Development and validation of the Emotional Climate Change Stories (ECCS) stimuli set.

Climate change is widely recognised as an urgent issue, and the number of people concerned about it is increasing. While emotions are among the strongest predictors of behaviour change in the face of climate change, researchers have only recently begun to investigate this topic experimentally. This may be due to the lack of standardised, validated stimuli that would make studying such a topic in experimental settings possible. Here, we introduce a novel Emotional Climate Change Stories (ECCS) stimuli set. ECCS consists of 180 realistic short stories about climate change, designed to evoke five distinct emotions-anger, anxiety, compassion, guilt and hope-in addition to neutral stories. The stories were created based on qualitative data collected in two independent studies: one conducted among individuals highly concerned about climate change, and another one conducted in the general population. The stories were rated on the scales of valence, arousal, anger, anxiety, compassion, guilt and hope in the course of three independent studies. First, we explored the underlying structure of ratings (Study 1; n = 601). Then we investigated the replicability (Study 2; n = 307) and cross-cultural validity (Study 3; n = 346) of ECCS. The collected ratings were highly consistent across the studies. Furthermore, we found that the level of climate change concern explained the intensity of elicited emotions. The ECCS dataset is available in Polish, Norwegian and English and can be employed for experimental research on climate communication, environmental attitudes, climate action-taking, or mental health and wellbeing.

Frequency of cholelithiasis in need of surgical or endoscopic treatment a decade or more after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic cholelithiasis requiring treatment is a known side effect after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), but reported rates vary greatly. The objectives for this study were to evaluate the long-term frequency of surgical or endoscopic treatment for symptomatic cholelithiasis 10-15 years after RYGB and its relation to self-reported abdominal pain. METHODS: Observational data from 546 patients who underwent RYGB at public hospitals in Central Norway between March 2003 and December 2009 were analyzed. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 11.5 (range 9.1-16.8) years. Sixty-five (11.9%) patients had undergone cholecystectomy prior to RYGB. Out of the 481 patients with intact gallbladder, 77 (16.0%) patients underwent cholecystectomy and six (1.2%) patients had treatment for choledocholithiasis during the observation period. Median time from RYGB to cholecystectomy or treatment of choledocholithiasis was 51 (range 1-160) and 109 (range 10-151) months, respectively. Female sex was associated with an increased risk of subsequent cholecystectomy [OR (95% CI) 2.88 (1.31-7.15)], p < 0.05. There was a higher frequency of self-reported abdominal pain at follow-up [OR (95% CI) 1.92 (1.25-2.93)] among patients who underwent cholecystectomy before or after RYGB. CONCLUSION: With a median follow-up of more than 11 years after RYGB, one in six patients with an intact gallbladder at time of RYGB underwent cholecystectomy, and 1.1% of the patients needed surgical or endoscopic treatment for choledocholithiasis. Patients with a history of cholecystectomy reported a higher frequency of abdominal pain.

Validation of the WHOQOL-Bref: psychometric properties and normative data for the Norwegian general population.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref) is a frequently used instrument to assess the quality of life in both healthy and ill populations. Inquiries of the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-Bref report that the validity and reliability is generally satisfactory. However, some studies fail to support a four-factor dimensionality; others report poor reliability of the social and environmental domain; and there may be some challenges of supporting construct validity across age. This paper evaluates the psychometric properties of the Norwegian WHOQOL-Bref and extends previous research by testing for measurement invariance across age, gender and education level. In addition, we provide updated normative data for the Norwegian population. METHODS: We selected a random sample of the Norwegian population (n = 654) aged 18-75 years. Participants filled out the WHOQOL-Bref, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and various sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: We found an acceptable convergent and discriminate validity and internal consistency of the physical, psychological and environmental domains, but a marginal reliability was found for the social domain. The factor loadings were invariant across gender, education and age. Some items had low factor loadings and explained variance, and the model fit for the age group 60-75 years were less satisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: The original four-factor dimensionality of the WHOQOL-Bref displayed a better fit to the data compared to the one-factor solution and is recommended for use in the Norwegian population. The WHOQOL-Bref is suitable to use across gender, education and age, but for assessment in the oldest age group, the WHOQOL-Old module could be a good supplementary, but further studies are needed.

The role of family functioning and self-esteem in the quality of life of adolescents referred for psychiatric services: a 3-year follow-up.

