Citation

Savage JE, Dick DM. Subst. Use Misuse 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10826084.2023.2223269

PMID

37339914

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Drinking motives are strong proximal predictors of alcohol use behaviors and may represent a mediational mechanism by which different individual predispositions toward internalizing or externalizing psychopathology lead to the development of alcohol misuse. However, whether the association is due to a causal relationship or a shared etiology (i.e., confounding) is difficult to determine and may change across developmental periods.

METHODS: This study leveraged a cross-lagged panel design to disentangle the nature of the relationships between self-report measures of drinking motives, alcohol misuse, and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in a 4-year longitudinal sample of college students (N = 9,889).

RESULTS: Results pointed to a putative causal effect of drinking motives on early binge drinking frequency, but the direction of effect later reversed, reflecting a possible developmental shift during college. On the other hand, the relationships between drinking motives and internalizing/externalizing psychopathology appeared to be driven by shared etiology rather than direct causal mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the distinct and important role of drinking motives in the etiology of alcohol misuse and have implications for the application of tailored prevention and treatment strategies.

Language: en

Keywords

longitudinal; college students; cross-lagged; Drinking motives