Skip to main content
NCBI home page
NIHPA Author Manuscripts logoLink to NIHPA Author Manuscripts
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2026 Mar 12.
Published in final edited form as: J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2024 Sep 12;25(2):641–657. doi: 10.1080/15332640.2024.2398627

An Exploratory Analysis of Drinking Motives and Alcohol-Related Problems among Hispanic College Students

Sarah J Chavez a, Nicole A Hall b, Andrew Weinstein b, Angelo M DiBello c, Clayton Neighbors b, Kate B Carey a
PMCID: PMC11896895  NIHMSID: NIHMS2020190  PMID: 39264716

Abstract

The increase in college enrollment for Hispanic college students warrants increased attention to their health and wellness. Given that a common threat to health and well-being in college students is alcohol use and that Hispanic college students are at elevated risk for alcohol-related problems, it is essential to investigate factors that might lead to heightened alcohol-related problems among this population. The present study is a secondary data analysis of an NIAAA-funded study investigating brief interventions for alcohol use among 583 heavy-drinking college students. Specifically, we examined the relationship between Hispanic student status and alcohol-related problems measured one month later. Additionally, we examined the indirect effects of Hispanic status on alcohol-related problems through drinking motives. Analyses revealed a significant association between Hispanic status and alcohol-related problems at baseline but no association between Hispanic status and problems at 1-month, controlling for baseline problems. An indirect effect of the prospective association between Hispanic student status and alcohol-related problems was evident for only one of the four drinking motives (coping). Our findings suggest that reducing coping motives for drinking among Hispanic college students may reduce alcohol-related problems.

Keywords: Hispanic, drinking motives, coping, alcohol problems

Introduction

Hispanic enrollment in post-secondary education has been rising, with data suggesting that enrollment has increased by 30% since 2010 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). Since 2019, Hispanic college students have been the second highest racial-ethnic group, following non-Hispanic white students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). The increase in college enrollment for young Hispanic college students warrants increased attention to their health and wellness during this life phase to address any further barriers that may impact their academic success. The developmental phase associated with the college years is associated with the exploration of identity and independence, as well as feelings of instability, and feelings of neither being an adult nor an adolescent (Arnett, 2000; Merrill & Carey, 2016). This might be particularly relevant to Hispanic college students as they experience higher levels of anxiety and stress compared to non-Hispanic white college students (Fernandez et al., 2022; Holliday et al., 2016) during college. In addition, college attendance is associated with elevated alcohol use (Abar & Maggs, 2010; Kuntsche et al., 2005; Schwartz et al., 2010).

Alcohol use is a common threat to the health and well-being of young adults, and the risk for negative outcomes varies by ethnicity. Data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions indicates that among the non-white minority groups in the US, Hispanic adults were second only to Native Americans in rates of development of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) (Hasin & Grant, 2015). AUD is a disorder defined by adverse effects of drinking on areas of life, and Hispanic adults presented higher odds of screening for an AUD, specifically among males, compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts (Alcover et al., 2021). These prevalence rates are problematic as Hispanic populations have shown a greater risk of developing liver disease (McDonald & Paulozzi, 2019) and have higher mortality rates (Yoon et al., 2011) than non-Hispanic Blacks and whites. Hispanic samples are also more likely to report social alcohol-related problems (Mulia et al., 2009) and be more likely to be arrested for driving under the influence (Miles et al., 2020) compared non-Hispanic whites. Importantly, Hispanic adolescents had higher rates of early alcohol initiation than other racial/ethnic groups (King & Vidourek, 2010); a risk factor highly correlated with later AUD (Dawson et al., 2008).

The association between Hispanic ethnicity and alcohol use is also present among college students. Between 1996 and 2011, Hispanic college students showed a higher percentage of heavy episodic drinking (30.6%) compared to non-Hispanic white college students (28.2%) (Shields et al., 2016). Recent data indicate that among students who recently drank, Hispanic college students reported the second-highest prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (59.8%) compared to American Indian, Native American, and Alaskan Native students (64.5%) (Ranker & Lipson, 2022). Additionally, one study found that Hispanic college students who partake in heavy drinking reported experiencing more alcohol-related problems compared to non-Hispanic white college students (DiBello et al., 2016). Given these higher prevalence rates among Hispanic college students, in addition to the elevated rates of alcohol-related problems the general adult Hispanic population faces, Hispanic college students may have a higher risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems. It is essential to investigate factors that lead to heightened alcohol-related problems.

Motivation models (Cooper, 1994a; Cox & Klinger, 1988) position drinking behaviors as motivated by approaching positive outcomes (positive reinforcement) or avoiding negative outcomes (negative reinforcement). Motives can also be described according to the source of reinforcement. The reward for drinking can stem from internal sources (the self) or external sources (other people). Considering these two dimensions, four core motives have been identified (Cooper, 1994b), and each has somewhat unique relationships to drinking and alcohol-related problems.

