Examining daily-level associations between nightly alcohol use and next-day valued behavior in college students

Abstract

Objective

Adverse consequences of binge drinking episodes are well-established, but fewer studies have investigated how incremental changes in daily alcohol use relate to well-being. We examined within- and between-person associations in alcohol use and next-day valued living to enhance our understanding of the impact of alcohol use on following-day outcomes in college students. Participants. During November 2018, 73 undergraduate participants (65.7% female) completed surveys through Qualtrics. Method: Using daily diary methodology, participants completed nightly surveys (N = 784) on their cellular devices over a two-week period. Results: Within-participant variations in evening alcohol use demonstrated a negative linear association with next-day valued living, controlling for relevant variables. Conclusions: Findings supplement other studies demonstrating the impact of individual variability in alcohol use on engagement in valued behaviors. Knowledge of the hazards of alcohol use within the context of valued living has the potential to inform alcohol use prevention and intervention programs.

Keywords:

• Alcohol use
• daily diary
• valued living

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 Institutional Review Board of the University of Mississippi.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.

Data availability

Data will be made available upon reasonable request.