I think I can't: Drink refusal self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between self-reported drinking identity and alcohol use

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between self-reported drinking identity (SRDI), defined as how closely individuals believe drinking is a crucial aspect of their identity (Conner, Warren, Close, & Sparks, 1999), and alcohol use by considering drink-refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) as a potential mediator. Based on previous findings, we expected that SRDI would be negatively associated with DRSE and positively associated with drinking, and that DRSE would be negatively linked with drinking. Further, we expected that DRSE would mediate the association between SRDI and drinking. Participants included 1069 undergraduate students (M age = 22.93 years, SD = 6.29, 76.25% female) from a large southern university who completed computer-based study materials. Gender was associated with SRDI, each of the DRSE subscales, and drinking, indicating that males report greater SRDI, lower DRSE, and increased alcohol consumption. Consistent with expectations, SRDI was negatively linked with DRSE and positively linked with drinking. DRSE subscales were negatively associated with drinking. Further, four measurement models for latent variables were tested for SRDI and each of the three DRSE subscales. Results showed that the emotional relief and social subscales of DRSE mediated the association between SRDI and drinking, however this mediating relationship did not emerge for the opportunistic subscale. Implications of these results are discussed.

Interactions among drinking identity, gender and decisional balance in predicting alcohol use and problems among college students

“…That is, the positive association between drinking identity and alcohol-related problems was stronger for men lower in decisional balance. This is consistent with other research that has demonstrated that men tend to identify more strongly with drinking than women (Foster et al, 2013). Further, the mean of the current sample for males on drinking identity ( M = 1.21) was nearly double of that for females ( M = .67).…”

“…Further, drinking identity and gender differences therein have been revealed such that college males have reported stronger drinking identities than college females (Foster et al, 2013). Moreover, undergraduate males may view heavy drinking as part of being a man (Peralta, 2007).…”

A review of implicit and explicit substance self-concept as a predictor of alcohol and tobacco use and misuse

“…These measures have good internal consistency, have been shown to predict unique variance in alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and cravings with large effects sizes (9,39,40). Explicit alcohol self-concept also predicts attitudes towards drinking (41), binge drinking (42), is associated with greater difficultly in refusing a drink (43), and differentiates heavy drinking college students with severe AUDs from those with less severe AUDs (44). Explicit measures of alcohol self-concept have been added to prominent theoretical models of drinking (e.g., the Theory of Planned Behavior) and have been found to improve them (45).…”

Association between change in self-efficacy to resist drinking and drinking behaviors among an HIV-infected sample: Results from a large randomized controlled trial

“…The importance of higher levels of self-efficacy-- one’s belief in one’s ability to perform a specific behavior in a given situation (Bandura, 1977)--has been demonstrated in weight loss (Armitage et al, 2014), exercise (Cramer et al, 2014), smoking cessation (Lee et al, 2014), antiretroviral medication adherence (Tyer-Viola et al, 2014), contraception use (French and Holland, 2013), and reduction of alcohol use (Foster et al, 2014). Drinking-related self-efficacy in particular- that is, self-efficacy to reduce or resist drinking in particular situations-has often been studied in order to explain changes in drinking behaviors.…”