| College student drinking is one of the most significant public health concerns in the United States. Previous studies have suggested that college students tend to use alcohol for diverse reasons. Of these, perhaps the two best identified alcohol-use trajectories are self-medication and social sensation-seeking drinkers. Other studies have examined in detail the role that social influences play in college students' alcohol use. Information obtained from these studies indicate that college students believe that alcohol is an integral and acceptable part of the college experience. Social support has traditionally been offered as a protective mechanism against participation in risky behavior (including excessive alcohol use), however, current studies have suggested that, for some individuals, high levels of social support are positively associated with alcohol consumption. The present study introduced and tested a new, motivation-based theory of substance use that includes the influence of social relationships in decisions and behaviors related to alcohol and drug use. On the basis of this theory, it was hypothesized that the quality of socially supportive relationships moderates the relationships between personality traits and alcohol-related outcomes. Specifically, the theory predicted that social support interacts with impulsive personality traits such that high levels of social support predict increased alcohol consumption for highly impulsive individuals. Conversely, the theory predicted that social support interacts with anxious/neurotic personality traits such that high levels of social support predict decreased alcohol consumption for highly anxious individuals. Participants were 668 students recruited from introductory communication classes at a large Southwestern university.;Results partially confirmed the predictions derived from the theory. Although social support did not interact with impulsivity to predict students' alcohol use specifically, social drinking motivations and peer alcohol use emerged as significant predictors in the model including these variables. The hypothesized relationships between anxiousness, support, and alcohol problems were not supported. Although a sex difference was not hypothesized on the basis of the theory, results demonstrated that participants' biological sex moderated the effects of personality and motivations on both alcohol use and problems. On the basis of these results, implications for theory, treatment, and prevention are offered. |