Motives for negative reinforcement that are self-focused can be considered coping motives. Coping motives encompass drinking to reduce negative affect, such as depression (Grant et al., 2009), anxiety (Schry & White, 2013), or distress from PTSD (Luciano et al., 2022). A large meta-analysis found that subjects with higher coping motives were more likely to drink compared to those with lower coping motives (Dora et al., 2022). Further, on drinking days, those with higher coping motives were more likely to drink more alcohol (Dora et al., 2022). A second meta-analysis found that coping motives were the strongest predictor of young adults’ problems (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021). Coping motives also correlate with the eight dimensions of alcohol-related problems among college students (Merrill et al., 2014). In studies of Hispanic college students, coping motives were the third most frequently endorsed, yet they were positively associated with problems (Lui et al., 2022; Sanchez et al., 2021).

Motives for negative reinforcement that are other-focused are described as conformity motives. Drinking for conformity typically refers to succumbing to external pressure to drink to avoid negative evaluations from others (Cooper, 1994b). Unlike the aforementioned motives, conformity motives can have protective effects (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021; Cooper, 1994a). Despite being the least endorsed motive, conformity motives are associated with increased problems in Hispanic samples (Lui et al., 2022; Sanchez et al., 2021). Thus, limited literature suggests that more alcohol-related problems among Hispanic individuals are associated with the negative reinforcement motives of coping and conformity.

Motives for positive reinforcement that are self-focused are described as enhancement motives. Enhancement motives refer to drinking to magnify the positive effects (Cooper, 1994b). In one meta-analysis, enhancement motives joined coping motives as strong predictors of alcohol problems, but notably, the effect of enhancement motives on problems was indirect, through how much people drank (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021). This indirect effect has been confirmed in prospective analyses among college students (Merrill et al., 2014). However, among Hispanic college students, enhancement motives were frequently endorsed but unassociated with problems (Lui et al., 2022; Sanchez et al., 2021).

Motives for positive reinforcement that are other-focused are described as being social. Social motives are used to bond with others and promote positive affect (Cooper, 1994b). A recent meta-analysis that reviewed drinking studies from young adults from the U.S., Asian, European, and Australian countries found that most participants were social drinkers, and social motives were associated (albeit indirectly via consumption) with problems (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021). Similarly, among Hispanic college students, social motives were also the most frequently endorsed (Lui et al., 2022; Sanchez et al., 2021). Social motives were directly associated with higher peak drinks and more frequent heavy episodic drinking episodes; however, social motives were only related to alcohol-related problems in the context of low resilience (Sanchez et al., 2021). One study found positive correlations between social motives and problems; however, significance disappeared when accounting for the other three motives (Lui et al., 2022), suggesting that the observed correlation was not a unique association. Thus, the direct effect of social motives on alcohol-related problems is unclear in Hispanic college students.

Purpose of the Current Study

This study is the first to examine the indirect effect of Hispanic status on changes in 1-month alcohol-related problems via motives. The first aim of this study is to investigate if alcohol-related problems at 1-month are predicted by Hispanic ethnicity in a sample of college drinkers. Given the extent of the literature that has shown Hispanic populations experience more significant alcohol-related problems, we hypothesized that this association would be both positive and significant (DiBello et al., 2016; Miles et al., 2020; Mulia et al., 2009). The second aim is to test if Hispanic status and alcohol-related problems are linked indirectly through drinking motives. Based on the limited empirical precedent showing certain motives to be particularly linked to problems in Hispanic college samples, we expect that coping and conformity motives will have an indirect effect on the relationship between ethnicity and problems. We do not offer specific hypotheses related to social or enhancement motives.

Given the increasing enrollment rates of Hispanic college students (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023), how they engage in more heavy episodic drinking (Shields et al., 2016), and have more social and legal alcohol-related problems compared to non-Hispanic whites (Mulia et al., 2009; Miles et al., 2020), it is crucial to explore what factors may lead to such problems in the first place. Specific drinking motives have been associated with enhanced risk for alcohol problems in general population samples (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021; Kuntsche et al., 2005). Thus, drinking motives are one way to explain the relationship between Hispanic college students and alcohol-related problems. Whether there is an association between Hispanic status and alcohol problems and whether any of the drinking motives have an indirect effect on this relationship is currently unknown and the focus of this investigation.

Materials and Methods

Design

The present study utilized data collected as part of a more extensive investigation of a potential cognitive dissonance-based brief intervention for heavy-drinking college students at two separate university campuses (R01AA025043). Campus One was a large northeastern university in the United States with a robust on-campus living tradition. In contrast, Campus Two was a large southern university in the United States where the student population is primarily comprised of commuters. The experimental conditions of the more extensive study included an assessment-only control condition, a gender-specific personalized normative feedback (PNF) condition, and a counter-attitudinal advocacy (CAA) condition. In the PNF condition, participants reported their weekly drinking and their perceptions of drinking among fellow college students; this information was then combined with campus survey data on demographic drinking rates and presented back to the participants in graphic form. In the CAA condition, participants were presented with three drinking problems they reported experiencing. They were asked to write advice they would give incoming freshmen students on avoiding such problems before explaining what they had written to a study research assistant.

The study utilized a longitudinal design with three follow-up assessment periods at one-, three-, and six months after their first session. The study screened 9151 students for inclusion criteria, including enrollment at one of the universities, between 18–26 years of age, presence of recent heavy episodic drinking, and recent experience with alcohol-related problems. Reasons for exclusion were expecting to graduate during the follow-up period, studying remotely and therefore not living on campus at the northeastern university, and participating in a conflicting study. Of the students screened, 1715 were eligible for enrollment, and 591 were enrolled in the study and randomized to experimental conditions at baseline (control = 200, CAA = 194, PNF = 197). The present study utilized the data collected from the 583 participants who completed the baseline and one-month follow-up sessions.

Participants and Recruitment

The study participants were 63% female, with an average age of 20 (SD = 1.58). In this study, 50.3% of the participants were non-Hispanic white, 25.9% were Asian, 11.5% were African American, 10% selected “other,” and 1.7% were Native American or Native Alaskan. Nearly one-quarter (23.1%) of the participants were Hispanic or Latinx. Table 1 contains the complete list of descriptive statistics for all variables of interest.

Table 1:

Sample Characteristics (N= 583)

Variable N (%) M SD
Female Sex 369 (63%)
Age 20 1.58
Race
 Non-Hispanic white 297 (50.3%)
 Asian 153 (25.9%)
 African American 68 (11.5%)
 Native American or Native Alaskan 10 (1.7%)
 Other 59 (10%)
Hispanic Status 136 (23.1%)
Social Drinking Motive 3.87 .79
Enhancement Drinking Motive 3.48 .83
Coping Drinking Motive 2.30 .92
Conformity Drinking Motive 1.61 .77
Baseline YAACQ Score 11.54 7.30
Month 1 YAACQ Score 8.09 7.31
Baseline drinks per week 8.56 6.11
Open in a new tab

Note. YAACQ = Young adult alcohol consequence questionnaire.

Measures

Demographics.

Participant demographics included sex (1 = male and 0 = female), race (Asian, African American, Native American or Native Alaskan, Other), and age.

Hispanic Status

was collected at baseline and investigated as a predictor of interest in the study. Specifically, participants were asked, “Do you consider yourself Hispanic or Latino?” The question was answered dichotomously, with 0 = No and 1 = Yes.

Drinking Motives.

The Drinking Motives Questionnaire was administered to assess participants’ alcohol-drinking motives at baseline (Cooper, 1994b). Participants answered 20 questions that assessed different reasons why they drank alcohol in the past 30 days. Participants responded to questions such as I drink “because it improves parties and celebrations” (social drinking motive), “because it’s fun” (enhancement drinking motive), “to forget your worries” (coping drinking motive), and “to be liked” (conformity drinking motive) using a 5-point Likert scale where 1 = almost never / never and 5 = almost always / always. The four subscales, each containing five items, were used as predictor variables: social (α = .78), enhancement (α = .77), coping (α = .82), and conformity (α = .84). A mean score was computed where a mean closer to 5 is a stronger indication of the drinking motive.

Alcohol Problems.

We assessed alcohol-related problems in the last month using the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) (Read et al., 2006). The YAACQ is a 48-item checklist of problems related to drinking that is tailored to college drinkers. Items included “I have passed out from drinking” and “I have taken foolish risks when I have been drinking.” The response options (no/yes) were scored 0 or 1 and were then summed to produce a total score ranging from 0–48. The questionnaire had excellent reliability (α = .91).

Covariates.

Covariates included sex, intervention condition, site, baseline drinks per week, and baseline YAACQ.

Plan of Analyses

Before conducting analyses, all data were screened for outliers. All analyses were performed in Mplus version 7.2. Alcohol-related problems at 1 month were specified as a count outcome, and negative binomial regression path modeling was used for the analyses to determine the indirect effects of Hispanic status on changes in 1-month alcohol-related problems via motives. Indirect effects were evaluated simultaneously rather than serially, given indications in the literature that there is considerable shared variance among motives (Boyle et al., 2022; Lui et al., 2022). The model simultaneously estimated the indirect effects of Hispanic status (the primary predictor), assessed at baseline, on changes in alcohol-related problems (as measured by the YAACQ) at the 1-month follow-up through the four drinking motives assessed at baseline. In the model, we controlled for drinks per week, alcohol-related problems at baseline, intervention condition, sex assigned at birth, and site where data were collected.

Within the negative binomial framework, raw parameter estimates are log-based. Thus, estimates are exponentiated to aid in interpretability. The resulting exponentiated parameter estimates can be interpreted as incidence rate ratios (IRR) (or % change in alcohol-related problems based on each unit change in the predictor, with values less than 1 representing a decrease and values greater than 1 representing an increase in alcohol-related problems). Indirect effects were interpreted as significant when there was an absence of 1 from the exponentiated bootstrapped confidence interval (10,000 bootstrapped samples) specific to the indirect effect.

Results

At baseline, participants demonstrated a mean score of 3.87 (SD = .79) for social drinking motives, 3.48 (SD = .83) for enhancement drinking motives, 2.30 (SD = .92) for coping drinking motives, and 1.61 (SD = .77) for conformity drinking motives. Participants reported a mean of 8.56 (SD = 6.11) for drinks per week at baseline, a mean of 11.54 (SD = 7.30) for alcohol-related problems at baseline, and a mean of 8.09 (SD = 7.31) for alcohol-related problems at 1-month. We conducted t-tests to see if there are any differences in baseline problems as a function of being a Hispanic or non-Hispanic college student. We found that Hispanic college students endorsed more alcohol-related problems at baseline (M = 13.24; SD = 8.11) than did students of non-Hispanic identities, t(586) = −3.13, p = .002. Table 2 includes the bivariate correlations for all study variables of interest. All motives were positively associated with both baseline and one-month problems. Hispanic status was significantly positively correlated with both coping motives and baseline problems.

Table 2:

Bivariate Correlations Between Variables

Hisp Status Soc DM Enh DM Cop DM Conf DM BL YAACQ BL Drinks per Week Sex M1 YAACQ
Hisp Status 1
Soc DM −.02 1
Enh DM .00 .51** 1
Cop DM .11* .27** .25** 1
Conf DM −.03 .27** .06 .32** 1
BL YAACQ .13* .19** .17** .45** .36** 1
BL Drinks per Week .02 .13* .18** .19** .09 .30** 1
Sex .04 −.04 .02 −.12* −.00 .02 −.15* 1
M1 YAACQ .05 .15** .18** .38** .21** .56** .33** −.04 1
Open in a new tab
**

Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

*

Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

Soc DM = Social Drinking Motive; Enh DM = Enhancement Drinking Motive; Cop DM = Coping Drinking Motive; Conf DM = Conformity Drinking Motive; YAACQ = Young adult alcohol consequence questionnaire.

Hispanic Status, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol-Related Problems

Table 3 displays the results of all the indirect effects. We found a positive association between baseline alcohol-related problems and 1-month alcohol-related problems (IRR = 1.05, p < .001) and between baseline drinks per week and 1-month alcohol-related problems (IRR = 1.00, p = .002). The relationships between Hispanic status, sex, site, and condition with alcohol-related problems at 1-month were all non-significant in the full model (IRR = .87, p = .154; IRR = .77, p = .450; IRR = 1.05, p = .591; IRR = 1.06, p = .235). Once we learned that there was no primary Hispanic status and 1-month alcohol-related problems relationship to mediate, we changed our language to ‘indirect effects’.

Table 3:

Indirect effects of Hispanic status on alcohol-related problems through drinking motives

Path Hispanic Status→Motives Motives1→month Alcohol problems Indirect Effect (IRR) Exp Low CI Exp High CI
Soc DM .90
p = .350		 .92
p = .279		 1.01 0.99 1.05
Enh DM .97
p = .788		 1.14
p = .068		 0.99 0.95 1.02
Cop DM 1.27
p = .044		 1.18
p < .001		 1.04 1.00 1.20
Conf DM .95
p = .624		 1.01
p = .934		 1.00 0.98 1.01
Open in a new tab

Note. These results reflect the following covariates: sex, intervention condition, site, baseline drinks per week, and baseline YAACQ. Soc DM = Social Drinking Motive; Enh DM = Enhancement Drinking Motive; Cop DM = Coping Drinking Motive; Conf DM = Conformity Drinking Motive; Low CI = Lower Confidence Interval; High CI = Higher Confidence Interval.

We found that the relationship between Hispanic status and coping drinking motives was positively associated and statistically significant (IRR = 1.27, p = .044). Additionally, the relationship between coping drinking motives and alcohol-related problems at 1-month was positively associated and significant (IRR = 1.18, p < .001). The indirect effect was statistically significant, given that the lower and upper 95% CI did not include one. This demonstrates that Hispanic status and alcohol-related problems are linked indirectly through higher endorsement of coping motives.

