Changes in Drinking Motives Do Not Mediate Reductions in Alcohol Use and Consequences Following a Brief Alcohol Intervention

OBJECTIVE: College students endorse risky alcohol use and experience a variety of consequences. When students violate campus policies, universities often mandate delivery of brief alcohol interventions. One approach to enhancing the efficacy of interventions is the inclusion of a self-affirmation task. Prior research suggests that a stronger sense of self may reduce reliance on maladaptive motives. The present study sought to understand the impact of an enhanced brief alcohol intervention on drinking motives and their role as a mechanism of behavior change. METHOD: Participants (N = 463; 58% male) were mandated students at a large, public university in the Northeast who completed either eCheckUpToGo (eCTG) or an enhanced version of the intervention, eCTG + self-affirmation writing exercise (eCTG+). A path modeling framework was used to examine effects of the intervention on drinking motives, alcohol use, negative consequences and the potential mediating effect of motives. RESULTS: The effects of eCTG and eCTG+ were not associated with differential changes in drinking motives. The indirect effects from eCTG or eCTG+ to drinks per week or alcohol-related consequences via changes in motives were non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, results suggest no differences between eCTG and eCTG+ on changes in drinking motives, changes in drinking motives were not significantly associated with reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences, and drinking motives did not significantly mediate reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. The self-affirmation enhancement did not explicitly target changes in motives, and the hypothesized theoretical links were not strong enough to modify motive endorsement. Modifying motives likely requires more targeted intervention components.