PURPOSE: To investigate, in adolescents referred for psychiatric services, the associations of initial self-esteem and family functioning with level and change of quality of life (QoL) over a 3-year period, over and above the effect of their emotional problems. METHODS: Of 1648 eligible 13-18 years old patients attending the child and adolescent psychiatric clinic (CAP) at least once, 717 (54.8% females) were enrolled at baseline (a response rate of 43.5%). Self- and parent reports on the McMaster Family Assessment Device were obtained. Adolescents reported self-esteem on the Rosenberg Scale, and emotional problems on the Symptom Check List-5. Adolescents completed the Inventory of Life Quality in Children and Adolescents (ILC). After 3 years, 570 adolescents again completed the ILC, and for 418 adolescents parent information was available. The longitudinal analysis sample of 418 adolescents was representative of the baseline sample for age, gender, emotional problems, and QoL. We used modified growth-model analysis, adjusted for SES, age, gender and time of contact with CAP, where residual variances for ILC at baseline and follow-up were fixed to 0. RESULTS: A poorer family functioning at baseline, reported by parents, was significantly associated with worsening QoL during the 3 years follow-up period (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Parents have important knowledge about their families that may reflect long-term influences on QoL development in adolescent psychiatric patients. Health care providers and policy makers should optimize treatment outcomes by addressing family functioning in adolescents with emotional problems.

Does the working alliance mediate the effect of routine outcome monitoring (ROM) and alliance feedback on psychotherapy outcomes? A secondary analysis from a randomized clinical trial.

Little is known about the mechanisms through which routine outcome monitoring (ROM) influences psychotherapy outcomes. In this secondary analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial (Brattland et al., 2018), we investigated whether the working alliance mediated the effect of the Partners for Change Outcome Monitoring System (PCOMS), a ROM system that provides session-by-session feedback on clients' well-being and the alliance. Adult individuals (N = 170) referred for hospital-based outpatient mental health treatment were randomized to individual psychotherapy either with the PCOMS ROM system, or without (treatment as usual [TAU]). Treatment was provided by the same therapists (N = 20) in both conditions. A multilevel mediation model was developed to test if there was a significant indirect effect of ROM on client impairment at posttreatment through the alliance at 2 months' treatment controlled for first-session alliance. Alliance ratings increased more from session 1 to 2 months' treatment in the ROM than TAU condition, and alliance increase was associated with less posttreatment impairment. A significant indirect effect of ROM on treatment outcomes through alliance increase (p = .043) explained an estimated 23.0% of the effect of ROM on outcomes. The results were consistent with a theory of the alliance as one mechanism through which ROM works. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of routine outcome monitoring (ROM) on therapy outcomes in the course of an implementation process: A randomized clinical trial.

This study investigated the effects of the Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS) in adult outpatient treatment at a hospital-based mental health clinic. It also investigated whether the effects differed with the timing of the treatment within a 4-year implementation period, with clients' initial distress levels, and between therapists. Adult clients (N = 170) were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU) or routine outcome monitoring (ROM). Twenty therapists provided therapy in both conditions. Therapy outcome was measured by the Behavior and Symptoms Identification Scale (BASIS-32). Data were analyzed in a series of multilevel models (MLMs). Clients in the ROM condition were 2.5 times more likely to demonstrate improvement than those in the TAU condition. Controlling for therapist variability, the overall effect size (ES) in favor of ROM was small (d = 0.26, p = .037). The superiority for ROM over TAU increased significantly over the duration of the study. ROM effects were not moderated by clients' initial distress levels. Differences between therapists accounted for 9%-10% of the variability in outcomes, and there were no significant differences in ROM effects between therapists. ROM was associated with better treatment outcomes independent of clients' initial distress levels. Clients treated later in the study benefitted more from ROM than those treated earlier. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A stage model as an analysis framework for studying voluntary change in food choices - The case of beef consumption reduction in Norway.