Regarding the remaining motives, we found that the relationships between Hispanic status and each of social, enhancement, and conformity drinking motives were non-significant (IRR = .90, p = .350; IRR = .97, p = .788; and IRR = .95, p = .624). There was no relationship between social, enhancement, or conformity drinking motives with alcohol-related problems at 1-month (IRR = .92, p = .279; IRR = 1.14, p = .068; IRR = 1.01, p = .934). Moreover, there were no indirect effects of Hispanic status on alcohol-related problems through social, enhancement, or conformity drinking motives. To view the full model of our results, see Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Open in a new tab

Model examining the indirect effect of Hispanic Status on 1-month alcohol-related problems via drinking motives.

**p < 0.001; **p <.01; * p<.05

Exploratory analyses

We conducted an exploratory analysis using a subset of our dataset to isolate Hispanic identity independently of other minoritized identities. Specifically, we created a dataset that only included non-Hispanic white and Hispanic participants. The reduced sample consisted of 352 participants, with Hispanics making up 36% of this group. Within these data, the indirect effect of Hispanic status on changes in alcohol-related problems at 1 month through coping was also statistically significant (IRR = 1.01 with a 95% CI of 1.00, 1.02). Moreover, the effect of Hispanic status on coping motives was statistically significant, thus indicating that Hispanics, compared to non-Hispanic whites, had higher coping motives (IRR = 1.41, p=.002), consistent with our original model. Lastly, the effect of coping with changes in alcohol-related problems at 1-month also remained statistically significant (IRR = 1.02, p<.05). Like our previous model, there were no indirect effects observed through the other motives. Our results demonstrate that the indirect effect is evident both for Hispanic and non-Hispanic college students (including students from other minoritized identities) and within this reduced sample of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants.

Discussion

In this heavy drinking sample, we confirmed that Hispanic college students endorsed more alcohol-related problems at baseline than did students of non-Hispanic identities. The current study explored whether drinking motives (i.e., social, enhancement, coping, and conformity) had an indirect effect on the relationship between Hispanic status and alcohol-related problems prospectively at 1-month. Our findings expand our understanding of differential motivational pathways that lead to alcohol-related problems for Hispanic college students.

First, our study illustrated that Hispanic status did not have a statistically significant relationship with social, enhancement, and conformity drinking motives. That is, whether students identified as Hispanic or not was not reflected in how they endorsed these three types of drinking motives. However, Hispanic status was related to a higher endorsement of coping motives for drinking. Although we could not assess stressors within this study, prior research has identified acculturation stress and discrimination as precursors to negative affect and substance abuse among Hispanic adolescents and young adults (Jardin et al., 2018; Unger, 2014). A longitudinal study found that experiences of discrimination are associated with alcohol-related problems among Hispanic college students (Cheng & Mallinckrodt, 2015). This is informative as perceived stress or adversity has also been associated with coping drinking motives (Zaso et al., 2023). Our findings suggest that heavy-drinking Hispanic college students may have experienced adverse experiences that increased the negative reinforcing value of alcohol.

Although bivariate associations indicated associations between all motives and problems, in models controlling for covariates (including drinking), neither social, enhancement, nor conformity predicted one-month problems in this sample. This did not align with previous cross-sectional studies that included only Hispanic college student participants, where conformity drinking motives predicted alcohol-related problems (Lui et al., 2022) and lower alcohol-related problems were predicted by lower conformity drinking motives (Sanchez et al., 2021). However, our findings are largely consistent with an extensive body of literature linking social motives to consumption but not to problems (Kuntsche et al., 2005), as well as a more recent meta-analysis with diverse samples demonstrating relatively weak associations between social and conformity motives and problems (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021). When considering the association between enhancement drinking motives and alcohol-related problems, there has been mixed evidence overall (Kuntsche et al., 2005) where some studies have found it to be a strong predictor for alcohol-related problems (Cooper, 1994a) while others have not (Read et al., 2003). Our study aligned with the latter.

In this study, there was a positive relationship between coping drinking motives and alcohol-related problems at 1-month after controlling for consumption in this sample, consistent with other literature (Kuntsche et al., 2005). This is supported by the meta-analyses, which found that coping motives are one of the strongest prospective predictors of alcohol-related drinking problems (Bresin & Mekawi, 2021).

Even though Hispanic status was associated with more alcohol-related problems at baseline, once this relationship was accounted for, Hispanic status did not predict problems at one month. This finding suggests that students came into the study with more problems but did not differentially increase over the one-month study period. However, our full negative binomial regression path modeling analysis revealed that the only indirect path in the relationship between Hispanic status and alcohol-related problems at 1 month was through coping motives. These prospective analyses suggest that Hispanic college students endorse coping motives more than non-Hispanic college students and that these coping motives increase the likelihood of their experiencing alcohol-related problems over time.

