Expectancies and Motives as Mediating Links between College Students' Personality and Alcohol Use

Personality, alcohol expectancies, and drinking motives have been identified as key factors affecting alcohol use and drinking patterns in college populations (Cooper et al., 2000; Katz et al., 2000; Kuntsche et al., 2008). To date, most research has focused on the mediating effects of motives to drink, rather than expectancies of drinking, on the relation between personality and alcohol use. The current study examined the mediating effects of both alcohol expectancies and motives on the relation between personality and alcohol use, specifically looking at the strength of these mediating variables in a sample of full-time college students. Two-hundred and seventy five undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire assessing personality (extraversion and neuroticism), alcohol expectancies (positive and negative), drinking motives (enhancement, coping, and social), and patterns of alcohol use (frequency and intensity). Results found small-to-moderate relations among study variables, with limited mediating effects of expectancies and motives

Expectancies and Motives as Mediating Links between College Students' Personality and Alcohol Use

Personality, alcohol expectancies, and drinking motives have been identified as key factors affecting alcohol use and drinking patterns in college populations (Cooper et al., 2000; Katz et al., 2000; Kuntsche et al., 2008). To date, most research has focused on the mediating effects of motives to drink, rather than expectancies of drinking, on the relation between personality and alcohol use. The current study examined the mediating effects of both alcohol expectancies and motives on the relation between personality and alcohol use, specifically looking at the strength of these mediating variables in a sample of full-time college students. Two-hundred and seventy five undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire assessing personality (extraversion and neuroticism), alcohol expectancies (positive and negative), drinking motives (enhancement, coping, and social), and patterns of alcohol use (frequency and intensity). Results found small-to-moderate relations among study variables, with limited mediating effects of expectancies and motives