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BACKGROUND: The present study evaluated the two-factor structure of the Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana Scale (PBSM-SF) Short-Form, a 13-item measure of harm reduction behaviors related to cannabis use. Additionally, the PBSM was evaluated for measurement invariance based on sex and state cannabis legalization status. METHOD: Participants were 1,048 college students (Mage = 19.00) reporting past 30-day cannabis use who primarily identified as White (75.5%) females (64.9%) recruited from 11 universities in 11 states representative of the United States. All participants provided demographic information and completed the PBSM-SF, Marijuana Use Grid assessing cannabis use frequency, Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test-Revised assessing hazardous cannabis use, and Brief Marijuana Consequences Questionnaire evaluating negative consequences. RESULTS: The two-factor structure (i.e., Quantity and Context) of the PBSM-SF identified in Mian et al. (2021) was supported in the present study. Additionally, analyses demonstrated evidence of convergent and concurrent validity. Finally, the two-factor PBSM-SF demonstrated some degree of invariance by sex and state legalization status. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides additional support for a two-factor model of PBSM-SF (i.e., Quantity and Context) that functions similarly for men and women college students as well as for students from states without legalized cannabis use and states with legalized cannabis use.

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The present study tested the psychometric properties of a new 20-item alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) measure, the Protective Drinking Practices Scale (PDPS). Specifically, we evaluated measurement invariance of the PDPS in a sample of college students recruited nationally, tested the factor structure, evaluated construct validity, and explored potential short-form versions. Participants were 684 college student drinkers from throughout the United States (50.3% male; 65.6% White) obtained using Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who completed measures of PBS use, hazardous drinking, alcohol-related negative consequences, alcohol use disorder (AUD) screening criteria, and depression. A differential item functioning analysis found that the PDPS items functioned similarly in the present sample and the original validation sample. Further, a unidimensional item response theory analysis confirmed the single PDPS factor structure identified in the original study. The PDPS demonstrated evidence of convergent validity with measures of hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Finally, five potential three-item PDPS short-form versions were generated, which all had strong correlations with the 20-item PDPS. Overall, these results suggest the PDPS functioned similarly in a United States college student sample with geographical diversity relative to a sample from a single Southeastern United States university, which has implications for future research and clinical work with college students. Future research should continue assessing the psychometric properties of the PDPS among diverse samples of college students and further elucidate an optimal PDPS short form for use in clinical screening and research contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

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BACKGROUND: The negative consequences associated with alcohol misuse remain a concern on college campuses nationwide. Alcohol protective behavioral strategies are important factors in mitigating college students' experiences of alcohol-related negative consequences. Overparenting, or "helicopter parenting," is a form of over-involved parenting which has been associated with a range of substance use concerns in college students. The mechanism by which overparenting is associated with alcohol use and/or consequences is unclear; however, it may be partially explained by failure to engage in the use of protective behavioral strategies. Purpose/objectives: The current study explored the degree to which alcohol protective behavioral strategies mediated the relationship between overparenting and alcohol-related negative consequences when accounting for alcohol consumption and if these associations were invariant across race and gender. Methods: Participants were 625 traditional age college students who consumed alcohol within the 30 days prior to completing measures of alcohol consumption, overparenting, alcohol-related negative consequences, and alcohol protective behavioral strategies. Results: Alcohol protective behavioral strategies, specifically manner of drinking, partially mediated the relationship between overparenting and alcohol-related negative consequences when accounting for alcohol misuse. There were no differences noted across gender, but the models were found to be invariant across White and African American participants in relation to the protective value of alcohol protective behavioral strategies. Conclusion/Importance: Overparenting may relate to negative alcohol outcomes in part through less use of harm reduction strategies. More investigation into the value of alcohol protective behavioral strategies across race is needed.