Given the research that documents adversities experienced by Hispanic college students during their transition to college (Fernandez et al., 2022; Holliday et al., 2016), alcohol use may be used for coping with negative affect. The minority stress theoretical framework offers a unique perspective that states that ethnic minorities, such as Hispanics, have the potential to face increased levels of stressors such as stigma, discrimination, and prejudice (Meyer, 2003). Facing minority stress, or acculturative stress, has the potential to increase alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in Hispanics (Flood, McLaughlin, & Prentice, 2013; Lee et al., 2013; Pittman et al., 2019). Other research has confirmed how adverse events predict a higher frequency of drinking for coping-specific reasons, which in turn predicts increases in alcohol-related problems among adolescents (Zaso et al., 2023). Taken together, we offer several potential hypotheses that Hispanic status may be a marker of potential stress or adversity, which in the context of alcohol consumption leads to drinking for coping motives, which in turn increases the likelihood of negative alcohol problems.

Limitations & Strengths

Although this study has multiple strengths, future research should address some limitations. First, only 23% of the sample were Hispanic; increasing the sample size would enhance the power to detect other motivational pathways and potentially the generalizability of our findings. Second, our study dichotomized Hispanic status and did not collect data to disaggregate the Hispanic college student sample by origin, sex, or gender. This is critical as alcohol-specific research shows differences in alcohol consumption dependent on origin and sex. For example, among the general Hispanic adult population, there are sex differences in the mean number of drinks consumed per week: Puerto Ricans (men = 16.9 (∓1.6); women = 9.5 (∓2.3)), Mexican/Mexican Americans or Mexican-origin (men = 15.9 (∓1.7); women = 3.0 (∓1.0)), and South/Central Americans (men = 8.9 (∓0.8); women = 3.8 (∓0.6)) (Ramisetty-Mikler et al., 2010). Future research should aim for samples large enough to disaggregate the Hispanic college student population and test for moderation by sex and ethnicity. The ability to disaggregate Hispanics into more homogeneous subgroups (i.e., ethnicity, generational status, and immigration status) has important implications for better understanding the role of alcohol and substance use across subgroups. Third, we only tested our variables of interest across two time points. Ideally, indirect effects with three-time points can establish or rule out the temporal orderings of the variables. In this study, the fact that we measured Hispanic status, and motives simultaneously, is less of a concern because drinking motives cannot logically precede Hispanic status in time.

Regardless of these limitations, this study has notable strengths. First, participant data were derived from two independent 4-year college institutions from different parts of the US. This is a strength as it contributes to the generalizability of the findings. Second, we used data to conduct prospective analyses. Third, we explored indirect associations between Hispanic status and alcohol-related problems through drinking motives. Finally, we used established measures of motives and alcohol-related problems that have shown to be reliable and valid in college samples.

Implications

The findings of this study have implications for both prevention and research. First, because coping drinking motives had an indirect effect on the association between Hispanic status and prospective alcohol-related problems, prevention efforts should explore if and how any current stressors may be contributing to consuming alcohol for coping-specific reasons. Knowing that Hispanic college students may experience elevated levels of psychosocial stressors justifies a direct assessment of how their drinking may be motivated by emotion-focused coping (Park et al., 2004).

Second, future research should consider investigating what perceived stressors Hispanic college students may be experiencing that may play a role in their alcohol consumption. Several well-documented stressors that have impacted Hispanic college students’ psychological well-being include experiences of racial microaggressions (Franklin, 2019), violence exposure and perceived sense of belonging (Sims et al., 2020), and acculturative-related stress (Jardin et al., 2018). Knowing what specific stressors are experienced while attending college will facilitate efforts to equip students with adaptive coping strategies and prevent the use of alcohol for coping. Additionally, it will be critical to explore whether their perceived stressors differ when considering sex among this unique college student population. Learning what perceived stressors play a role in their alcohol consumption and whether types of stressors differ across sexes is significant for tailored intervention purposes.

Conclusion

In summary, the current study explored whether drinking motives had an indirect effect on the relationship between Hispanic student status and prospective alcohol-related problems. When all motives were considered simultaneously, Hispanic status and 1-month alcohol-related problems were linked indirectly through coping drinking motives. These findings illustrate the need to reduce coping drinking motives among Hispanic college students to reduce alcohol-related problems.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA025043, PIs: Carey, DiBello, & Neighbors). Sarah Chavez utilized protected time to write the first draft of this manuscript as a fellow funded by NIAAA (T32AA007459). NIAAA had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of the data, or writing the manuscript.

Funding:

This study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA025043, PIs Carey, DiBello, & Neighbors). Sarah Chavez utilized protected time to write the first draft of this manuscript as a fellow funded by NIAAA (T32AA007459). NIAAA had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of the data, or writing the manuscript.

