title: Drinking identity as a mediator of the relationship between drinking motives and weekly alcohol consumption among heavy drinking undergraduate students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study assessed relationships among social, coping, enhancement, and conformity drinking motives and weekly alcohol consumption by considering drinking identity as a mediator of this relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 260 heavy drinking undergraduate students (81% female; Mage=23.45; SD=5.39) who completed a web-based survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Consistent with expectations, findings revealed significant direct effects of motives on drinking identity for all four models. Further, significant direct effects emerged for drinking identity on weekly drinking. Results partially supported predictions that motives would have direct effects on drinks per week; total effects of motives on drinking emerged for all models but direct effects of motives on weekly drinking emerged for only enhancement motives. There were significant indirect effects of motives on weekly drinking through drinking identity for all four models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings supported the hypotheses that drinking identity would mediate the relationship between drinking motives and alcohol consumption. These examinations have practical utility and may inform development and implementation of interventions and programs targeting alcohol misuse among heavy drinking undergraduate students.
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, United States. Electronic address: dawn.foster@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Dawn W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012919:Social Behavior; D012925:Social Conformity; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol; Conformity; Coping; Enhancement; Identity; Social