The Why of Drinking Matters: A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Drinking Motives and Drinking Outcomes

Background Knowledge of how drinking motives are differentially associated with alcohol use (e.g., frequency, quantity) and drinking problems is critical in understanding risky drinking and the development of alcohol use disorder. The purpose of this paper was to use meta-analytic techniques to answer 2 overarching questions: (a) Which types of drinking motives (i.e., enhancement, coping, social, conformity) are most strongly associated with alcohol use and drinking problems? and (b) What are the most likely mechanisms (alcohol use or drinking problems) through which motives may be indirectly associated with outcomes? Method A comprehensive literature search identified 229 studies that met inclusion criteria (254 samples; N = 130,705) with a subset containing longitudinal data (k = 5; N = 6283). Data were analyzed using 2-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Results Results showed that both enhancement and coping motives were the strongest predictors of drinking problems, but only enhancement motives were the strongest predictor of alcohol use. Enhancement and social motives were indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems and with drinking problems through alcohol use, whereas coping motives were only indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems, although the results differed for cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Conclusion Overall, findings from this meta-analysis provide evidence that drinking motives differentially predict alcohol use outcomes through unique direct and indirect pathways.

Automated summary

The study found that enhancement and coping motives were the strongest predictors of drinking problems, while only enhancement motives were the strongest predictor of alcohol use. Enhancement and social motives were indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems, and with drinking problems through alcohol use, while coping motives were only indirectly associated with alcohol use through drinking problems, with differing results for cross-sectional and longitudinal data.