Footnotes

Declaration of Interest Statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

Raw and derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

REFERENCES

  1. Abar CC, & Maggs JL (2010). Social influence and selection processes as predictors of normative perceptions and alcohol use across the transition to college. Journal of College Student Development, 51(5), 496–508. 10.1353/csd.2010.0005 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Alcover KC, Lyons AJ, Oluwoye O, Muse ID, Kelly ME, & McDonell MG (2021). Onset of alcohol use disorder among alcohol initiates by race/ethnicity. Alcohol, 97, 13–21. 10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.08.002 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Arnett JJ (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. 10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Boyle HK, Merrill JE, & Carey KB (2022). Examining changes in drinking motives and their influence on drinking behaviors among heavy drinkers during their first year of college. Addictive Behaviors, 124, 107099. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107099 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bresin K, & Mekawi Y (2020). The “why” of drinking matters: A meta-analysis of the association between drinking motives and drinking outcomes. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 45(1), 38–50. 10.1111/acer.14518 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cheng H-L, & Mallinckrodt B (2015). Racial/ethnic discrimination, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and alcohol problems in a longitudinal study of Hispanic/Latino college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(1), 38–49. 10.1037/cou0000052 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cooper ML (1994). Motivations for alcohol use among adolescents: Development and validation of a four-factor model. Psychological Assessment, 6(2), 117–128. 10.1037/1040-3590.6.2.117 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cox WM, & Klinger E (1988). A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97(2), 168–180. 10.1037/0021-843x.97.2.168 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dawson DA, Goldstein RB, Patricia Chou S, June Ruan W, & Grant BF (2008). Age at first drink and the first incidence of adult-onset DSM-IV alcohol use disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(12), 2149–2160. 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00806.x [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. DiBello AM, Gonzales R, Young CM, Rodriguez LM, & Neighbors C (2016). Blood is thicker than booze: Examining the role of familism and gender in alcohol use and related consequences among Hispanic college students. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 15(3), 310–324. 10.1080/15332640.2015.1044684 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Dora J, Piccirillo ML, Foster KT, Arbeau K, Armeli S, Auriacombe M, Bartholow BD, Beltz AM, Blumenstock SM, Bold KW, Bonar EE, Braitman AL, Carpenter RW, Creswell KG, Hart T, Dvorak RD, Emery NN, Enkema MC, Fairbairn CE, & Fairlie AM (2023). The daily association between affect and alcohol use: A meta-analysis of individual participant data. Psychological Bulletin, 149(1–2), 1–24. 10.1037/bul0000387 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Fernandez LR, Girón SE, Killoren SE, & Campione-Barr N (2022). Latinx college students’ anxiety, academic stress, and future aspirations: The role of sibling relationship quality. Journal of Child and Family Studies. 10.1007/s10826-022-02474-z [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Flood J, McLaughlin C, & Prentice G (2013). Minority stress, homonegativity, alcohol use and mental health among college gay males. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 17(4), 367–386. 10.1080/19359705.2013.800006 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  14. Franklin JD (2019). Coping with racial battle fatigue: Differences and similarities for African American and Mexican American college students. Race Ethnicity and Education, 22(5), 589–609. 10.1080/13613324.2019.1579178 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  15. Grant VV, Stewart SH, & Mohr CD (2009). Coping-anxiety and coping-depression motives predict different daily mood-drinking relationships. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(2), 226–237. 10.1037/a0015006 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hasin DS, & Grant BF (2015). The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) waves 1 and 2: Review and summary of findings. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50(11), 1609–1640. 10.1007/s00127-015-1088-0 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Holliday R, Anderson E, Williams R, Bird J, Matlock A, Ali S, Edmondson C, Morris EE, Mullen K, & Surís A (2016). A pilot examination of differences in college adjustment stressors and depression and anxiety symptoms between white, Hispanic and white, non-Hispanic female college students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 15(3), 277–288. 10.1177/1538192715607331 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  18. Jardin C, Mayorga NA, Bakhshaie J, Garey L, Viana AG, Sharp C, Cardoso JB, & Zvolensky MJ (2018). Clarifying the relation of acculturative stress and anxiety/depressive symptoms: The role of anxiety sensitivity among Hispanic college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(2), 221–230. 10.1037/cdp0000175 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. King KA, & Vidourek RA (2010). Psychosocial factors associated with recent alcohol use among Hispanic youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(3), 470–485. 10.1177/0739986310372234 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  20. Kuntsche E, Knibbe R, Gmel G, & Engels R (2005). Why do young people drink? A review of drinking motives. Clinical Psychology Review, 25(7), 841–861. 10.1016/j.cpr.2005.06.002 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Lee CS, Colby SM, Rohsenow DJ, López SR, Hernández L, & Caetano R (2013). Acculturation stress and drinking problems among urban heavy drinking Latinos in the Northeast. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 12(4), 308–320. 10.1080/15332640.2013.830942 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Luciano MT, Acuff SF, Olin CC, Lewin RK, Strickland JC, McDevitt-Murphy ME, & Murphy JG (2022). Posttraumatic stress disorder, drinking to cope, and harmful alcohol use: A multivariate meta-analysis of the self-medication hypothesis. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 131(5), 447–456. 10.1037/abn0000764 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lui PP, Zamboanga BL, Ertl MM, Rodriguez LM, Martin JL, & Gonzales R (2020). Drinking motives, cultural orientations, and alcohol use among Hispanic college students at the U.S.–Mexico border. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 21(4), 1–19. 10.1080/15332640.2020.1845901 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. McDonald JA, & Paulozzi LJ (2018). Parsing the paradox: Hispanic mortality in the US by detailed cause of death. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(2), 237–245. 10.1007/s10903-018-0737-2 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Merrill JE, & Carey KB (2016). Drinking over the lifespan: Focus on college ages. PubMed, 38(1), 103–114. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Merrill JE, Wardell JD, & Read JP (2014). Drinking motives in the prospective prediction of unique alcohol-related consequences in college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 75(1), 93–102. 10.15288/jsad.2014.75.93 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Meyer IH (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674–697. 10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Miles J, Acevedo A, Panas L, Ritter G, Campbell K, & Delk M (2020). Race/ethnicity, community of residence, and DUI arrest after beginning treatment for an alcohol use disorder. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 47(2), 201–215. 10.1007/s11414-019-09672-6 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Mulia N, Ye Y, Greenfield TK, & Zemore SE (2009). Disparities in alcohol-related problems among white, Black, and Hispanic Americans. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33(4), 654–662. 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00880.x [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). COE - Undergraduate Enrollment. Nces.ed.gov. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha/undergrad-enrollment [Google Scholar]
  31. Park CL, Armeli S, & Tennen H (2004). The daily stress and coping process and alcohol use among college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65(1), 126–135. 10.15288/jsa.2004.65.126 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Pittman DM, Brooks JJ, Kaur P, & Obasi EM (2017). The cost of minority stress: Risky alcohol use and coping-motivated drinking behavior in African American college students. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 18(2), 257–278. 10.1080/15332640.2017.1336958 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Ramisetty-Mikler S, Caetano R, & Rodriguez LA. (2010). The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): Alcohol consumption and sociodemographic predictors across Hispanic national groups. Journal of Substance Use, 15(6), 402–416. 10.3109/14659891003706357 23847447 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Ranker LR, & Lipson SK (2022). Prevalence of heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use disorder diagnosis among US college students: results from the national Healthy Minds Study. Addictive Behaviors, 135, 107452. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107452 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Read JP, Kahler CW, Strong DR, & Colder CR (2006). Development and preliminary validation of the young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 67(1), 169–177. 10.15288/jsa.2006.67.169 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Read JP, Wood MD, Kahler CW, Maddock JE, & Palfai TP (2003). Examining the role of drinking motives in college student alcohol use and problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17(1), 13–23. 10.1037/0893-164x.17.1.13 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Sanchez A, Gainza Perez M, & Field CA (2021). The role of resilience in alcohol use, drinking motives, and alcohol-related consequences among Hispanic college students. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 48(1), 1–10. 10.1080/00952990.2021.1996584 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Schry AR, & White SW (2013). Understanding the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol use in college students: A meta-analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 38(11), 2690–2706. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.06.014 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Schwartz S, Forthun LF, Ravert RD, Zamboanga BL, Umaña-Taylor AJ, Filton BJ, Kim SY, Rodriguez L, Weisskirch RS, Vernon M, Shneyderman Y, Williams MK, Agocha VB, & Hudson M (2010). Identity consolidation and health risk behaviors in college students. American Journal of Health Behavior, 34(2). 10.5993/ajhb.34.2.9 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Shields JD, Archiopoli AM, Bentley JM, Weiss D, Hoffmann J, White JM, Sharp MK, Hong Z, & Kimura M (2016). Binge-drinking attitudes and behaviors among Hispanic and non-Hispanic college students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 38(2), 243–263. 10.1177/0739986316633436 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  41. Sims GM, Kia-Keating M, Liu SR, & Taghavi I (2020). Political climate and sense of belonging in higher education: Latina undergraduates and mental health. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 26(4), 356–364. 10.1037/pac0000448 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  42. Unger JB (2014). Cultural influences on substance use among Hispanic adolescents and young adults: Findings from project RED. Child Development Perspectives, 8(1), 48–53. 10.1111/cdep.12060 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Yoon Y-H, Yi H, & Thomson PC (2011). Alcohol-related and viral hepatitis c-related cirrhosis mortality among Hispanic subgroups in the United States, 2000–2004. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35(2), 240–249. 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01340.x [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Zaso MJ, Read JP, & Colder CR (2021). Coping-motivated escalations in adolescent alcohol problems following early adversity. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 37(2). 10.1037/adb0000788 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Data Availability Statement

Raw and derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

RESOURCES