Protective behavioral strategies are more helpful for avoiding alcohol-related problems for college drinkers who drink less

Abstract

Objective: To examine race, gender, and alcohol use level as moderators of the association between protective behavioral strategies (PBS) and alcohol-related problems. Participants: A sample of 12,011 participants who reported recent drinking (87.7% White, 61% Women) from Project INTEGRATE, a study that combined individual participant data (IPD) from 24 brief motivational intervention trials for college students. Methods: Hierarchical regressions were conducted to determine whether there was a moderated effect of PBS on alcohol problems across alcohol use levels, and whether the moderated protective effect of PBS by alcohol use differed by gender and race. Results: The protective association between PBS and alcohol-related problems was greater for those who drank less. This moderated effect did not differ across men and women or across racial groups. Conclusions: College drinking prevention programs should ensure that students are aware of the limits of PBS as a mitigator of alcohol problems.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• brief intervention
• college student drinking
• integrative data analysis
• protective behavioral strategies

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the following researchers for contributing their research data to Project INTEGRATE: John S. Baer, Department of Psychology, The University of Washington, and Veterans' Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System; Nancy P. Barnett, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University; M. Dolores Cimini, University Counseling Center, The University at Albany, State University of New York; William R. Corbin, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University; Kim Fromme, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas, Austin; Joseph W. LaBrie, Department of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University; Mary E. Larimer, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington; Matthew P. Martens, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, The University of Missouri; James G. Murphy, Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis; Helene R. White, Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; and the late Mark D. Wood, Department of Psychology, The University of Rhode Island. Finally, we would also like to thank Yang Jiao at Google for managing data, and Jimmy de la Torre at the University of Hong Kong and Yan Huo at Educational Testing Service for developing IRT models and estimating latent trait scores that we used in the present study.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the North Texas Regional.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by R01 AA019511 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIAAA or the National Institutes of Health.