This paper studies the application of a stage-based model of consumer behavior change on describing the processes behind the reduction of beef consumption in two Norwegian samples (N = 746, N = 2967). The way to reduce beef consumption is modeled through a progression through four stages (predecision, decision, action, and postaction) with a chain of first forming goal intentions, then more concrete behavioral intentions and finally implementation intentions. The analyzes show that general goal intentions to reduce beef consumption are determined by perceived social norms and awareness of a behaviors negative consequences through the activation of personal norms. Attitudes are the main determinant of choosing the alternative behavior (reduction of portion size, substitution of beef with other meats or seafood, or vegetarian meals), but perceived difficulty of behavior also has an impact for some alternatives. Not all alternative behaviors correspond to reduced beef consumption. The pattern of means in beef consumption and intentions for consumers in different stages of change mostly matched predictions by the model, most importantly, showing beef consumption reduction only for consumers in the last stage of change. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Sick Leave and Disability Across Three Decades After a Major Disaster.

Extended functional impairment characterized by sick leave and disability after a single disaster has not been documented before. This prospective, longitudinal, case-control study applied growth mixture modeling to predict trajectories of functional impairment in oil rig workers, survivors (n = 68) and a matched comparison group (n = 84), over 27 years after the 1980 North Sea oil rig disaster. In the initial 12 years post-disaster, survivors displayed higher rates of functional impairment than the comparison group. A minor group of survivors (n = 8, 11.8%) demonstrated persistent functional impairment from the start and remained unable to work during the subsequent three decades. Long-term sick leave and disability were related to perceived peritraumatic death threat and a propensity towards social withdrawal. Most survivors (n = 60) revealed no major functional impairment. The study indicates that functional impairment should be counteracted in the early support after a single disaster.

Familial aggregation of anxiety and depression in the community: the role of adolescents' self-esteem and physical activity level (the HUNT Study).

BACKGROUND: Symptoms of anxiety and depression are significantly associated in parents and children, but few studies have examined associations between recurrent parental problems and offspring symptoms, and fathers have rarely been included in these studies. Additionally, few have investigated factors that may protect against familial aggregation of anxiety and depression. The aims of the present study are to examine the associations between recurrent parental anxiety/depression over a ten-year time span and offspring anxiety/depression in adolescence and to test whether two factors proposed to be inversely related to anxiety and depression, namely, adolescent self-esteem and physical activity, may moderate and mediate the transmission of anxiety/depression. METHODS: This study used data from two waves of a Norwegian community study (the HUNT study) consisting of 5,732 adolescents, ages 13-18, (mean age = 15.8, 50.3% girls) who had one (N = 1,761 mothers; N = 742 fathers) or both parents (N = 3,229) participating in the second wave. In the first wave, 78% of the parents also participated. The adolescents completed self-reported questionnaires on self-esteem, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety/depression, whereas parents reported on their own anxiety/depressive symptoms. The data were analysed with structural equation modeling. RESULTS: The presence of parental anxiety/depression when offspring were of a preschool age predicted offspring anxiety/depression when they reached adolescence, but these associations were entirely mediated by current parental symptoms. Self-esteem partly mediated the associations between anxiety/depression in parents and offspring. No sex differences were found. Physical activity moderated the direct associations between anxiety/depression in mothers and offspring, whereas no moderating effect was evident with regard to paternal anxiety/depression. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that children of parents with anxiety/depression problems are at a sustained risk for mental health problems due to the apparent 10-year stability of both maternal and paternal anxiety/depression. Thus, preventing familial aggregation of these problems as early as possible seems vital. The associations between parental and offspring anxiety/depression were partially mediated by offspring self-esteem and were moderated by physical activity. Hence, prevention and treatment efforts could be aimed at increasing self-esteem and encouraging physical activity in vulnerable children of parents with anxiety/depression.

Obese, fat, or just overweight?

BACKGROUND: Discussing obesity with the patient without this being perceived as offensive may represent a challenge. Prevention of lifestyle diseases requires that this topic be addressed with those concerned. In this study, we investigate the patients' sensitivity to expressions, i.e. their notions of appropriateness or inappropriateness regarding various terms for obesity, and what patient characteristics are associated with such sensitivity to expressions. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The investigation is part of a five-year study of patients in Central Norway who were treated for morbid obesity. The terms used in the study had been suggested by the Overweight Patients' Association. Data on sensitivity to expressions were collected with the aid of a questionnaire one year after completion of the treatment. RESULTS: Altogether 157 out of 206 participants completed the questionnaire. Their average body mass index (BMI) (SD) amounted to 37.6 kg/m² (7.3 kg/m²). Their sensitivity to 14 different designations varied. «Weight¼, «overweight¼ and «weight problem¼ returned the best scores, whereas «obesitas¼, «obese¼ and «fat¼ were deemed least appropriate. The highest sensitivity to expressions was found among women, those who developed overweight early in life, those who had higher education and those who were dissatisfied with their weight. INTERPRETATION: The perceptions of various expressions for overweight and obesity varied considerably. Knowledge about this topic may be relevant for doctors and other health personnel in prevention and treatment of obesity.

