AN IN-DEPTH EXAMINATION OF PROTECTIVE BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES TO REDUCE ALCOHOL-RELATED CONSEQUENCES
Open Access
- Author:
- Sell, Nichole Marie
- Graduate Program:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 23, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Robert J Turrisi, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Robert J Turrisi, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Laura Cousino Klein, Committee Member
Michael A Russell, Committee Member
Jennie G Noll, Outside Member
Pat Koch, Committee Member - Keywords:
- protective behavioral strategies
college student drinking
alcohol-related consequences - Abstract:
- Numerous studies have revealed protective behavioral strategies (PBS; e.g., setting drink limits, walking home with a friend) show promise in helping to reduce risky drinking and associated consequences in college students. However, most studies have examined the frequency of PBS use, which tends to account for about 6% of the variance in drinking or consequences. There is a sizeable gap in the literature concerning two aspects of PBS that may account for unexplained variance: how well drinkers implement them (quality) and how reliably drinkers implement them (consistency). This dissertation consists of three empirical papers that systematically examined the effects of the quality and consistency of PBS implementation for common harm reduction PBS (e.g., communicating sexual intentions; walking home with friends). Paper One used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to develop and psychometrically test the PBS-IQ, a measure of steps drinkers take to implement PBS in a high-quality manner. Paper One results suggest that the PBS-IQ is a reliable and valid measure of PBS implementation quality that accounts for unique variance in alcohol-related sexual consequences when controlling for the frequency of PBS use. Paper Two utilized a 12-day diary design to examine between-person (average) and within-person (daily) associations between quality or consistency and total, risk, social, or physical consequences. Paper Two results suggest that individuals who implement certain PBS in a higher quality or more consistent manner are less likely to experience consequences. This is especially true for the PBS communicating sexual intentions, which showed effects for both average quality and consistency. Paper Two results also suggest individuals are less likely to experience consequences on days when they communicate about sexual intentions at a higher quality level than usual. Paper Three expanded upon Paper Two by examining sex as a moderator of average associations between quality or consistency and consequences. Paper Three results suggest that sex does not moderate these associations, but females are more susceptible to experiencing consequences after accounting for their implementation of PBS. Interventions to reduce alcohol-related consequences (e.g., brief motivational interviews) may benefit from including content that teaches drinkers how to improve their implementation of PBS. Future research can aid in the development of this content by extending the examination of quality and consistency to additional PBS and examining a wider range of consequences.