Conformity Drinking Motives, College Alcohol Beliefs, and Drinking Behaviors Among College Students: Examining the Protective Role of Prosocial Behaviors

The goal of the current study is to examine the moderating role of public and altruistic prosocial behaviors on the associations between motivation/beliefs and alcohol use among college students. Data were collected as part of the Acculturation and Substance Use Research Team (ASURT) Study, and participants include 8040 college student drinkers (Mage = 20 years old, SD = 1.91; female = 72.0%). Participants completed measures of their conformity motives, alcohol use beliefs, drinking behaviors, and tendency to engage in two types of prosocial behaviors. Conformity motives were negatively associated, college alcohol beliefs, and altruistic prosocial behaviors were positively associated, and public prosocial behaviors were unrelated with alcohol consumption. Conformity motives, college alcohol beliefs, and public prosocial behaviors were associated with more negative drinking consequences, while altruistic prosocial behaviors were associated with fewer negative drinking consequences. Importantly, there were age differences in some of the associations such that links were stronger for younger participants. Prosocial behaviors may be a protective behavior strategy for college students that might be able to reduce the impact of drinking environments and motivations on drinking behaviors. Focusing on promoting a prosocial orientation might be an important avenue of intervention for college students that help mitigate negative health behaviors while promoting healthy development.