Examining changes in drinking motives and their influence on drinking behaviors among heavy drinkers during their first year of college.

Drinking motives are robustly related to alcohol use behavior from adolescence through young adulthood. Yet, examination of changes in motives during the first year of college, a transitional time associated with both onset of and increases in heavy drinking has been understudied. We examined (a) whether drinking motives change, (b) time-varying effects of motives on alcohol use and consequences, and (c) change in the strength of the association between motives and use and motives and consequences over the first year of college. A sample of 121 heavy drinking first-year students (50% female, 58% Caucasian) completed three assessments (baseline, 3 months, 6 months). Endorsement of social motives declined from 0 to 3 months, while endorsement of coping, enhancement, and conformity motives declined from 3 to 6 months. Social motives were positively associated with alcohol use and consequences across assessments. When motive × time interactions were tested in separate models, the strength of effects of coping motives on drinks per week increased from 0 to 3 months. The strength of the effect of coping and conformity motives on consequences increased from 0 to 3 months and then decreased from 3 to 6 months. Identifying how drinking motives evolve and relate to trajectories of alcohol use may help to understand the development of risky drinking behavior and inform intervention efforts.