Why Do You Drink Caffeine? The Development of the Motives for Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire (MCCQ) and Its Relationship with Gender, Age and the Types of Caffeinated Beverages

Abstract

Caffeine is the most popular psychoactive substance that is consumed worldwide. As motives influence behavior, investigation of the motivational background of caffeine consumption should help provide a better understanding of the popularity of caffeinated products. The present study aimed (i) to explore and operationalize the motives of caffeine consumption and (ii) to reveal possible differences in the motives regarding gender, age and the type of caffeinated products consumed. Motives for caffeine consumption were collected from regular caffeine consumers (N = 26) and were informed by a review of the relevant literature. Following this, a cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of Hungarian university students and working adults (N = 598). The participants completed the Motives for Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire and the Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire. Six motivational factors were identified: Alertness, Habit, Mood, Social, Taste and Symptom Management. Women had higher scores on Habit, Social, Taste and Symptom Management. Younger participants had higher scores on Alertness than the older group, and the older group had higher scores on Habit and Symptom Management. Five types of caffeine users were identified. Those who consumed (i) coffee, (ii) tea, (iii) energy drinks, (iv) coffee and tea and (v) mixed drinks. Several differences between the five groups were revealed across all motives except for Taste. The present study developed a robust psychometric instrument for assessing caffeine consumption motives. The factors varied in importance in relation to gender, age and caffeine consumption habits.

Motivations Influencing Caffeine Consumption Behaviors among College Students in Korea: Associations with Sleep Quality

“…The results of this study indicated that the motivations for caffeinated beverage consumption were sensory effects, alertness, social factors, health benefits, mood, and habit, similar to the results of a previous study [30]. Interestingly, the motivations for the consumption of each caffeinated beverage were different.…”

“…The participants were asked about their motivations for consuming caffeinated beverages and the questions were adapted from previous studies [30,31]. The questions were presented with a 5-point Likert scale (1: never~5: always).…”

“…Exploratory factor analysis was conducted for the 36 items adopted from previous studies [30,31] (Table 3). Six factors were extracted and both the variances and Eigen values for the factors showed satisfactory reliability (Table 4).…”

“…Despite the popularity and the prevalence of consumption, only a few studies have investigated caffeinated beverage consumption behaviors [30]. With increasing concerns about the over-consumption of caffeine, it is essential to investigate the reasons why people consume caffeinated beverages.…”

Koffein, das am häufigsten konsumierte Psychostimulans: eine narrative Übersichtsarbeit

“…Ebenfalls wurde eine Verbesserung der Stimmung von einigen Nutzern nach akuter Anwendung von Koffein berichtet [137,[155][156][157]. Im Rahmen von Befragungen wurde gefunden, dass viele Personen, die regelmäßig Koffein konsumieren (in Form von koffeinhaltigen Getränken), dabei das Ziel einer Leistungssteigerung, verlängerter Wachzeit oder Stimmungsverbesserung verfolgen [158,159]. In Placebo-kontrollierten Untersuchungen konnte gezeigt werden, dass vor allem männliche Individuen Getränke mit Koffein eher mehr mochten ("liking behavior") und mehr von den koffeinhaltigen Getränken verlangten [160].…”