Does trait urgency moderate the relationship between parental alcoholism and alcohol use?

Abstract

Many college students engage in unsafe amounts of alcohol use, resulting in considerable alcohol-related problems. Several recent studies have shown that trait urgency is positively associated with a variety of addictive behaviors. What is not known is the way it may interact with other risk factors of alcohol use in predicting alcohol-related outcomes. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine if trait urgency moderated the relationship between parental alcoholism and both alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Data were collected on 324 undergraduate students who were participating in a research study as a result of an alcohol-related judicial infraction. Results indicated that trait urgency moderated the relationship between parental alcoholism and alcohol-related problems, but not parental alcoholism and alcohol use. There was a strong positive relationship between parental alcoholism and alcohol-related problems for those high in trait urgency, while no relationship existed between parental alcoholism and alcohol-related problems for those low in trait urgency. Implications of the findings are discussed.