and drinking motives; 3) and whether drinking motives mediate associations between loneliness and drinking behaviors. A secondary data analysis was conducted, which included 1,107 college students aged 18-25 (55.06% women), with a mean age of 21.57 years. Results showed that, controlling for anxiety and depressive symptoms, loneliness is not associated with alcohol consumption nor alcohol-related consequences. It was also found that all four drinking motives were positively associated with loneliness. Lastly, conformity motivation was the sole significant mediator, such that those who were lonely and drank for conformity motives, had fewer drinks per week; however, had more alcohol-related consequences. These results aid in our understanding of the role of loneliness in drinking and can assist in creating future prevention interventions for heavy drinking in college students.

Elevated social anxiety is a well-documented risk factor for developing problematic alcohol use behaviors. Adolescents with high social anxiety often report drinking for coping-related reasons, and drinking to cope has been linked to both acute and chronic alcohol use problems. Research further suggests that parenting is a primary socialization domain in terms of adolescent alcohol use onset and trajectory; however, no work has yet examined the role of parenting factors in the relation between social anxiety and coping motives for drinking. The current study investigated the role of two parenting dimensions, rejection/warmth and psychological control, on the link between social anxiety and problematic drinking motives. Drawing from an ongoing assessment of an inpatient program, the sample consisted of 94 girls and boys (ages 11-17 years). Regression analyses evaluated main effects of social anxiety, rejection, psychological control, the interactive effects of the parenting dimensions, and the three-way interaction of both parenting dimensions with social anxiety on coping motives for alcohol use. As expected, social anxiety was positively and statistically significantly related to coping motives when examined via raw scores, proportional values, and in the final model. Further, zero-order correlations indicated a positive, statistically significant relation between proportional coping motives and both rejection and psychological control; however, no other hypothesis was supported. Collectively, this body of work underscores the potential benefit of integrating social stress and anxiety management in problematic alcohol use intervention efforts, as well as drinking motive education in efforts targeting social anxiety.

This study investigated the effects of leadership style and burnout experiences on alcohol consumption behaviors among university faculty and staff members. Participants were a mixture of 400 faculty and staff members at a midsized, Midwestern university. It was hypothesized that university faculty and staff members demonstrating high involvement leadership styles, such as transformational leadership, would experience highest levels of burnout and alcohol consumption behaviors related to coping. A series of correlations examined how leadership style and experienced burnout affects drinking motives. The current project found that those with a higher tendency to drink to cope were less likely to have transformational leadership traits. Participants reporting greater levels of drinking to cope were more likely to have passive/avoidant leadership traits. Participants reporting personal, work-related, and client-related burnout were also more likely to drink to cope. Multiple regression examined how leadership style impacted burnout and alcohol consumption behaviors. Self-reported problems relating to alcohol consumption was not predicted by personal burnout, work-related burnout, client-related burnout, transformational leadership, or transactional leadership. Alcohol problems were predicted by passive/avoidant leadership traits. Findings from this study contribute to the almost nonexistent literature base of leadership and alcohol consumption behaviors in employees of higher education institutions.

Drinking behaviors among college students have become problematic as evidenced by 20% of students who endorse five or more problems associated with alcohol use. Alcohol use problems are associated with numerous anxiety problems and can begin as early as young adolescence. The period for risk of developing emotional problems peaks during the transition to college. Despite the relationship between anxiety and alcohol use problems, little is known about the cross-cutting mechanisms that explain their relationship and comorbidity. Researchers have proposed affective (i.e. anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance) and alcohol-specific motivations (i.e. expectancies, valuations, peer influence, and drinking motives) as vulnerabilities for alcohol use and anxiety problems. To address the relationship gap,, the current study examined how changes in anxiety sensitivity, alcohol expectancies, valuations, peer resistance, and drinking motives contributed to changes in alcohol and anxiety interference across three waves of time. Key findings from 297 college students revealed expectancies predicted positive changes alcohol use problems across two phases of time. Anxiety sensitivity predicted alcohol use problems, drinking motives, expectancies, and valuations. Moreover, anxiety sensitivity predicted positive changes in anxiety interference and peer resistance. Drinking motives were associated with increased changes in alcohol useproblems. The relationship between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol use problems were serially mediated via expectancies and motives. These results highlight the importance of targeting specific cognitive- affective mechanisms among early college students to reduce the risk of alcohol use and anxiety-related problems. Adviser: Debra Hope

Alcohol use is a widespread behavior that may be associated with negative consequences, especially for men. Research suggests that individuals are motivated to maintain in-group status by engaging in behaviors prototypical of the in-group when group status has been challenged, and that men are particularly likely to do this when masculine in-group status is threatened. This study investigated masculine drinking behaviors through Social and individual lenses, examining the impact of group identification and individual differences on alcohol consumption rates after a simulated gender threatening situation in a bar laboratory. Sixty-five male students (ages 21-29; 74% Caucasian) were given the chance to consume beer using a taste test paradigm after being exposed to fabricated personality feedback relative to gender standards. This feedback suggested that they were either low in masculinity (threat condition, n = 22) or high in masculinity (control condition, n = 22). A third condition was included to examine the contribution of other motives for use; individuals in this third condition received the low masculinity feedback and then were given information to undermine masculine alcohol use norms (undermine condition, n = 21). As hypothesized, individuals in the threat condition consumed significantly more alcohol than those in the control and undermine conditions. Proposed interaction effects between strength of identification with the masculine in-group or traditional gender role attitudes and alcohol consumption behaviors were not statistically significant. These results suggest that consumption of alcohol by men in Social contexts may be a strongly motivated by the desire to confirm masculine status. This understanding may be used to enhance the effectiveness of norms-based alcohol use treatment protocols.

Recently, universities across the nation have reported increased rates of alcohol use and abuse among students. This rise in drinking levels has been deems a public health concern at many universities. Although the increase in problematic drinking has been found campus wide, there is a special at-risk demographic researchers have begun to focus on: college-athletes. Intercollegiate athletes report alcohol consumption rates well above that of the nonathlete student population and are more likely to engage in a wide variety of risky behaviors including alcohol abuse and more extreme styles of alcohol consumption. To date however, athletes have been looked at as a homogeneous group. The purpose of this study is to delve deeper and examine sport specific motives for alcohol consumption, drinking patterns of athletes, and negative consequences experienced in attempts to help university officials, athletic directors and coaches create more effective prevention and intervention courses.

Alcohol misuse is an important public health concern as it is related to an elevated probability of experiencing a number of negative life events. Historically, alcohol consumption patterns seemed to differ according to sex, but more recent research suggests that the difference has narrowed as gender role orientations have converged. Further, it seems that gender role orientation more reliably predicts differences in patterns of use than biological sex. The goal of this two-part study was to investigate the relation of gender role orientation and alcohol use behaviors with the expectation that masculine gender role orientation would be associated with these behaviors and related motives for use. Results obtained through structural equation modeling techniques suggest a unique relationship between gender role orientation and alcohol consumption behaviors that may function through a consumption motives pathway. It seems that individuals who endorse low levels of gender role typed characteristics consume alcohol at increased rates and that coping motives may mediate this relationship.

Harm reduction strategies can mitigate against some of the deleterious effects of alcohol on families. These strategies are most feasible and cost-effective when they can be targeted at those who are most at risk. Previous studies examining the relation between parents’ alcohol use and their children’s psychological adjustment have failed to consider important contextual questions such as drinking motives. The current investigation set out to identify the extent to which parents’ drinking motives predict internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in their children. The investigation consisted of cross sectional analysis of parents’ drinking motives and their children’s adjustment using data from 154 families recruited from the local community. Utilizing Bayesian data analytic techniques, we examined the role of parents’ drinking motives along with possible mediating variables including familial conflict, parental depression, and parenting style. Results showed that maternal social drinking motives were better predictors of children’s maladjustment than either coping or enhancement drinking motives. Unexpectedly, maternal enhancement drinking motives were associated with fewer adjustment problems. Maternal enhancement drinking motives also predicted higher levels of collaborative conflict resolution and lower levels of parental depression, both of which were associated with reduced levels of children’s externalizing problems. Paternal alcohol consumption and drinking motives were not associated with children’s internalizing or externalizing problems. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) are well established, and research has shown that the rate of co-occurrence of PTSD and SUD exceeds that to be expected by chance. The self-medication hypothesis (SMH; Khantzian, 1985) is the most prominent and widely accepted causal mechanism believed to be responsible for this comorbidity. However, the SMH has garnered inconsistent findings in empirical research and does not appear to sufficiently account for this relationship. The present study sought to expand upon existing research by introducing an inclusive model of PTSD-SUD comorbidity that included other, potentially related factors. The biobehavioral constructs of the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral activation system (BAS) from Gray’s (1982; 2000) reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality constitute vulnerability factors that were posited to explain PTSD/SUD comorbidity beyond the SMH. Additionally, coping and enhancement motives for drinking from Cooper’s (1994) model were assumed to constitute the behavioral outcomes associated with BIS and BAS sensitivities which would reflect divergent paths to PTSD-SUD comorbidity. Specifically, BIS sensitivity was assumed to be positively associated with drinking to cope, and BAS sensitivity would be positively associated with drinking to enhance. Finally, negative emotionality was posited to function as a mediating factor between BIS sensitivity and drinking to cope, while disconstraint would mediate the relationship between BAS sensitivity and drinking to enhance. A total of 264 treatment seeking individuals were recruited from an urban, residential, community based substance use detoxification facility. These individuals completed one-time self-report measures of the model’s constructs, the data from which were used to identify participants who were comorbid with PTSD and SUD. Data from these individuals (N = 97) were submitted to a series of regression analyses to test the relationships represented in the model. Results showed that hypothesized paths associated with BIS sensitivity were mostly supported; however, those associated with BAS sensitivity were not. Limitations of the present study and implications for future research are discussed.