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BACKGROUND: The present study examined the mediating role of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (i.e. serious harm reduction [PBS-SHR], manner of drinking [PBS-MOD], stopping/limiting drinking [PBS-SLD]) on the relationships between college alcohol beliefs and alcohol outcomes (i.e. hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences) in an attempt to replicate recent findings in the early stages of college alcohol belief and PBS research. Methods: Participants were 625 traditional age undergraduate college students (M = 19.00, SD = 1.72; 63.7% White; 80.7% female) recruited from a southeastern United States university who reported past 30-day alcohol consumption. All participants completed measures of college alcohol beliefs, alcohol PBS use, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences through an online survey. Results: Higher college alcohol beliefs were associated with greater hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences. Further, PBS-MOD mediated the positive relationship college alcohol beliefs had with hazardous drinking, such that higher college alcohol beliefs predicted less PBS-MOD use which was associated with greater hazardous drinking. Discussion: These findings provide further evidence to support previous findings highlighting the additional protective value of certain alcohol PBS especially for college students with high college alcohol beliefs.

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BACKGROUND: College students report high rates of alcohol consumption and Criterion A traumatic events, which puts them at higher risk for dangerous alcohol-related negative consequences when compared to the general population. The self-medication theory suggests coping as the potential link between substance use and psychological distress, and it has been found that ineffective coping styles are related to increased PTSD symptom severity and harmful drinking behaviors. Purpose: This study evaluated the mediating role of coping styles (i.e. problem-solving and avoidance coping) on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol outcomes (i.e. hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences [ARNC]). Methods: A national sample of 672 traditional age (i.e. 18-25 years old; M = 22.35, SD = 1.97) college students who reported alcohol consumption in the past month were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk website. Participants were 55.1% male and 60.9% White and completed measures of PTSD symptoms, coping styles, hazardous drinking, and ARNC. Results: Problem-solving coping mediated the positive relationship between PTSD symptoms and hazardous drinking such that PTSD symptoms were negatively associated with problem-solving coping, which was negatively associated with hazardous drinking. Avoidance coping mediated the positive relationship between PTSD symptoms and ARNC through a positive association between PTSD symptoms and avoidance coping. Conclusions: These novel findings highlight the importance of adaptive coping styles as a protective factor for college students experiencing co-occurring PTSD symptoms and harmful alcohol use.

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Background: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its consumption subscale (AUDIT-C) are international gold standard screeners for identifying at-risk drinkers. Items have been modified to reflect United States low-risk drinking guidelines in the USAUDIT and USAUDIT-C, which also perform well in identifying at-risk drinkers. The USAUDIT may also be used to screen for potential AUD, an important first step to identify individuals needing diagnostic testing and treatment referrals. Objectives: The present study sought to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of each measure in predicting potential AUDs via diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition in a college sample. Methods: Participants were 382 college student drinkers (Mage = 20.2, SD = 1.5; 68.7% female) who completed online surveys assessing alcohol use, at-risk drinking, and AUD symptom endorsement. Receiver operating curves provide optimal cutoff scores for each measure in overall, male, and female samples. Results: Results indicated the AUDIT and USAUDIT are equally superior in detecting potential AUD in the current sample. Recommended cutoff scores for detecting likely AUD with the USAUDIT are 12 for males (sensitivity = 62.0%, specificity = 86.6%) and 8 for females (sensitivity = 65.3%, specificity = 87.7%). Conclusions: Whereas prior work supports the USAUDIT-C in detecting at-risk drinking, the current study supports the AUDIT and USAUDIT in detecting potential AUD. Based on prior work, and in an effort to be consistent with standard US drinking guidelines, we recommend using the USAUDIT in screening and brief interventions across college campuses.

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Background: The present study investigated the mediating role of protective behavioral strategies for marijuana (PBSM) on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and marijuana outcomes (i.e. marijuana use frequency, marijuana use quantity, cannabis use disorder (CUD) symptoms, and marijuana-related problems). Methods: Participants were 1,107 traditional age college students (Mage = 20.26, SD = 3.32; 66.5% White, non-Hispanic; 68.8% female), who reported consuming marijuana at least once in the last 30 days and completed measures of PTSD symptoms, PBSM, and marijuana-related outcomes. Results: PBSM significantly mediated the positive relationships between PTSD symptoms and both CUD symptoms and marijuana-related problems. More specifically, PTSD symptoms were negatively associated with PBSM, which in turn was negatively associated with marijuana use frequency and marijuana use quantity, which were in turn positively associated with CUD symptoms and marijuana-related problems. Conclusion: Taken together, the associations between higher PTSD symptoms and greater experience of CUD symptoms and marijuana-related problems may occur because students use fewer PBSM and thus engage in larger quantity and frequency of marijuana use. These findings lend support to the utility of targeting PBSM as a harm reduction effort for students with PTSD symptoms who use marijuana.

