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Journal Article

Citation

Mushquash AR, Sherry SB, Mackinnon SP, Mushquash CJ, Stewart SH. Subst. Abuse 2014; 35(3): 222-225.

Affiliation

St. Joseph's Care Group Mental Health Outpatient Programs.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/08897077.2013.876486

PMID

24417621

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Heavy episodic (binge) drinking is common in and problematic for undergraduates. Researchers often assume an individual's heavy episodic drinking is stable and trait-like. However, this fails to consider fluctuating, state-like variation in heavy episodic drinking. This study proposes and tests a novel conceptualization of heavy episodic drinking as a trait-state wherein the contribution of both trait-like stability and state-like fluctuations are quantified. It was hypothesized heavy episodic drinking is a trait-state such that individuals have trait-like tendencies to engage in heavy episodic drinking, and state-like differences in the expression of this tendency over time.

METHODS: A sample of 114 first-year undergraduates from a Canadian university completed self-report measures of heavy episodic drinking at three time points across 130 days. Hypotheses were tested with repeated measures ANOVA, test-retest correlations, and generalizability theory analyses.

RESULTS: A substantial proportion of the variance in heavy episodic drinking is attributable to trait-like stability, with a smaller proportion attributable to state-like fluctuations.

CONCLUSIONS: The heavy episodic drinker seems characterized by a stable, trait-like tendency to drink in a risky manner, and this trait-like tendency seems to fluctuate in degree of expression over time. Findings complement research suggesting people have trait-like predispositions that increase their risk for heavy episodic drinking. However, despite this stable tendency to drink heavily, the frequency of heavy episodic drinking appears to be at least partly sporadic or situation-dependent. These findings serve as a caution to alcohol researchers and clinicians who often assume a single assessment of heavy episodic drinking captures a person's usual drinking behavior.


Language: en

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