Negative urgency and alcohol-related problems: indirect links with alcohol expectancies and drinking motives

Background Negative Urgency (NU), the tendency to act rashly during negative emotional states, is associated with alcohol misuse through various alcohol cognitions; however, these relationships are often examined in isolation and exclude certain alcohol cognitions. Objective: This study simultaneously modeled NU's association with alcohol-related problems through (a) beliefs about the likelihood of experiencing positive or negative effects from alcohol (i.e., expectancies), (b) desirability of alcohol's positive or negative effects (i.e., valuations), and (c) reasons for consuming alcohol (i.e., drinking motives). Methods: Participants (N = 565) completed measures of NU, expectancies, valuations, drinking motives, and alcohol problems online. Results: NU was indirectly associated with alcohol-related problems through coping motives, positive expectancies, and enhancement motives. Despite a positive association between NU and negative valuations, NU was not associated with alcohol-related problems through valuations. Conclusions: These results further researchers' understanding of how NU is associated with modifiable alcohol cognitions, with clear implications for informing treatment and future research.