The unique contribution of attitudes toward non-alcoholic drinks to the prediction of adolescents' and young adults' alcohol consumption

Attitudes toward alternative behaviors, such as drinking soda instead of alcohol, might contribute to the prediction of young people's drinking behavior. The current study explored the associations between late adolescents' and young adults' attitudes toward alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and their alcohol consumption and whether these associations were moderated by participants' sex, age and education level. Cross-sectional data were collected among 1,012 15 to 25-year-olds. Participants completed an online questionnaire on attitudes toward alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, binge drinking and monthly alcohol consumption. Associations between participants' self-reported attitudes and alcohol use were tested by employing Structural Equation Modeling in M plus. After controlling for the shared variance in both attitudes, attitudes toward alcoholic drinks were positively related and attitudes toward non-alcoholic drinks were negatively related to participants' monthly alcohol use and binge drinking. Relations between attitudes towards alcoholic drinks and monthly alcohol consumption were stronger for boys than for girls and stronger for participants with intermediate education. Relations between both attitudes and binge drinking were strongest for high educated participants. According to our data, non-alcohol attitudes provide a unique contribution to the prediction of alcohol use.