The links between motivations for alcohol use and for sexual behaviors are not well understood. Latent profile analysis was used to identify drinking motivational profiles (based on motivations for: fun/social, relaxation/coping, image, sex; motivations against: physical, behavioral) and sex motivational profiles (motivations for: enhancement, intimacy, coping; motivations against: not ready, health, values) among college students (N = 227, 51% male). Latent profiles for drinking were: low for/high against drinking (34%), average drinking motives (53%), and high for/low against drinking (13%). Profiles for sex were: low for/high against sex (35%), high for/low against sex (42%), and high for with coping/moderate against sex (23%). Motivational profiles were related across behaviors. Drinking motivational profiles were associated with alcohol use and psychosocial adjustment; sex motivational profiles were associated with sexual experiences. Distinct profiles of motivations support the need for differentiated intervention programs targeting individuals with different patterns of reasons for engaging in risk behaviors during late adolescence.
Motivations, or the functions a behavior serves and the needs that it meets, are understood as the most proximal antecedents to behavior (Cooper, 1994, Cox and Klinger, 1988 and Kuntsche et al., 2005). Therefore, documenting the combinations of motivations that underlie behaviors such as alcohol use and sexual behavior helps elucidate key factors in determining whether and how much individuals choose to drink and have sex. As Cooper, Frone, Russell, and Mudar (1995) argued, engagement in a single behavior, such as alcohol use, actually “represents multiple psychologically distinct behaviors defined by the distinct underlying functions they serve” (p. 990) for different individuals. According to this functional perspective, outwardly similar behaviors may meet very different needs and identifying these functions could be a key factor in understanding behavior ( Cooper, Agocha, & Powers, 1999). That is, in order to understand behaviors such as alcohol use and sexual behavior, it is necessary to understand the motivations these behaviors serve for individuals. In the present study, we investigate configurations of motivations for alcohol use and sexual behavior in a population at risk for negative consequences associated with these risk behaviors, namely college students ( Cooper, 2002), as an exploratory step to inform developmental models of behavior and interventions to promote individual well-being and public health.
Engagement in risk behaviors such as alcohol use and risky sexual activity is a widely acknowledged cause of negative physical health-related consequences (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2000). These behaviors are also associated with risk and protective factors for psychological well-being (Zweig, Phillips, & Lindberg, 2002). Despite the negative consequences experienced from heavy drinking (e.g., hangovers, accidents) and risky sexual behavior (e.g., sexually transmitted diseases [STDs], unwanted pregnancy), many students engage in both behaviors throughout their college years (Cooper, 2002, Johnston et al., 2005, Lefkowitz and Gillen, 2005 and NIAAA, 2006). One explanation for engagement in behaviors that pose such serious risks to personal health is that these behaviors may be motivated by a variety of valued needs (Cooper & Shapiro, 1997). Indeed, adolescents and college students may be making rational choices to engage in these behaviors based on their perceptions of the importance of potential risks and benefits (Goldberg, Halpern-Felsher, & Millstein, 2002). For example, some “negative” effects of heavy drinking, such as doing or saying something embarrassing, may be reinforcing for individuals who would choose to use alcohol again in order to receive similar peer approbation (Leigh, 1989a). Therefore, it is important to understand the motivations that individuals have for engaging in and not engaging in risk behaviors.
