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Planned and Unplanned Drinking to Get Drunk: A Registered Report Examining Willingness, Drinking Motives, and Protective Behavioral Strategies Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

American Psychological Association
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
Authors:
Andrea Howard at Carleton University
Andrea Howard
Megan Lamb
Megan Lamb
Megan Lamb
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Sean M. Alexander
Sean M. Alexander
Sean M. Alexander
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Abigail H. M. Bradley
Abigail H. M. Bradley
Abigail H. M. Bradley
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Abstract

Objective: We examined alcohol use and consequences across five categories of same-day drinking intentions and willingness and tested whether same-day motives and protective strategies predicted differences in outcomes across categories of intentions and willingness. Method: In a 14-week ecological momentary assessment design, undergraduate student participants (N = 196) reported drinking intentions and behaviors over 13 surveys weekly (four morning surveys [Thursday through Sunday]; three midday, early, and late evening surveys [Thursday through Saturday]). On average, participants were 20.61 years old (SD = 1.50; range 17–25), 63% identified as female (n = 124), 29% as male (n = 57), and 8% identified as neither male nor female (n = 15; i.e., nonbinary; transgender; genderqueer; agender). Participants reported numbers of drinks consumed on the evening (past 2 hr) and morning (previous day) surveys. Multilevel generalized linear models tested effects of drinking intentions/willingness categories, motives, protective strategies, and interactions between key variables on alcohol use and consequences in several models. Results: Rates and quantities of drinking were highest on planned drinking days, and especially high when students planned to get drunk. When enhancement and social motives were elevated, students were more likely to drink and consumed more drinks even on unplanned drinking days, and especially when socializing with others. Effects of coping motives were weaker and sparse. Harm reduction protective strategies were associated with more positive and negative consequences with little variation across planned and unplanned drinking days. Conclusion: Jointly considering drinking intentions and willingness narrows the intention-behavior gap in student drinking and suggests potential areas of focus for messaging around responsible drinking.
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Planned and Unplanned Drinking to Get Drunk: A Registered Report
Examining Willingness, Drinking Motives, and Protective Behavioral
Strategies Using Ecological Momentary Assessment
Andrea L. Howard
1
, Megan Lamb
1
, Sean M. Alexander
1
, Abigail H. M. Bradley
1
, Kendra D. Carnrite
1
,
Marina Milyavskaya
1
, Erin T. Barker
2
, and Megan E. Patrick
3
1
Department of Psychology, Carleton University
2
Department of Psychology, Concordia University
3
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Objective: We examined alcohol use and consequences across five categories of same-day drinking
intentions and willingness and tested whether same-day motives and protective strategies predicted
differences in outcomes across categories of intentions and willingness. Method: In a 14-week ecological
momentary assessment design, undergraduate student participants (N=196) reported drinking intentions
and behaviors over 13 surveys weekly (four morning surveys [Thursday through Sunday]; three midday,
early, and late evening surveys [Thursday through Saturday]). On average, participants were 20.61 years
old (SD =1.50; range 17–25), 63% identified as female (n=124), 29% as male (n=57), and 8% identified
as neither male nor female (n=15; i.e., nonbinary; transgender; genderqueer; agender). Participants
reported numbers of drinks consumed on the evening (past 2 hr) and morning (previous day) surveys.
Multilevel generalized linear models tested effects of drinking intentions/willingness categories, motives,
protective strategies, and interactions between key variables on alcohol use and consequences in several
models. Results: Rates and quantities of drinking were highest on planned drinking days, and especially
high when students planned to get drunk. When enhancement and social motives were elevated, students
were more likely to drink and consumed more drinks even on unplanned drinking days, and especially
when socializing with others. Effects of coping motives were weaker and sparse. Harm reduction protective
strategies were associated with more positive and negative consequences with little variation across planned
and unplanned drinking days. Conclusion: Jointly considering drinking intentions and willingness narrows
the intention-behavior gap in student drinking and suggests potential areas of focus for messaging around
responsible drinking.
Public Health Significance Statement
This study finds that undergraduate student drinkers are most likely to drink and consume alcohol
in larger quantities when they plan to drink and especially when they plan-to-get-drunk. Unplanned
drinking is also common, and students appear to change their plans when motivations to enhance the
fun and social experience of a drinking occasion make the rewards of drinking alcohol more salient.
Whether planned or unplanned, next-day drinking consequences are similar. On-campus messaging
related to alcohol use should be updated to acknowledge that intoxication is sometimes a voluntary,
desired outcome and strategies are needed to increase safety and minimize harm.
Keywords: drinking intentions, drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies, students, ecological
momentary assessment
Supplemental materials: https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000909.supp
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Kevin M. King served as action editor.
Andrea L. Howard https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9843-9577
This research was supported by funding from a Project Grant PJT-2019-
169134 awarded to Andrea L. Howard, Erin T. Barker, Marina Milyavskaya,
and Megan E. Patrick by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The
authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Materials associated with this
study are available at https://osf.io/un9mj.
Andrea L. Howard played a lead role in conceptualization, funding
acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, visualization,
writing–original draft, and writing–review and editing, a supporting role in
data curation, and an equal role in investigation, software, and supervision.
Megan Lamb played a lead role in data curation and project administration, a
supporting role in methodology, writing–original draft, and writing–review
continued
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
© 2024 American Psychological Association 2024, Vol. 38, No. 5, 519–539
ISSN: 0893-164X https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000909
519
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