ALCOHOL-CONSUMPTION IN UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS - THE ROLE OF REASONS FOR DRINKING, COPING STRATEGIES, EXPECTANCIES, AND PERSONALITY-TRAITS

Despite the popularity of the social learning perspective of alcohol a buse, there have been limited efforts devoted to developing comprehens ive models that delineate the roles of the constituent components of t his approach. In the present study, we determined whether reasons for drinking, coping strategies, alcohol expectancies, and personality tra its predict binge drinking and alcohol consumption levels in universit y students. Escape drinking was the sole positive direct predictor of binge drinking. Social drinking predicted alcohol consumption and ther eby exerted an indirect influence on binge drinking. Alcohol expectanc ies played a significant role in the model but only by influencing rea sons for drinking. Although the use of alcohol and/or drugs to cope pr edicted alcohol consumption, none of a variety of other coping strateg ies exerted a significant influence in the model. Stress responsivity- related personality traits played a significant role, primarily via an influence on alcohol expectancies. These findings provide support for the social learning perspective of alcohol abuse and offer further in sight into the factors that contribute to the development of risky alc ohol consumption patterns. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.