title: Pre-drinking and alcohol-related harm in undergraduates: the influence of explicit motives and implicit alcohol identity.
abstract: The present study investigated how pre-drinking could be explained using a model based on dual-systems theory, incorporating measures of explicit and implicit constructs. Undergraduate students (N = 144; 44 male; 100 female; M age = 20.1 years), completed an online survey comprising measures of pre-drinking motives, a measure of pre-drinking cost motives, and an alcohol identity implicit association test. Variance-based structural equation modelling revealed that the predictors explained 34.8% of the variance in typical pre-drinking alcohol consumption and 25% of the variance in alcohol-related harm. Cost, interpersonal enhancement, and barriers to consumption motives predicted higher typical pre-drinking alcohol consumption and greater alcohol-related harm. Higher situational control scores predicted lower typical pre-drinking alcohol consumption, and lower alcohol-related harm. Positive implicit alcohol identity predicted alcohol-related harm, but not typical alcohol consumption. Results indicate that a dual-systems approach to pre-drinking has utility in predicting alcohol-related harm and may inform interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and associated harm.
authors.affiliation: Health Psychology and Behavioural Medicine Research Group, School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, 6530, Australia, kim.caudwell@postgrad.curtin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Caudwell
authors.forename: Martin S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hagger
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult