Alcohol abuse and dependence symptoms: a multidimensional model of common and specific etiology.

Full Abstract

This study tested a theoretical model hypothesizing differential pathways from 5 predictors to alcohol abuse and dependence symptoms. The participants were college students (N = 2,270) surveyed on 2 occasions in a 6-month prospective design. Social norms, perceived utility of alcohol use, and family history of alcohol problems were indirectly associated with Time 2 abuse and dependence symptoms through influencing level of alcohol consumption. Poor behavioral control had a direct effect on alcohol abuse but not on dependence symptoms at Time 2, whereas affective lability exhibited a direct prospective effect on alcohol dependence but not on abuse symptoms. A multigroup analysis showed that high levels of poor control increased the strength of paths from both consumption level and affective lability to abuse symptoms. Implications for prevention of alcohol problems among college students are discussed. 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Author information

Author/s: Simons, Jeffrey S (JS); Carey, Kate B (KB); Wills, Thomas A (TA);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, USA. jsimons(-atsign-)usd.edu

Grants: AA014573 (Agency:NIAAA NIH HHS) ; K02AA15574 (Agency:NIAAA NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors (Psychol Addict Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 23 (issue 3) : pp 415-27

Dates: Created 2009/09/22; Completed 2009/10/27;

PMID: 19769426, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/27/2009, IMS Date: )

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