College Women's Perceptions of a Friend-Based Intervention to Prevent Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assault.

Sexual assault (SA), particularly alcohol-involved SA, remains prevalent among college women. Because SA often begins in social contexts, bystander intervention has become a popular approach to prevention. Bystander interventions train individuals to intervene on behalf of others, including strangers, despite research indicating that intervention is more likely to occur when the bystander has a relationship with the target. Shifting the focus to friends as potential bystanders capitalizes on the qualities of relationship and responsibility that facilitate intervention. College women (N = 35) participated in focus groups (N = 8) during which they viewed a video prototype of a friend-based motivational interviewing (FMI) intervention session conducted with a friend dyad and provided feedback about the relevance and feasibility of using such an approach to reduce SA among friends who drink together in social settings. Content analysis of focus group transcripts yielded three themes: a) Friends as Natural Bystanders; b) The Role of Alcohol in Intervention, and c) Receptivity to FMI intervention. Women indicated that they feel responsible for keeping their friends safe, and that this sense of responsibility facilitates helping behaviors. Women also described ways through which alcohol intoxication can affect helping behavior. Women expressed enthusiasm for the FMI intervention approach and identified its emphasis on friendship and flexible approaches to personal safety as strengths. Findings highlight the promise of FMI intervention approaches that capitalize on the strengths of women's friendship to create safety goals that align with participants' values and overcome barriers to intervention, including alcohol intoxication.

The role of effortful control in mitigating negative consequences associated with emerging adult drinking.

BACKGROUND: Identifying factors that protect against alcohol-related negative consequences associated with emerging adult drinking is a critical public health issue. It has been proposed that high levels of self-regulation moderate risks associated with drinking, decreasing alcohol-related negative consequences. Past research testing this possibility is limited by a lack of advanced methodology for testing moderation and failure to consider facets of self-regulation. This study addressed these limitations. METHODS: Three hundred fifty-four community emerging adults (56% female; predominantly non-Hispanic Caucasian (83%) or African American (9%)) were assessed annually for 3 years. Moderational hypotheses were tested using multilevel models and the Johnson-Neyman technique was used to examine simple slopes. Data were organized such that repeated measures (level 1) were nested within participants (level 2) to test cross-sectional associations. Self-regulation was operationalized as effortful control and its facets (attentional, inhibitory, and activation control). RESULTS: We found evidence of moderation. The association between alcohol use during a heavy drinking week and consequences weakened as effortful control increased. This pattern was supported for two facets (attentional and activation control), but not for inhibitory control. Regions of significance results revealed that this protective effect was only evident at very high levels of self-regulation. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide some evidence that very high levels of attentional and activation control protect against alcohol-related negative consequences associated with drinking. Emerging adults who are very high in attentional and activation control are likely better able to control their attention and engage in goal-directed behavior, like leaving a party at a reasonable hour, or attending school and/or work when experiencing the punishing effects of a hangover. Results emphasize the importance of distinguishing facets of self-regulation when testing self-regulation models.

Coping Flexibility and Alcohol-Related Outcomes: Examining Coping Motives as Mediators.

Background: Coping has been implicated in the etiology and treatment of problem drinking. Traditional, static measurement of coping styles (e.g., approach, avoidance, social support) may fail to capture how adaptive a given coping style may be. Coping flexibility is an emerging construct, associated with psychological health, and one that may shed light on coping's role in drinking risk. Coping flexibility includes (1) discontinuation of an ineffective coping strategy ("Discontinuation") and (2) production of an alternative strategy ("Implementation"). This study is the first to our knowledge to examine its association to drinking outcomes. Further, because coping deficits are theorized to lead to drinking through coping motives, we also examined mediated pathways from coping flexibility to alcohol outcomes via coping motives. Methods: College students (N = 528) completed an online assessment. Data were analyzed using path analysis. Control variables included sex and coping styles. Results: In path analytic models, Implementation was negatively associated with alcohol use and, indirectly via coping motives, negatively associated with alcohol consequences. The direct effect on alcohol use remained when controlling for coping styles and sex, but the mediational pathway was no longer significant. Conclusions: This study provides some evidence for the protective role of coping flexibility in alcohol use behavior, which may have implications for how best to address coping skills in alcohol interventions. The direct effect of Implementation on drinking suggests that there may be utility in teaching clients a flexible approach to coping in treatment. Replication, particularly with longitudinal designs, is needed.