Understanding users of online energy efficiency counseling: comparison to representative samples in Norway.

Introduction: To achieve substantial energy efficiency improvements in the privately owned building stock, it is important to communicate with potential renovators at the right point in time and provide them with targeted information to strengthen their renovation ambitions. The European Union recommends using one-stop-shops (OSSs), which provide information and support throughout the whole process, from planning to acquisition of funding, implementation, and evaluation as a measure to remove unnecessary barriers. Methods: For this paper, we invited visitors of two Norwegian websites with OSS characteristics to answer an online survey about their renovation plans and energy efficiency ambitions. The participants visited the websites out of their own interest; no recruitment for the websites was conducted as part of the study (N = 437). They also rated a range of psychological drivers, facilitators, and barriers to including energy upgrades in a renovation project. Their answers were then compared to existing data from representative samples of Norwegian households regarding home renovation in 2014, 2018, and 2023, as well as data from a sample of people who were engaged in renovation projects in 2014, which was collected by the research team with a similar online survey. Furthermore, 78 visitors completed a brief follow-up online survey one year later to report the implemented measures. Results: We found that visitors of the websites are involved in more comprehensive renovation projects and have substantially higher ambitions for the upgrade of energy efficiency compared to the representative samples. They also perceive stronger personal and social norms, as well as have a different profile of facilitators and barriers. Discussion: The findings suggest to policymakers that OSSs should be marketed especially to people motivated to upgrade energy efficiency but lack information and are unable to implement their plans alone. Also, the construction industry might refer interested people to such low-threshold online solutions to assist informed and more ambitious decisions.

Lifestyle can be anything if not defined. A review of understanding and use of the lifestyle concept in sustainability studies.

A holistic understanding of human behaviour is considered key for a successful fight against climate change and environmental degradation. In the pursuit of a holistic understanding, empirical research frequently applies the concept of "lifestyle". The concept, which plays a significant role in segmenting customers in the field of marketing, is increasingly used in the cross-domain analysis of behaviour in the field of sustainability. This increase is tied to the challenge that the meaning and operationalisation of the lifestyle concept are still highly fragmented after decades of empirical studies. While this methodological heterogeneity and pluralism of research traditions bring creativity and dynamic to the field, it makes the orientation and a comparison of studies challenging. Previous attempts to streamline lifestyle oriented research have often aimed for a single mode of operationalisation, but this does not meet the diversity of possible applications of the concept. Therefore, a better understanding of the field seems necessary. To fill this gap, we review the understanding and use of the "lifestyle" concept in 53 empirical studies in the field of sustainability and identify 12 variants of lifestyle related research, differing along three dimensions. According to our results, (I) lifestyle can either be used as a cause or as a consequence, (II) the analytical scope can be on a micro-, meso- or macro level, and (III) the behavioural scope can be either limited to a single behavioural domain or cover multiple domains. The three dimensions allow a mapping of existing and future empirical research using the "lifestyle" concept, improve the orientation in the field, facilitate the identification of relevant studies, and avoid imprecise comparisons due to methodological differences.

Perceptions of height and weight screening and associations with body image: a cross-sectional study in early primary school children.

