Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social contexts regarding drinking, drinking motives, affect, and the negative consequences of alcohol consumption on the daily drinking occurrence and quantity among college students. A total of 56 college students participated in the 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA), reporting on social contexts related to drinking, drinking motives, affect, and negative consequences from alcohol use. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. As a result, at the between-person level, negative consequences from drinking were significantly associated with the same day drinking occurrence. Additionally, evening outing plans and experience of negative consequences from drinking were significantly related to the quantity of alcohol consumed that day. At the within-person level, the drinking quantity of companions and enhancement motives were significantly associated with the same day drinking occurrence, and the drinking quantity of companions were also significantly related to the quantity of alcohol consumed on the same day. At the between-person level, the drinking quantity of companions were related to the next day’s drinking occurrence, and the presence of evening outing plans were significantly associated with the next day's drinking quantity. At the within-person level, negative consequences from drinking were significantly related to the next day's drinking occurrence, and both the drinking quantity of companions and enhancement motivation were significantly associated with next day's drinking quantity. This study is meaningful in that it explored factors related to the college students' drinking occurrence and quantity using the ecological momentary assessment. By confirming the strong influence of companions' drinking amounts on individual drinking behavior, the findings suggest the need to establish preventive measures for problematic drinking among college students from a socio-contextual perspective.