A Preliminary Analysis of the Perceived Risks of Misusing Multiple Substances, Trait Anxiety, and Approval Motivation

Abstract

In a sample of college undergraduates, perceptions of the risks associated with the misuse of substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana were evaluated, and the correlations of risk ratings with trait anxiety and approval motivation were examined. The results indicated (a) a temporally stable, hierarchical ordering of risk means that ranged from illicit to licit substance pairs; (b) a strong negative correlation between perceived risk means and corresponding standard deviations, suggesting that greater variability was associated with lower perceived risk; (c) small to small/moderate correlations between risk ratings and trait anxiety; and (d) small to small/moderate correlations between risk ratings and approval motivation. These findings provide a first approximation of young adults' perceptions of the possible risks involved in the misuse of multiple substances and suggest that such perceptions are not confounded by dispositional anxiety or by social desirability response bias. The results are discussed in light of their implications for alcohol and drug education.