Abstract
The present study investigated the role specific types of alcohol-related problems and life satisfaction play in predicting motivation to change alcohol use. Participants were 548 college students mandated to complete a brief intervention following an alcohol-related policy violation. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we tested for the presence of interaction and quadratic effects on baseline data collected prior to the intervention. A significant interaction indicated that the relationship between a respondent's personal consequences and his/her motivation to change differs depending upon the level of concurrent social consequences. Additionally quadratic effects for abuse/dependence symptoms and life satisfaction were found. The quadratic probes suggest that abuse/dependence symptoms and poor life satisfaction are both positively associated with motivation to change for a majority of the sample; however, the nature of these relationships changes for participants with more extreme scores. Results support the utility of using a multidimensional measure of alcohol related problems and assessing non-linear relationships when assessing predictors of motivation to change. The results also suggest that the best strategies for increasing motivation may vary depending on the types of alcohol-related problems and level of life satisfaction the student is experiencing and highlight potential directions for future research.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 811-817 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Addictive Behaviors |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alcohol
- College students
- Life satisfaction
- Motivation to change
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology
- Toxicology
- Psychiatry and Mental health