Drinking to Fit in: The Effects of Drinking Motives and Self-Esteem on Alcohol Use among Female College Students

Objective: Over the past two decades, rates of alcohol use among female students have risen to meet or even surpass those seen among males. Yet, little is known about factors that play a role in the relationship between drinking motives and alcohol consumption for female college students. The present study examines self-esteem as a moderator in the association between categories of drinking motives and alcohol use in a sample of female college students. Method: Participants included 196 female undergraduates who reported drinking alcohol at least once in the preceding month (M-age= 19.5 years, 88.8% White) at a northeastern public university. Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing self-esteem, drinking motives, and past month alcohol use. Results: Self-esteem was significantly negatively correlated with coping (r=-.40, p<.001) and conformity motives (r=-.22, p=.002) but not enhancement or social motives. Main effects predicting alcohol use were detected for enhancement (b = 1.49, p<.001), coping (b = 1.73, p<.001), and social motives (b = 1.34, p<.001), but not conformity motives or self-esteem. The interaction of conformity motives and self-esteem was significant (b=-0.17, p=.04). Simple slopes analyses revealed that conformity motives were significantly positively related to alcohol consumption for at low (b = 1.53, p=.001), but not high levels (b=-0.39, p=.61) of self-esteem. No other interactions were significant. Conclusions: Assisting female college students with increasing their self-esteem may be an effective component of intervention programs targeting alcohol consumption, particularly among those who report drinking to fit in.