Study: Latent motivational profiles of behavioral regulations for drinking distinguish groups by alcohol consumption and consequences (DOI: 10.1111/acer.70185)
Adults who drink due to external pressures are more likely to consume higher amounts of alcohol and experience more negative consequences than those who drink mainly for the pleasure of consuming alcohol, according to a new study.
Researcher David Conroy, professor of applied exercise science at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, along with study first author Jimikaye Courtney of the University of North Carolina and Michael Russell of Penn State University, identified four distinct profiles of adult drinkers while examining the psychological motivations behind alcohol consumption.
They found that "pleasure drinkers" tend to be older individuals, reflecting a shift toward drinking for enjoyment and greater autonomy with age, while "externally controlled drinkers" are mostly young adults who are more likely to be influenced by the social pressure of their peers.
High rates of heavy episodic drinking-defined as consuming four or more drinks for women, or five or more for men-persist through age 25, elevating risks for injuries and mental health issues. The study's findings point to new ways of helping young adults make safer choices about drinking, like encouraging enjoyment and personal decision-making over external pressure.
"Alcohol use, misuse and the resulting negative consequences represent a significant public health challenge across adulthood, especially among young adults under 30," Conroy said.
Motivational spectrum
The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, employed the framework of Self-Determination Theory, which categorizes motives based on a drinker's level of autonomy and perceived locus of control. Motivation exists along a continuum, ranging from entirely nonautonomous to completely autonomous.
The researchers assessed five behavioral regulations for drinking using the Comprehensive Relative Autonomy Index for Drinking:
- Amotivation: Complete lack of intentional motivation or unclear motives for drinking
- External regulation: Low autonomy motivation driven by external desires, such as complying with others' expectations or pressure from friends
- Positive introjected regulation: Motivation to drink to enhance self-worth or boost self-esteem
- Identified regulation: Drinking because it results in valued outcomes (e.g., demonstrating knowledge of viticulture)
- Intrinsic regulation: High autonomy motivation based on inherent enjoyment or pleasure of drinking
The study analyzed self-reported data from 630 adult drinkers, with an average age of 21.5 years, 55% female and 88% undergraduate students, determining that a four-profile model was the most optimal fit both empirically and theoretically.
Four profiles
The four identified profiles of adult drinkers include:
- Externally controlled drinkers: Individuals who drink because of high external regulation, social pressure, and high positive introjected regulation. This profile represents low-quality motivation and minimal autonomy over consumption.
- Flexible drinkers: Individuals reporting average levels across all five behavioral regulations, suggesting they are motivated by a variety of factors.
- Pleasure drinkers: Individuals with below-average levels of motivation for all regulations except intrinsic regulation, meaning they consume alcohol primarily for inherent enjoyment.
- Aimless drinkers: Individuals reporting below-average scores across all regulations, particularly low intrinsic regulation, making their reasons for drinking unclear.
The profile associated with the highest levels of risk was the externally controlled drinker. This group reported greater drinking intensity and experienced more negative consequences than all other profiles.
In contrast, the pleasure drinker, defined by high intrinsic motivation, was associated with better drinking experiences overall. Although pleasure drinkers consumed more alcohol than aimless drinkers, they experienced significantly more positive consequences and similar levels of negative consequences-suggesting that drinking primarily for enjoyment may not engender as many negative drinking outcomes.
Men were more likely than women to be aimless drinkers, indicating that men may be more influenced by peer pressure, even without clear motivation or enjoyment.
The study appears in the journal Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research
Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award number T32 DA017629. The
content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the
official views of the National Institutes of Health.
