The Association Between Internal Restlessness, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Use Outcomes in College Students.

Background: ADHD and alcohol use are prevalent among college students, but few studies have examined internal restlessness (i.e., the mental discomfort experienced when suppressing hyperactive behaviors) in relation to alcohol use. Consequently, the current study sought to examine a path model testing associations between internal restlessness, drinking motives (i.e., coping, social, enhancement, and conformity), alcohol use, and consequences in college students.

Methods: Two hundred and ninety-one college students completed an online survey regarding their use of alcohol.

Results: After controlling for ADHD diagnosis, there were significant positive associations between internal restlessness and coping (B = 0.025, p = .004), socializing (B = 0.026, p = .004), enhancement (B = 0.038, p < .001), and conformity (B = 0.026, p < .001). Two significant indirect effects were found for the association between internal restlessness and consequences through enhancement (95% CI [0.001, 0.009]) and coping (95% CI [0.000, 0.011]) motives and alcohol use, respectively. All other indirect pathways were nonsignificant.

Conclusions: Findings revealed that internal restlessness was associated with the four drinking motives; however, greater internal restlessness was related to more alcohol consequences to the extent that they also reported strong coping and enhancement motives. Findings can be used to tailor intervention and prevention efforts to target emotional regulation and to reduce risk for college students who experience internal restlessness.