BACKGROUND: Despite parental concern, few studies have investigated children's experiences with school-based screening of growth deviations. This study aimed to explore perceptions of height and weight screening and associations with body size dissatisfaction (BSD) among third-grade children aged 8-9 years in central Norway. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study between November 2021 and April 2022, perceptions of height and weight screening and BSD were assessed individually among 209 children (49% girls) through researcher-assisted interviews. RESULTS: Most children indicated satisfaction with the screening by selecting a happy emoji, whereas only 1% indicated dissatisfaction, by selecting an unhappy emoji. However, 23%-30% selected a neutral emoji, indicating either neutrality or a response between satisfaction and dissatisfaction. No difference in the perception of height and weight screening was found between genders or body mass index (BMI). Children with parents from non-Western countries had a higher risk of being less satisfied with the height screening (OR=3.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 7.3) than those from Western origin, and children attending schools with lower socioeconomic status (SES) had increased risk of being less satisfied with both height (OR=5.5, 95% CI 2.2 to 13.5) and weight screening (OR=4.0, 95% CI 1.7 to 9.3), compared with children from schools with medium-high SES. Twenty-three percent reported BSD, in which 14% and 9% desired a thinner or larger body, respectively, independent of gender and BMI. No association was found between BSD and the perception of weighing (OR=1.1, 95% CI 0.6 to 2.4), however, BSD was associated with being more satisfied with height screening (OR=0.3, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.8). CONCLUSION: In the present sample, most children indicated satisfaction with school-based height and weight screening, with no differences between gender or BMI category. However, more children of non-Western origin and from areas with low SES reported less satisfaction with the screening, independent of BSD.

Emotional responses to climate change in Norway and Ireland: a validation of the Inventory of Climate Emotions (ICE) in two European countries and an inspection of its nomological span.

There is an increasing research interest in emotional responses to climate change and their role in climate action and psycho-social impacts of climate change. At the same time, emotional experience of climate change is multidimensional and influenced by a variety of factors, including the local cultural context. Here, we contribute to the scientific debate about this topic with original quality-controlled data from the general populations in Norway (N = 491) and Ireland (N = 485). We investigate the cross-cultural validity and the nomological span of eight distinct emotional responses to climate change - climate anger, climate contempt, climate enthusiasm, climate powerlessness, climate guilt, climate isolation, climate anxiety, and climate sorrow - measured using the recently introduced Inventory of Climate Emotions. We first validate the 8-factor structure of the Norwegian and English language versions of the ICE. Subsequently, we demonstrate a high degree of cross-cultural measurement invariance for these eight climate emotions. Finally, we explore the relationships between these emotional responses and a range of theoretically relevant variables. In this final step, we show that climate emotions are differentially linked to climate change perceptions, support for mitigation policies, socio-demographic factors, feelings of loneliness and alienation, environmental activism, and the willingness to prioritize the natural environment over one's immediate self-interests. Some of these links are also differentiated by the cultural context. This research presents further evidence for the structural, cross-cultural, and concurrent validity of climate emotions as postulated in the ICE framework. Moreover, it provides tools in the form of validated Norwegian and English language versions of the ICE, the complete R code for the validation analysis, as well as an informed basis for cross-cultural research on emotional responses to climate change.

Promoting electricity conservation through behavior change: A study protocol for a web-based multiple-arm parallel randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: As a part of the framework of the EU-funded Energy efficiency through Behavior CHANge Transition (ENCHANT) project, the present paper intends to provide a "Research Protocol" of a web-based trial to: (i) assess the effectiveness of behavioral intervention strategies--either single or in combination--on electricity saving, and (ii) unravel the psychological factors contributing to intervention effectiveness in households across Europe. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Six distinct interventions (i.e., information provision, collective vs. individual message framing, social norms, consumption feedback, competitive elements, and commitment strategies) targeting electricity saving in households from six European countries (i.e., Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, Romania, and Türkiye) are evaluated, with an initial expected samples of about 1500 households per country randomly assigned to 12 intervention groups and two control groups, and data is collected through an ad-hoc online platform. The primary outcome is the weekly electricity consumption normalized to the last seven days before measurement per person per household. Secondary outcomes are the peak consumption during the last day before measurement and the self-reported implementation of electricity saving behaviors (e.g., deicing the refrigerator). The underlying psychological factors expected to mediate and/or moderate the intervention effects on these outcomes are intentions to save electricity, perceived difficulty of saving energy, attitudes to electricity saving, electricity saving habit strength, social norms to save electricity, personal norms, collective efficacy, emotional reaction to electricity consumption, and national identity. The intervention effectiveness will be evaluated by comparing psychological factors and consumption variables before and after the intervention, leading to a 14 (groups including 2 control groups) × 6 (time) mixed factorial design, with one factor between (group) and one factor within subjects (time)-6 measurements of the psychological factors and 6 readings of the electricity meters, which gives then 5 weeks of electricity consumption. RESULTS: Data collection for the present RCT started in January 2023, and by October 2023 data collection will conclude. DISCUSSION: Upon establishing feasibility and effectiveness, the outcomes of this study will assist policymakers, municipalities, NGOs, and other communal entities in identifying impactful interventions tailored to their unique circumstances and available resources. Researchers will benefit from a flexible, structured tool that allows the design, implementation and monitoring of complex interventions protocols. Crucially, the intervention participants will benefit from electricity saving strategies, fostering immediate effectiveness of the interventions in real-life contexts. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was preregistered in the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/9vtn4.

