Self-regulation, adaptive motivation, and alcohol consumption: Understanding university students’ motivation for drinking

Objective
A study was conducted to examine relationships among university students’ self-regulation, motivational structure, and alcohol consumption.

Method
Participants were student drinkers (N = 105, females = 77.7%, mean age = 19.82 years) who completed a demographics questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Questionnaire, Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire, and Personal Concern Inventory (PCI).

Results
Self-regulation was negatively correlated with the amount of alcohol that students drank on typical (p 
Conclusions
The study demonstrates that self-regulation and motivational structure play an important role in university students’ alcohol consumption. Interventions could be developed for experimentally manipulating these measures with the aim of reducing students’ use of alcohol.