Do Protective Behavioral Strategies Mediate the Effect of Preparty Motives on Event-Level Preparty Alcohol Use?

Background: Research suggests that protective behavioral strategies (PBS) serve as one mechanism through which drinking motives can influence alcohol use. Whether these findings generalize to preparty drinking has yet to be examined.

Objectives: The current study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by examining three types of PBS (Limiting/Stopping Drinking, Manner of Drinking, and Serious Harm Reduction) as mediators of the relationship between preparty-specific drinking motives (e.g., Interpersonal Enhancement, Intimate Pursuit, Situational Control, and Barriers to Consumption) and event-level preparty drinking.

Method: Participants were 986 college students from two universities taking part in a larger alcohol intervention study who reported on the amount of alcohol they consumed during a recent preparty occasion.

Results: After controlling for general drinking motives, campus affiliation, and gender, Manner of Drinking PBS (e.g., avoiding drinking games and consuming shots of liquor) were found to mediate the relationship between preparty-specific motives and event-level preparty drinking. Conclusions/ Importance: The findings demonstrate that PBS may be helpful to assuage the strong association between preparty drinking motives and preparty drinking. The findings also point to several areas for further exploration, including the identification of PBS which are specific to prepartying.