Negative urgency, problem drinking and negative alcohol expectancies among members from one First Nation: A moderated-mediation model

Abstract

Problematic alcohol use is a major health concern for many Native communities in both Canada and the United States (Spillane & Smith, 2007, 2010; Spillane, Smith, & Kahler, in press). Because health disparities related to alcohol use are pronounced in this population (Beauvais, 1996; Whitesell et al., 2007), it is important to study factors that may contribute to risk for this set of problems. Alcohol expectancies represent a well known risk factor for alcohol use in non-Natives. This study sought to examine the relationship between negative urgency and negative alcohol expectancies, and to determine if this relationship is influenced by problem drinking behaviors. We hypothesized that negative urgency's effects on the development of negative alcohol expectancies would be mediated by negative urgency's influence to increase drinking behaviors in a First Nation sample (see Spillane & Smith, 2010). We also hypothesized that this relationship would be moderated by sex. We administered measures of alcohol use, negative urgency, and negative alcohol use expectancies to a total of 209 First Nation people (96 men; 113 women). Following the steps of moderated mediation outlined by Preacher, Rucker, and Hayes (2007), we found that the relationship between negative urgency and negative alcohol expectancies was significantly mediated by problem drinking for males (β=0.42, p<0.001), but not for females (β=0.13, p=0.32). The current study suggests that for males in this First Nation sample, negative urgency's effects on development of negative alcohol expectancies is mediated by problem drinking behavior.