Use of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies as a Moderator of the Alcohol Use–Consequences Relationship: Evidence from Multiple Replications

Abstract

Background: The use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) has been found to attenuate the relationship between alcohol use and related consequences. Objectives: The current study examined PBS use as a moderator of the association between alcohol use and consequences in multiple samples (N =  9) of college students with different sample sizes (e.g., ns 125–736). We also examined sex as a moderator of the PBS moderation analyses. Across all samples, we predicted that the use of more PBS would attenuate the use–consequences relation. Methods: In total, 3,524 college students completed online measures of alcohol use, consequences, and PBS use (i.e., PBSS) across two sites. Conclusions/importance: In the analyses, 3 two-way interactions were consistent with the literature (i.e., use–consequences relation weakest among those with high PBS use), 6 were opposite of what was reported in the literature (i.e., use–consequences relation strongest among those with high PBS use), and 39 were not statistically significant. These results corroborate, contradict, and extend the current body of knowledge in the extant alcohol PBS literature. In the examination of three-way interactions in the combined sample, serious harm reduction (SHR) PBS was found to moderate the use–consequences relation among female, but not among male students. Specifically, the use–consequences relation was weakest among female students who used more SHR PBS indicating that SHR PBS may be an important intervention target for female college students. Additional experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to examine the effects of PBS use on the use–consequences relation.

Keywords:

• Alcohol use
• moderation
• negative alcohol-related consequences
• protective behavioral strategies

Additional information

Funding

Kevin S. Montes and Adrian J. Bravo are supported by a training grant (T32-AA018108; PI: McCrady) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Matthew R. Pearson is supported by a career development grant from NIAAA (K01-AA023233). NIAAA had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.