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The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is the gold standard screening measure. Recently, there has been increasing call to update the measure to reflect harmful drinking standards in the United States. The purpose of this study was to use receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to evaluate the AUDIT and the United States version (AUDIT-US). Participants were 382 traditional age (M = 20.2, SD = 1.5) college students (68.7% female, 64.9% White) who had consumed alcohol at least once in the 30 days prior to participating. Although results provide evidence for the AUDIT and the AUDIT-US as valid screening tools, the Consumption subscale of the AUDIT-US performed the best in predicting at-risk college drinkers. The Consumption subscale of the AUDIT-US with a single cutoff score of four appears to be the optimal and most parsimonious method of identifying at-risk college drinkers.

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Background: Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are harm reduction strategies used to lessen the negative effects of alcohol consumption. PBS controlled consumption (e.g., avoiding shots) center on managing alcohol consumption and tend to be negatively correlated with hazardous drinking whereas PBS serious harm reduction (e.g., having a designated driver) have a negative association with alcohol-related negative consequences. These relationships are often attenuated by factors such as mental health. Stress is linked with hazardous drinking and is experienced by most individuals. However, there are unique aspects of alcohol use and stressors associated with being in college (e.g., adjustment, academics) that require further investigation. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore how college stress - specific stressors related to the college experience - moderated the relationships PBS types had with hazardous drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences while accounting for gender. Methods: Participants were 550 college students ages 18 to 24 who drank alcohol within 30 days of completing measures of PBS use, college stress, hazardous drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Results: A negative association was found between PBS controlled consumption and hazardous drinking while a positive association was found between PBS serious harm reduction and hazardous drinking, but neither relationships were significantly moderated by college stress. A negative relationship was found between PBS serious harm reduction and alcohol-related negative consequences, which was strengthened for those with high levels of college stress. Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of further investigating the role of college stress in relation to safe and hazardous drinking and provide evidence for the protective role of PBS for college students experiencing stress and consuming alcohol.

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The 14-item Positive Drinking Consequences Questionnaire (PDCQ) was developed to assess experienced positive drinking consequences. The present study sought to advance the psychometric evaluation of the PDCQ via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, measurement invariance, criterion-related validity, and internal consistency. Participants were 1,088 traditional-age college students (81% female) who reported drinking in the past month. Exploratory factor analysis supported a four-factor model (i.e. Sociability, Tension Reduction, Liquid Courage, and Sexual Enhancement), and the confirmatory factor analysis indicated the four factors loaded on a higher-order factor ("PDCQ"). Invariance testing supported invariance for the PDCQ across gender. The PDCQ was positively associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related negative consequences, and negatively associated with protective behavioral strategies. Finally, the four factors of the PDCQ were discriminant from positive expectancies. Collectively, positive drinking consequences appear to be more nuanced than originally conceptualized. Evaluation of specific types of positive drinking consequences may assist in more precise prevention and intervention efforts in the future.

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OBJECTIVE: The present study evaluated the moderating role of alcohol protective behavioral strategy subtypes (alcohol PBS; serious harm reduction, manner of drinking, limiting/stopping drinking) and gender on the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol-related negative consequences. METHOD: Participants were 2,138 traditional college students (i.e., age between 18 and 25 years old) recruited from 10 universities in the United States who reported drinking in the past month. All participants reported their gender and completed measures of PTSD symptoms, alcohol PBS use, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related negative consequences through an online survey. RESULTS: Experiencing greater PTSD symptoms was associated with increased alcohol-related negative consequences and all alcohol PBS subtypes were independently associated with fewer alcohol-related negative consequences. Gender had a moderating effect such that the relationship between manner of drinking and alcohol-related negative consequences was weaker among men. Further, we found significant three-way interactions such that the associations between PTSD symptoms and alcohol-related negative consequences were weaker at higher levels of serious harm reduction and limiting/stopping drinking, but only among women. CONCLUSIONS: Although alcohol PBS appear beneficial for all college student drinkers, these findings highlight the additional protective value of certain alcohol PBS for college women experiencing PTSD symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

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