College students' reasons for not drinking and not playing drinking games.

Few studies have examined college students' reasons for not drinking, and no studies have addressed their reasons for not playing drinking games. This study developed measures of both constructs using a sample of 147 college students. Principal components analysis identified six Reasons for Not Drinking factors and five Reasons for Not Playing Drinking Games factors. Internal consistency and intercorrelations of the factors were examined. The factors correlated in theoretically meaningful directions with measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol outcome expectancies, reasons for drinking, self-esteem, and personality. Research findings are discussed in regards to their relevance to prevention and treatment strategies among the college population.