Alcohol Expectancies, Emotional States, and Alcohol-Related Consequences among Junior College Students in China: A Full Mediation Model of Alcohol Consumption.

This study examined the relationships among emotional states (positive and negative), alcohol expectancies, alcohol consumption, and students' subjectively perceived positive drinking experiences as well as subjectively perceived negative alcohol-related consequences among junior college students in Mainland China using a three-wave longitudinal design. Emotional states and alcohol expectancies were assessed at Time 1, alcohol consumption at Time 2, and alcohol-related consequences at Time 3, thereby reducing common method bias and improving temporal inference. The final analytic sample included 4,439 participants. Results showed that both positive and negative emotional states, as well as positive alcohol expectancies, were significantly associated with alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was also positively related to both perceived short-term positive drinking experiences and harmful alcohol-related outcomes. Structural equation modeling indicated that emotional states and alcohol expectancies significantly predicted alcohol-related outcomes indirectly through alcohol consumption. Importantly, mediation analyses revealed a full mediation pattern, suggesting that psychological factors did not directly influence alcohol-related consequences once drinking behavior was included in the model. Notably, all perceived positive drinking outcomes reported by young student participants are only transient subjective feelings rather than objective benefits of alcohol; interpretations of such perceived rewards among adolescents should be treated with extreme caution, as youth episodic drinking frequently accompanies heightened risks of anxiety, depression and other behavioral problems. These findings indicate that alcohol consumption serves as a key proximal mechanism linking distal psychological antecedents to both subjectively perceived favorable harmful drinking outcomes.The results extend Self-Medication Theory and provide empirical evidence for a self-medication pathway of alcohol use, demonstrating that emotional and cognitive factors operate primarily through drinking behavior rather than exerting direct effects on alcohol-related consequences.Overall, the study highlights the importance of targeting both emotional regulation and alcohol consumption in prevention and intervention efforts among young junior college student populations in China.