TY - JOUR PY - 2023// TI - The indirect effects of self-regulation on the association of social support with increased protective drinking behavior and decreased alcohol problems in a predominantly Hispanic college student sample JO - Alcohol (Hanover, York County, Pa.) A1 - Sanchez-Garciaguirre, Aitiana A1 - Najera, Sarah A1 - Portillo, Erin M. A1 - Field, Craig A. SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - BACKGROUND: Past research suggests that self-regulation, which refers to one's ability to manage behavior, and social support are related to alcohol use. Additional research suggests that social support may serve as a precursor to self-regulation and health promoting behaviors. This study sought to determine whether self-regulation may have an indirect effect on the association of social support with protective drinking behaviors and alcohol problems.

METHODS: A random sample of students at a Hispanic Serving Institution were selected to complete an online survey, which included sociodemographic questions, the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire, the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale, and the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. Undergraduate students (n=192) who reported drinking in the last month were included in the analysis.

RESULTS: A path analysis using Mplus 8 was conducted to investigate the relationships between social support, self-regulation, protective behavioral strategies, and alcohol-related problems.

RESULTS indicated that self-regulation had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between social support with protective behavioral strategies and alcohol-related problems.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current cross-sectional study results suggest that a viable hypothesis in future longitudinal studies is that self-regulation may be a mechanism by which social support increases protective behavioral strategies and reduces alcohol problems. Future research should assess both the mediating effects of self-regulation between social support and drinking outcomes as well as potential moderators, such as ethnicity, in a longitudinal study.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2993-7175 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acer.15253 ID - ref1 ER -