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Temperament and Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescence: an Examination of Drinking Motives as Mediators

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Abstract

The present study investigated the associations between temperamental reactivity, drinking motives, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Furthermore, it investigated whether drinking motives mediate the relations between temperamental reactivity and the alcohol use variables. The sample consisted of 188 adolescents (64.9% boys) between the ages of 13–20 years (M age  = 16.9, SD = 1.32). Results revealed that the temperament factors of high BAS fun seeking and high negative affectivity were related to alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences respectively. Furthermore, high social and enhancement motives and low conformity motives were associated with alcohol consumption, whereas high coping-depression motives were associated with alcohol-related consequences. Finally, the relation between BAS fun seeking and alcohol consumption was mediated by enhancement and social motives and the association between negative affectivity and alcohol-related consequences was mediated by coping-depression motives. These results highlight the importance of focusing on temperament profiles and their associated drinking motives in the prevention and intervention of alcohol use problems among adolescents.

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Notes

  1. The study also assessed reasons or motives for the use of other substances, such as cannabis or speed, with an extension of the M-DMQ-R. Participants had to indicate their favorite substance. However, because there were not enough participants who reported substances other than alcohol as their favorite, we decided to focus only on motives for drinking alcohol.

  2. We used the BAS Fun Seeking scale, because this variable is more similar to sensation seeking and impulsivity, whereas the other BAS constructs, BAS drive and BAS reward responsiveness, are more related to reward dependence (Beck et al. 2009; Franken and Muris 2006). Furthermore, previous studies have shown that especially BAS fun seeking is an important predictor of alcohol use in adolescence (e.g., Willem et al. 2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Lore Willem, Patricia Bijttebier, Laurence Claes & Antje Uytterhaegen

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  1. Lore Willem
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  2. Patricia Bijttebier
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  4. Antje Uytterhaegen
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Correspondence to Lore Willem.

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The study was supported by Grant G.0357.08 from the Fund of Scientific Research-Flanders to Patricia Bijttebier and Laurence Claes.

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Willem, L., Bijttebier, P., Claes, L. et al. Temperament and Problematic Alcohol Use in Adolescence: an Examination of Drinking Motives as Mediators. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 34, 282–292 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-012-9279-4

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