Athlete identity, athlete-specific drinking motives, and alcohol-related behaviors among university student-athletes: Examining indirect pathways
Download this article Louise V. Bell *, Janine V. Olthuis *, Alan Meca **, Byron L. Zamboanga *** and Siobhan Fitzpatrick *
(*) Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada
(**) Department of Psychology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, United States
(***) Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, United States
Citation
Bell, L.V., Olthuis, J.V., Meca, A., Zamboanga, B.L., Fitzpatrick, S. (2024). Athlete identity, athlete-specific drinking motives, and alcohol-related behaviors among university student-athletes: Examining indirect pathways. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 55(2), 153-172. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2024.55.153
Abstract
Objective: Alcohol use is commonly endorsed among university student-athletes. Athlete identity can influence the extent to which student-athletes consume alcohol, however, the pathway from athlete identity to alcohol use and related consequences remains unknown. As such, the present study tested whether athlete-specific drinking motives could help explain the association between athlete identity and alcohol use and related consequences. Method: Participants were 177 university student-athletes who completed a brief, online self-report questionnaire. Results: Path analysis revealed a significant indirect pathway between social identification and alcohol consumption by way of positive reinforcement drinking motives (β =.10, p = .03). No other significant in- direct effects emerged. Conclusions: Positive reinforcement motives may help explain some of the association between athlete identity and alcohol consumption among student-athletes. This knowledge may help psychologists identify specific types of athletes (e.g., high social identification, positive reinforcement drinkers) that may benefit from receiving alcohol-related prevention efforts.
Keywords: Alcohol consumption, athlete identity, drinking motives, negative drinking consequences, student-athlete