Premeditation and Sensation Seeking Moderate the Reasoned Action and Social Reaction Pathways in the Prototype/Willingness Model of Alcohol Use

ABSTRACT

Background: Drinking can occur because of expectations to drink (reasoned pathway) or because of willingness to drink under certain circumstances (reactive pathway). These pathways are thought to be influenced by different cognitions such as alcohol-related attitudes, norms, or drinking prototypes (Gerrard et al., 2008). Impulsive traits reflect individual differences in the influence of reasoned or reactive factors, however little research has investigated whether impulsivity moderates the effects of cognitive factors predicting alcohol use. Objectives: We tested whether differences in three impulsivity traits (premeditation, sensation seeking and negative urgency) moderated associations of reasoned (risk/disapproval attitudes and social norms) and reactive (prototype) pathway variables on expectation/willingness to drink and recent alcohol use. Methods: We collected data from n = 409 college students; the sample was 67% female, 43% Asian American, with Mdn_age = 19. Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression. Results: Premeditation and sensation seeking moderated reasoned variable effects on expectation and drinking. Among those low on premeditation, risk attitudes were most associated with drinking expectation, with alcohol prototypes most related to recent drinking. These effects declined at higher premeditation levels. Among those high on sensation seeking, risk attitudes were most associated with expectation and drinking, declining at lower sensation seeking levels. There was little evidence of moderation predicting drinking willingness. Conclusions/Importance: Findings imply personality differences may explain association strength between reasoned but not reactive risk behavior pathways with alcohol outcomes. They have ramifications for personalized prevention programs to reduce drinking through cognition change, as alcohol-related cognition influence may differ depending on personality characteristics.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol use
• negative urgency
• premeditation
• sensation seeking
• attitudes
• prototype/willingness model
• adolescence

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Melissa Lewis, Ph.D, and Dana Litt, Ph.D, for their input on earlier versions of this work.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matthew Gregory Vaughn

Matthew Gregory Vaughn, BA, received a double major in psychology with honors and economics from the University of Washington. His research interests as an undergraduate were centered around the intersection of behavioral economics and psychology, and he examined how personality differences may alter decisions and cognitions about substance use. Since graduating from the University of Washington, Matthew has shifted his professional and research focus to public health and health services research. He is currently working towards a Master's in Public Health and Healthcare Administration and hopes to pursue a career in healthcare administration, applying his skills as a researcher to support the delivery of higher value care for patients.

Kevin M. King

Kevin M. King, PhD, is Associate Professor of Child Clinical Psychology at University of Washington. Dr. King's work has shown that individuals' poor cognitive and emotional self-regulation are more vulnerable to environmental and social risk factors (such as stress, poor parenting, and depressive symptoms) in the development of multiple risk behaviors. His research has repeatedly demonstrated that the development of cognitive and emotional self-regulation during adolescence is not uniform across adolescents, that poor or underdeveloped self-regulation puts adolescents at the highest risk for broad classes of behavior problems, and that exposure to stressful life events and poor parenting may shape the development of self-regulation during adolescence. He has been principal and co-investigator on multiple federal and private foundation grants to examine substance use and self-regulation in youth. He received his PhD from Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University.