Since the initial model developed by Cox and Klinger (1988) taken up by Cooper (1994), it has been shown that the decision whether or not to consume alcohol depends both on external factors and on the internal factors to the individual. Internal factors include among sensitivity to psychotropic effects, motivation, expectations, and perception. The decisive factor in decision-making is the motives which are general elements, most often unconscious and spontaneous.
Starting from a contradictory observation in the reasons to consume alcohol, especially to cope with anxiety, the main interest and objective of this study is to construct a valid and calibrated questionnaire on a population of young French adults. In order to determine the main motivations to consume alcohol by separating anxiety from depression in patterns to consume. The secondary objective here is to compare the patterns of consumption by gender.
To do this, the authors have tested here through a factor analysis the goodness of fit about 5-factor model contrary to what has been done so far using 4 factors. The 5 consumption patterns studied are social recess, enhancement, conformism, anxiety coping and depression. At the same time, the authors analyzed the relationship between each of these variables and the level of consumption and then compared these data by gender.
Main results underline that the 5-factor model that we have described above fits better than the 4-factor model for all types of consumption. The social aspect and enhancement appear to be the main predictors of the level of student consumption. Other analysis shown that men consume more in a social context such as in a festive context in the presence of other people or to improve their mood, search for positive sensation and stimulating effects than women
A 5-factor questionnaire of drinking motives that divided coping motives into two distinct scales (e.g. anxiety and depression) provided that a 4-factor solution that constrained coping motives into a single latent factor although, contrary to expectations, the motive adaptation to anxiety does not directly predict consumption. The authors explain these conflicting results by the fact that anxiety remains a broad notion and encompasses several subtypes of anxiety (e.g. social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia …).
The drinking motives questionnaire revised according to a model with 5 factors translated and adapted for a French population of young adults is a tool having good psychometric properties and makes it possible to predict the motives leading to the consumption. This questionnaire provides a better understanding of alcohol expectations and some prevention measures for reducing alcohol-related risk among youth.
Words I’ve learned :
- Drinking motives : motifs de consommation
- Goodness of fit : qualité d’ajustement
- Enhancement : renforcement
- Pattern : modèle
Bibliography :
Cooper, M. L. (1994). Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 6(2), 117-128.
Cox, W. M., & Klinger, E. (1988). A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of abnormal psychology, 97(2), 168–180.
Loose, T., & Acier, D. (2017). Drinking motives and alcohol consumption behaviors among young French people. Addictive Behaviors, 72, 120-125.