A systematic review of the associations between protective behavioral strategies and heavy alcohol consumption and consequences among young adults.

Objective: We systematically reviewed the literature to assess the association between use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) and young adult heavy drinking and alcohol-related consequences.

Method: We followed the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis guidelines to select and review research studies that were comprised of a sample of young adults ages 18-26, included PBS derived from one of 10 validated scales as an independent variable, measured heavy alcohol use or alcohol consequences as the dependent variable, and tested the direct association between the two. Studies were gathered via PubMed, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, APA PsycInfo, and Global Health.