Do hypothetical evaluations of alcohol related consequences change over time? Examining the influence of past and ongoing consequences.

Autor: Feltus SR; Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, United States., Mastroleo NR; Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, United States. Electronic address: nmastrol@binghamton.edu., Carey KB; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States., DiBello AM; Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies & Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854, United States., Magill M; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States., Merrill JE; Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Addictive behaviors [Addict Behav] 2024 Jul; Vol. 154, pp. 108022. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 20.
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108022
Abstrakt: Objective: Despite experiencing alcohol-related consequences, college students continue to drink at high rates. Hypothetical evaluations of alcohol-related consequences (i.e., evaluations of where potential/hypothetical consequences lie on a spectrum from extremely positive to extremely negative) may contribute to the maintenance of drinking patterns among students. The purpose of the present study was to describe hypothetical evaluations in a sample of students mandated to an alcohol intervention, examine changes over time, and investigate the influence of both baseline and time-varying experienced consequences.
Method: This study was a secondary data analysis from a longitudinal randomized controlled trial. Participants were 474 mandated students (M age  = 18.65; 55.5 % male, 77.6 % White). Students completed an initial baseline assessment of demographics, alcohol use, consequences, and hypothetical evaluations, and 3-month and 9-month follow-up assessments that included hypothetical evaluations and experienced consequences.
Results: Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses revealed significant change in hypothetical evaluations over time such that they became less negative. A piecewise model demonstrated that this change happened between baseline and 3-month, with no additional change between 3-month and 9-month. The experience of consequences at baseline did not significantly moderate changes in either time interval. Time-varying consequences also had no significant effect on same-timepoint hypothetical evaluations.
Conclusions: This study is the first to examine changes in hypothetical evaluations over time among mandated college students. Counter to expectations, hypothetical evaluations became less negative at 3-month follow-up. Though preliminary, findings add to the understanding of hypothetical evaluations of alcohol-related consequences.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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