TY - JOUR
T1 - Does drinking refusal self-efficacy mediate the impulsivity-problematic alcohol use relation?
AU - Stevens, Angela
AU - Littlefield, Andrew
AU - Blanchard, Brittany
AU - Littlefield, Amelia
AU - Brown, Jennifer
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2016/2/1
Y1 - 2016/2/1
N2 - There is consistent evidence that impulsivity-like traits relate to problematic alcohol involvement; however, identifying mechanisms that account for this relation remains an important area of research. Drinking refusal self-efficacy (or a person's ability to resist alcohol; DRSE) has been shown to predict alcohol use among college students and may be a relevant mediator of the impulsivity-alcohol relation. The current study examined the indirect effect of various constructs related to impulsivity (i.e., urgency, sensation seeking, and deficits in conscientiousness) via several facets of DRSE (i.e., social pressure, opportunistic, and emotional relief) on alcohol-related problems among a large sample of college students (N = 891). Overall, results indicated that certain DRSE facets were significant mediators of the relation between impulsivity-related constructs and alcohol problems. More specifically, emotional-relief DRSE was a mediator for the respective relations between urgency and deficits in conscientiousness and alcohol problems, whereas social-DRSE was a significant mediator of the respective relations between urgency and sensation seeking with alcohol problems. Results from this study suggest particular types of DRSE are important mediators of the relations between specific impulsivity constructs and alcohol-related problems. These findings support prevention and intervention efforts that seek to enhance drinking refusal self-efficacy skills of college students, particularly those high in certain personality features, in order to reduce alcohol-related problems among this population.
AB - There is consistent evidence that impulsivity-like traits relate to problematic alcohol involvement; however, identifying mechanisms that account for this relation remains an important area of research. Drinking refusal self-efficacy (or a person's ability to resist alcohol; DRSE) has been shown to predict alcohol use among college students and may be a relevant mediator of the impulsivity-alcohol relation. The current study examined the indirect effect of various constructs related to impulsivity (i.e., urgency, sensation seeking, and deficits in conscientiousness) via several facets of DRSE (i.e., social pressure, opportunistic, and emotional relief) on alcohol-related problems among a large sample of college students (N = 891). Overall, results indicated that certain DRSE facets were significant mediators of the relation between impulsivity-related constructs and alcohol problems. More specifically, emotional-relief DRSE was a mediator for the respective relations between urgency and deficits in conscientiousness and alcohol problems, whereas social-DRSE was a significant mediator of the respective relations between urgency and sensation seeking with alcohol problems. Results from this study suggest particular types of DRSE are important mediators of the relations between specific impulsivity constructs and alcohol-related problems. These findings support prevention and intervention efforts that seek to enhance drinking refusal self-efficacy skills of college students, particularly those high in certain personality features, in order to reduce alcohol-related problems among this population.
KW - Drinking refusal self-efficacy
KW - Impulsivity
KW - Problematic alcohol use
KW - Structural equation modeling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84946430792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.10.019
DO - 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.10.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 26547044
SN - 0306-4603
VL - 53
SP - 181
EP - 186
JO - Addictive Behaviors
JF - Addictive Behaviors
ER -