The Effect of Impulsivity and Drinking Motives on Alcohol Outcomes in College Students: A 3-year Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract

Objective: Substance use is a public health concern and cross-sectional studies have found that impulsivity and drinking motives influence substance use in emerging adults. Despite these findings, longitudinal studies with nuanced measures of impulsivity and drinking motives are needed.

Participants: The current study investigated the three-year relationship between impulsivity-related traits, drinking motives, sex, and drinking outcomes in a sample of 509 college students (47.47% male; 81% White).

Methods: The effects of impulsivity traits and drinking motives on problematic drinking outcomes were evaluated using linear mixed effects models.

Results: The results confirmed the hypothesized relationship between traits of impulsivity, drinking motives, and alcohol outcomes over time. Further, sex significantly interacted with drinking motives longitudinally in its relationship with alcohol use outcomes.

Conclusions: These results indicate that intervention efforts may need to be tailored to specific individual attributes to target direct correlates of alcohol use behavior to increase effectiveness.