Table 3.
Five drinking motives across age groups (% of agreement and mean; n = 991) †.
| Age Groups | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Drink.... | Total | 20s | 30s | 40s | 50s | χ2 or F (p) |
| (n = 991) | (n = 212) | (n = 207) | (n = 279) | (n = 293) | ||
| Five dimensional motives | % | % | % | % | % | |
| 1. Enhancement motives | ||||||
| to feel good/happy. | 57.0 | 58.5 | 60.9 | 58.1 | 52.2 | χ2 = 11.46 (0.075) |
| because there are few things to enjoy except drinking. | 19.7 | 18.4 | 24.6 | 21.5 | 15.4 | χ2 = 10.71 (0.098) |
| because alcohol makes food taste better. | 30.8 | 33.5 | 35.7 | 30.5 | 25.6 | χ2 = 21.78 (0.001) |
| 2. Coping motives | ||||||
| to overcome work and life stress. | 52.1 | 54.7 | 58.0 | 49.8 | 48.1 | χ2 = 22.78 (0.001) |
| because I want to fall asleep quickly when I cannot fall asleep easily. | 19.2 | 13.2 | 17.9 | 20.1 | 23.5 | χ2 = 18.81 (0.004) |
| when I want to get rid of my fears and be brave. | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 15.4 | χ2 = 9.32 (0.157) |
| 3. Social motives | ||||||
| to become friends quickly and to get along with them. | 52.7 | 61.8 | 48.3 | 50.5 | 51.2 | χ2 = 12.26 (0.056) |
| to deal with difficult relationships. | 32.1 | 34.4 | 28.5 | 29.4 | 35.5 | χ2 = 8.21 (.223) |
| because it lifts the mood of the meeting. | 55.7 | 60.8 | 47.8 | 55.9 | 57.3 | χ2 = 9.39 (.153) |
| 4. Conformity motives | ||||||
| because of work-related gatherings. | 21.4 | 15.1 | 18.4 | 21.9 | 27.6 | χ2 = 19.34 (0.004) |
| because my friends force me to drink. | 8.2 | 4.2 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 13.0 | χ2 = 53.28 (<0.001) |
| to avoid being left out. | 17.3 | 17.0 | 14.5 | 17.6 | 19.1 | χ2 = 6.98 (0.323) |
| 5. Environmental context motives | ||||||
| because there are many places to drink everywhere. | 13.5 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 11.5 | 14.7 | x2 = 5.96 (0.428) |
| to enjoy low-cost recreation because the price of alcohol is low. | 6.7 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 9.2 | χ2 = 26.98 (<0.001) |
| because an alcohol advertisement (TV, poster, etc.) makes me want to drink | 5.7 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 6.1 | 6.5 | χ2 = 25.05 (<0.001) |
| Five dimensional motives | Total | 20s | 30s | 40s | 50s | |
| M | M | M | M | M | ||
| 1. Enhancement | 2.85 | 2.78 | 2.95 | 2.94 | 2.75 | F = 4.65 (0.003) |
| 2. Coping | 2.54 | 2.37 | 2.57 | 2.61 | 2.58 | F = 3.18 (0.023) |
| 3. Social | 3.18 | 3.22 | 3.11 | 3.18 | 3.19 | F = 0.50 (0.680) |
| 4. Conformity | 2.18 | 1.97 | 2.06 | 2.22 | 2.40 | F = 10.66 (<0.001) |
| 5. Environmental (or Accessible) | 1.92 | 1.71 | 1.82 | 1.97 | 2.08 | F = 9.56 (<0.001) |
Note: † Respondents other than lifetime abstainers answered. % of agree and strongly agree (a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree).