Risk for Alcohol Problems Among College Students

描述(申请人提供)：本研究的目标是确定大学生酒精相关问题的风险和易损性机制。酒精的使用增加了一系列心理社会问题的可能性。研究表明，酒精使用与与使用相关的问题存在共同和不同的风险机制。本项目旨在调查六个风险变量(社会规范、冲动、情感不稳定、酒精问题家族史、酒精消费以及在实现个人目标过程中对酒精使用的感知效用)与酒精使用问题的关联。将评估与使用有关的问题的两个方面，并将其作为标准变量：负面后果和依赖症状。这项研究将探索与前瞻性纵向设计的关系。大学生(N=2200)将通过电子邮件、班级公告、大学印刷和电子媒体以及校园传单等方式招募。参与者将在两个时间点接受评估，两个时间点相隔六个月。所有回复都将是匿名的，参与者将仅通过唯一的自生成代码进行识别。分析将集中在报告在六个月评估窗口期间使用酒精的学生子集(85%)。我们将考察三种类型的关系。第一种是间接途径，在这种途径中，风险变量和与使用相关的问题之间的联系通过饮酒来调节。第二种是一种直接途径，在这种途径中，风险变量独立于饮酒而导致与使用相关的问题。第三，将考察易损性机制，假设冲动是为了调节酒精使用和与使用相关的问题之间的关系，并调节感知使用效用和酒精使用之间的关系。间接、直接和调节效应将由多组扫描电子显微镜确定。更好地了解酒精使用问题的病因路径可能有助于及早识别有酒精使用问题风险的个人，并可能为制定有效的干预措施提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this study is to identify risk and vulnerability mechanisms for alcohol-related problems among college students. Use of alcohol increases the potential for a broad range of psychosocial problems. Research indicates both common and divergent risk mechanisms for alcohol use versus use-related problems. This project aims to examine the association of six risk variables (social norms, impulsivity, affect lability, family history of alcohol problems, alcohol consumption, and perceived utility of alcohol use in achieving personal goals) with alcohol use problems. Two dimensions of use-related problems will be assessed and included as criterion variables: negative consequences and dependency symptoms. This study will explore relationships with a prospective longitudinal design. College students (N=2200) will be recruited through e-mail, announcements in classes and in university print and electronic media, and fliers on campus. Participants will be assessed at two time points separated by a period of six months. All responses will be anonymous and participants will be identified only by a unique self-generated code. Analyses will focus on the subset of students who report using alcohol (85 percent) during the six-month assessment window. Three types of relationships will be examined. The first is an indirect path in which the association between the risk variable and use-related problems is mediated by alcohol consumption. The second is a direct path in which the risk variable contributes to use-related problems independently of alcohol consumption. Third, a vulnerability mechanism will be examined, impulsivity is hypothesized to moderate the relationship between alcohol use and use-related problems and to moderate the relationship between perceived use utility and alcohol use. Indirect, direct, and moderating effects will be determined by a multiple-group SEM. Better understanding of the etiological paths to alcohol use problems may be useful for early identification of individuals at risk for alcohol use problems and may inform the development of effective interventions.