Risk Perception, Drinking Motives, and Willingness to Drink in Social Contexts Among Emerging Adults

OBJECTIVE: Emerging adults (18-25 years) report high instances of heavy episodic drinking and related problems; however, less is known about the relation of risk perception and alcohol-related outcomes, especially as it relates to social drinking in trans and gender diverse (TGD) individuals. METHOD: To capture a realistic portrayal of real-time social drinking decision-making, we used the Collegiate-Simulated Intoxication Digital Elicitation (C-SIDE) to collect behavioral willingness ratings for alcohol in a variety of simulated situations from 273 18-25 year olds in the United States (187 cisgender, 86 TGD; 65% white). Participants reported on drinking motives (Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire - Revised) and alcohol use behavior. RESULTS: Cisgender men endorsed lower risk perception and higher perceived safety than both cisgender women and TGD people. Peer drinking situations perceived as safe were associated with a greater willingness to accept offers of alcohol, while the opposite was true for those perceived as risky. Similarly, participants endorsing higher enhancement motives, and less consistently social and conformity motives, perceived greater safety and less risk from drinking settings. Gender moderated a small subset of relations between motives and risk perception and risk perception and behavioral willingness. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that risk perception is an important factor to consider when assessing alcohol decision-making in emerging adults, particularly as it relates to drinking setting and gender identity.