Is environmental behavior related to economic risk preferences? An exploratory case by case analysis.

Do risk preferences play a role when deciding whether to act pro-environmentally? Looking at 28 different behaviors case by case - including recycling, waste reduction, energy and water conservation, consumer behavior, and environmental policy support - our data suggest no relation between most of the behaviors and economic risk preferences. However, economic risk preferences appear to have some relevance for travel mode choice and for specific consumer preferences (eco-friendly detergents, organic food, and single-use plastics), perhaps because people are better able to appreciate aspects of these behaviors related to risk (e.g., possibility of traffic accidents, health risks).

Drunk or Sober? Number of alcohol units perceived to be safe before riding e-scooter.

Riding an e-scooter under the influence of alcohol is one of the most frequently reported risky behaviours among riders in various countries, especially in the Nordic countries. What is the Number of Alcohol Units perceived to be Safe (NAUS) before riding an e-scooter? Who is more likely to report higher perceived alcohol tolerance before riding an e-scooter? What is the level of risk perception in this transport domain? The current study advances the literature by aiming to address these questions. Using a cross-sectional survey (n = 395) in Trondheim, Norway we developed an integrated model combining a path analysis with negative binomial regression to predict NAUS before riding an e-scooter. Results show that (i) around 56 % of participants reported that it is safe to consume one or more units of alcohol prior to riding an e-scooter, (ii) younger people, frequent users of e-scooters, individuals with low education, and people with lower perceived risks of an accident were more likely to report higher NAUS. Alcohol health warnings and random blood alcohol concentration tests on e-scooter sites could be prioritised among these segments of the population, and (iii) there is a rather high risk perception in this transport domain. We found that there are strong connections between higher risk perception, worry and fewer NAUS. Policymakers could highlight risks of accidents by e-scooters under the influence of alcohol.

Adolescent school absenteeism: modelling social and individual risk factors.

BACKGROUND: School absenteeism is a complex problem that includes risk factors associated with individual traits, socio-economic conditions, family structure, the school and society. The consequences of extensive school absenteeism can be detrimental for the youth. METHOD: In this exploratory study we aimed to investigate the relative importance of different risk factors on school absenteeism. We assessed 865 Norwegian high school students testing a model of school absenteeism using Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM). RESULTS: Analysis show that on the individual level most of the measured risk factors were significantly associated with absenteeism. School absenteeism was predicted by externalising behaviour, family work and health, and school environment directly. CONCLUSION: The implications of the findings on school absenteeism are that it will be important to focus more on the context and co-occurrence of these problems in order to fully understand them.

Clusters of older adults with and without experience of alcohol-related harms based on affective motivations for drinking.

Aim: This cross-sectional study explores profiles of community-residing Norwegian older adults (aged 62-95 years) in relation to their personally expressed motives for alcohol use. It specifically investigates drinking motives as they uniquely characterise alcohol consumers reporting problem and non-problem drinking assessed using the Drinking Problem Index (DPI). Methods: Two-step cluster analysis was used to delineate subgroups of alcohol consumers on seven drinking motivation variables, together with DPI score. The clusters were evaluated by gender, physical health and psychological health status. Results: Four clusters of alcohol consumers were identified in relation to drinking motives: Low motivated drinkers, Ambivalent drinkers, Enhancement drinkers, and Coping drinkers. For one subgroup, a strong reliance on alcohol to cope with negative feelings was most relevant to both non-problem and problem drinkers. For another subgroup, enjoying the effects of alcohol, but non-reliance on alcohol to cope with negative mood were associated with reporting drinking problems. Ambivalent drinkers reported overall low satisfaction with mental health. Very poor physical and mental health were more prevalent in men than in women characterised as Coping drinkers. Predominantly mental health status supported distinctiveness of delineated clusters. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the classification approach to profiling of characteristics of alcohol consumers based on their motivations to drink may have a potential utility in human care settings to identify individuals who incur or may be at risk of developing alcohol-related problems in later life, and those who are not.