Increases in risky drinking and risky sexual behavior among college women are associated with heightened risk for alcohol- and sex-related negative outcomes (e.g., alcohol use disorders, sexually transmitted infections, sexual victimization). Drinking motives and sex motives might explain involvement in these risky behaviors. Two hundred sixty sexually active college women drinkers completed questionnaires over 10 weeks assessing drinking motives, sex motives, risky drinking and sexual behavior, alcohol-related problems, and sexual victimization. Cluster analysis was performed, with a six-group solution identifying the most meaningful differences among groups of at-risk women. Results suggest that relative levels of motive endorsement are associated with particular patterns of drinking and sexual behavior, alcohol-related problems, and sexual victimization. Interventions may be improved by targeting motives for engagement in drinking and sex rather than targeting behaviors themselves.

The current study examined the relationships among anxiety sensitivity, coping drinking motives, emotion dysregulation, and alcohol use/problems in a sample of 223 undergraduate college women drinkers. Anxiety sensitivity was indirectly related to both alcohol-related problems and alcohol use through coping motives. The indirect effect of anxiety sensitivity on alcohol-related problems (but not alcohol use) through coping motives was qualified by the level of emotion dysregulation. As individuals became more emotionally dysregulated, the strength of the relationship between coping drinking motives and alcohol-related problems increased. Results confirm the importance of emotion dysregulation in explaining alcohol-related problems and have implications for the treatment and prevention of alcohol-related problems in college women.

This 10-week prospective study was conducted to further the understanding of the relationship between coping and enhancement motives and patterns of alcohol consumption, negative consequences/problems, and risky behavior in college women. Participants were 424 college women from a midsized Midwestern university, who completed weekly surveys about their alcohol use, problems associated with alcohol use, general risky behaviors, risky sexual behaviors, and alcohol-facilitated sexual assault. Participants were divided into four groups based upon high internal drinking motives (high-combined, high-coping, high-enhancement, and non-internally motivated). The high-combined group and high-enhancement groups generally had the highest alcohol consumption and drug use, and risky sexual practices with strangers. The high-coping group had the most alcohol-related problems after accounting for alcohol use, risky sex with a regular partner, and was at the greatest risk for alcohol-facilitated sexual assault both retrospectively and prospectively. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

Excessive drinking on college campuses has been investigated extensively in psychological literature. While some studies suggest that business students are consuming alcohol at higher rates than students in other majors, there is a lack of research exploring mechanisms that account for this consumption difference. The focus of this study was to determine to what extent the following variables mediated the relationship between choice of major and drinking behavior: drinking motives, perceived drinking norms for that major, primary psychopathy, and sensation seeking. A total of 169 undergraduate students completed survey packets assessing the following: alcohol consumption (e.g., binge drinking frequency, drinking frequency, and drinking problems), trait anxiety, sensation seeking tendencies, perceived drinking norms, psychopathy, social desirability, and professed motives behind their alcohol consumption. The initial MANCOVA revealed a nonsignificant omnibus F, technically precluding exploration of the subsequent univariate ANOVAs. However, for teaching purposes as well as to explore directions for future research, the complete proposed analyses were conducted. Thus, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution. The first set of univariate ANOVA results indicated that business students and arts and sciences students only significantly differed from each other in binge drinking frequency. Contrary to hypotheses, the results revealed that drinking motives, sensation seeking tendencies, and primary psychopathy did not mediate the relationship between choice of major and binge drinking frequency. The results did indicate that perceived drinking norms for that major fully mediated the relationship between choice of major and binge drinking frequency. Business students may engage in binge drinking more frequently than arts and sciences students due to the perceived drinking norms within their major. That is, while business students did report engaging in binge drinking more frequently, they may also be overestimating the actual amount of alcohol others in their major consume. Therefore, they might consume more alcohol themselves in order to match their perceptions. Although the above results should be interpreted with caution, the treatment and prevention implications include education concerning perceived versus actual drinking norms on college campuses as well as treatment focused on changing the culture surrounding alcohol consumption for business majors.

Previous analyses of the intercorrelations among affective antecedents, drinking motives and alcohol-related outcomes have revealed a complex pattern of associations. The present study further explored these factors by investigating the relationships among the trait affect dimensions of intensity and lability, drinking motives and state daily affect as predictors of binge drinking in 117 undergraduate students. Affect intensity was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between state daily affect and binge drinking. Specifically, higher levels of trait affect intensity would result in (1) a stronger positive association between state positive affect and binge drinking for individuals who endorse strong enhancement-motivated drinking, and (2) a stronger association between state negative affect and binge drinking for individuals who endorse strong coping-motivated drinking. Affective lability, on the other hand, was hypothesized to directly influence binge drinking, with a greater likelihood of binge drinking among individuals endorsing higher levels of affective lability. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted separately for men and women. The results only partially supported the study hypotheses, with gender differences being observed. For women, the probability of binge drinking was associated solely with state positive affect, with a greater likelihood of binge drinking on days with higher levels of positive affect. For men, interactions among state and trait affect and drinking motives were observed. Men were more likely to binge drink if they endorsed both high coping-motivated drinking and labile affect. They also were more likely to binge drink on days with high levels positive affect, but only if they also endorsed either strong enhancement-motivated drinking or strong trait positive emotionality. Implications for intervention strategies and suggestions for further research are discussed.