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Predicting drinking patterns of college students: The AEQ vs the AEQ-A
Abstract
Over the years, alcohol research has suggested that many factors contribute to problematic drinking including: genetic predisposition, environmental influences, and individual personality variables. Recently, increasing attention has focused on the role that cognitive factors play in determining individual drinking patterns. This study focuses on the role that alcohol expectancies play in decisions to drink and in predicting responses to alcohol. The use of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaires has become widespread particularly in the research context. Overlap exists between the adolescent and adult version, and it has not been determined which version is most appropriately used with college students who are in a stage of transition from adolescence to adulthood. The present study attempts to determine which version of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire is best utilized in assessing the alcohol expectancies of college students in relationship to their drinking patterns. Two hundred and eighty college students (18-22) were recruited from introductory psychology courses. Subjects completed the following questionnaires: the Demographic Data Sheet (DDS), the adult and adolescent versions of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ and AEQ-A), the Customary Drinking Record (CDR), and the Alcohol Consumption Scale (ACS). Overall, the AEQ was a better predictor of drinking severity than the AEQ-A; however, results suggested that both instruments have subscales that are predictive of drinking severity in the college student population. Results also indicated that the demographic variables in combination with either the AEQ-A or the AEQ subscales are better predictors of drinking severity than the demographic variables alone. Quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption were the best predictors of alcohol expectancies on both the AEQ-A and AEQ. Males were more severe drinkers than females and scored significantly higher on expectancy subscales. Results demonstrated that the AEQ-A and AEQ subscales are significantly correlated with each other. Results are discussed in terms of implications for prevention and intervention programs.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy
Recommended Citation
Carle, Deborah L, "Predicting drinking patterns of college students: The AEQ vs the AEQ-A" (1993). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9415953.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9415953