An examination of the associations between AUDIT scores, person-level differences in daily location changes, and stress among college students

Daily fluctuations in location changes and stress may influence health outcomes, yet their interrelation and links to alcohol-related behaviors are not well characterized in college populations. To assess dynamic associations between location changes and stress and determine whether baseline Alcohol use symptomology predict these patterns. Undergraduates (N = 185; Mage = 18.47; 75% female) from the Colorado Ecological Momentary Assessment Project reported daily locations visited and stress. Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling estimated autoregressive and cross-lagged effects, with baseline Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores as a predictor. Stress demonstrated significant autoregressive stability (p < 0.05); location changes did not. Cross-lagged effects were non-significant, but post hoc reciprocal paths between stress and location changes were significant (p < 0.05). Higher baseline AUDIT scores predicted greater average location changes across the sampling period (p < 0.05), but not stress. The present findings suggest that variability in alcohol use symptomology and related behaviors may be meaningfully associated with individual differences in stress and mobility patterns among young adult college students. Incorporating location change metrics into behavioral health research may inform interventions aimed at stress regulation and alcohol risk reduction in young adults. More broadly, these findings highlight the importance of considering contextual and structural influences, such as academic schedules and daily routines, when interpreting patterns of student mobility, stress management, and alcohol-related behaviors.