Drink refusal self-efficacy and implicit drinking identity: An evaluation of moderators of the relationship between self-awareness and drinking behavior

Abstract

This study evaluated the roles of drink refusal self-efficacy (DRSE), implicit drinking identity, and self-awareness in drinking. Self-awareness (assessed by public and private self-consciousness), DRSE, and implicit drinking identity (measured via an implicit association test; IAT) were expected to interact in predicting self-reported drinking. This research was designed to consider mixed findings related to self-awareness and drinking. Hypotheses were: 1) alcohol-related outcomes would be negatively associated with self-awareness; 2) implicit drinking identity would moderate the association between self-awareness and alcohol consumption; and 3) this association would depend on whether participants were higher or lower in drink refusal self-efficacy. Participants included 218 undergraduate students. Results revealed that drinking behavior was not associated with self-awareness but was positively associated with implicit drinking identity. Of the four drinking variables (peak drinking, drinking frequency, drinks per week, and alcohol-related problems), only alcohol-related problems were positively associated with self-awareness. Furthermore, a significant two-way interaction emerged between private (but not public) self-consciousness and drinking identity to predict drinking. Consistent with expectations, three-way interactions emerged between self-awareness, implicit drinking identity, and DRSE in predicting drinking. For participants low in DRSE: 1) high implicit drinking identity was associated with greater drinking frequency when private self-consciousness was low; and 2) high implicit drinking identity was associated with greater drinks per week and peak drinks when public self-consciousness was low. This suggests that alcohol-related IATs may be useful tools in predicting drinking, particularly among those low in self-awareness and DRSE.

Drinking identity as a mediator of the relationship between drinking motives and weekly alcohol consumption among heavy drinking undergraduate students

“…Implicitly measured DI reliably and consistently predicts drinking (Foster, Neighbors, & Young, 2014; Gray, Laplante, Bannon, Ambady, & Shaffer, 2011; Lindgren, Foster, Westgate, & Neighbors, 2013a; Lindgren et al, 2013b). Explicit alcohol identity has also been linked with increased drinking (e.g., Reed, Wang, Shillington, Clapp, & Lange, 2007), which in turn is linked with more alcohol problems (e.g., Lindgren et al, 2013a).…”

Implicit associations in cybersex addiction: Adaption of an Implicit Association Test with pornographic pictures

“…This applies to studies investigating a problematic use of cannabis (Beraha, Cousijn, Hermanides, Goudriaan, & Wiers, 2013) and alcohol (e.g. Ames et al, 2014;Foster, Neighbors, & Young, 2014;Hendershot, Lindgren, Liang, & Hutchison, 2012;Houben, Rothermund, & Wiers, 2009;Lindgren et al, 2013Lindgren et al, , 2015. Moreover, Rooke et al (2008) provided evidence for the assumption that processes of implicit cognitions, and especially implicit associations, are a reliable predictor for substance use.…”

Self-Control as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Drinking Identity and Alcohol Use

“…Drinking identity research has evaluated implicit and explicit measures for identity. Implicit measures (e.g., the implicit association test; IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) show that drinking identity more reliably predicts drinking relative to other alcohol-related implicit attitudes (Foster, Neighbors, & Young, 2014; Gray, Laplante, Bannon, Ambady, & Shaffer, 2011; Lindgren, Foster, Westgate, & Neighbors, 2013). Explicit alcohol identity, also termed self-reported drinking identity (SRDI), has also demonstrated links with increased drinking (e.g., Foster, Yeung, & Prokhorov, under review; Neighbors et al, 2010; Reed et al, 2007).…”

“…Implicit and explicit measures for drinking identity overlap greatly, and both measures are associated with alcohol consumption. The alcohol literature consistently shows that alcohol identity is positively associated with consumption (e.g., Foster, Yeung, & Neighbors, under review; Foster, Yeung, & Prokhorov, under review; Lindgren, Foster, Westgate, & Neighbors, 2013; Neighbors et al, 2010; Reed et al, 2007), which is in turn linked to increased problems (e.g., Lindgren et al, 2012). However, research has yet to examine the relationship between SC and SRDI in the prediction of drinking and problems.…”