Predictive Utility of Protective Behavioral Strategies for Alcohol-Related Outcomes in a Community Sample of Young Adults.

OBJECTIVE

Although previous studies have shown that protective behavioral strategies (PBS) predict alcohol use and its related consequences in college students, it is not known whether a broader population of young adults also benefit from PBS use. We longitudinally examined the relationship between PBS use and alcohol-related outcomes in a community sample of young adults composed of college students and noncollege individuals.

METHOD

Targeted sampling was used to access 339 young adults in the community (mean age = 21.1 [SD = 2.21], 50.7% female; 59.0% college students) who completed baseline and 2-month follow-up measures. Three types of PBS were examined: manner of drinking, stopping/limiting drinking, and serious harm reduction. Regression analyses were conducted to test the predictive utility of PBS use on alcohol-related consequences, frequency and quantity of alcohol used, and binge drinking.

RESULTS

Manner of drinking strategies were the strongest predictors of decreased alcohol consumption and alcohol-related negative consequences. Baseline manner of drinking scores were negatively associated with quantity of alcohol used, binge drinking, and alcohol-related consequences at follow-up. Serious harm reduction was longitudinally related to a lower frequency of alcohol consumption, stopping/limiting drinking was not associated with any outcome, and total PBS score was associated with all study outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings could benefit health promotion by informing the design of preventive interventions for reducing alcohol use and attendant health-related negative consequences in the young adult community. These results may also be of value in extending the applicability of PBS findings to a broader alcohol-using population of young adults beyond those exclusively composed of college students.