Further validation of the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire for assessing motivations for responsible drinking: A test of self-determination theory.

Alcohol protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are cognitive-behavioral strategies used before, during, and/or after drinking to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a potentially useful framework to understand motivations for responsible drinking, which is operationalized in the present study as PBS use. In the present study, we examined the relation of motivations for responsible drinking, as assessed by the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ), with other SDT constructs (psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy) and PBS use. A sample of 507 college students who reported consuming alcohol at least once in the past 3 months were recruited from a random sample of students enrolled at a Hispanic serving institution to complete an online survey. Consistent with SDT and previous studies of the TSRQ, we found support for a 4-factor structure of the TSRQ. The TSRQ demonstrated measurement invariance across several sociodemographic subgroups within the sample (e.g., biological sex, age, year in school), supporting the use of the TSRQ across these subgroups. Further, consistent with SDT-based hypotheses, greater psychological need satisfaction and dispositional autonomy were related to more self-determined motivations for responsible drinking. Also consistent with SDT, more self-determined motivations for responsible drinking were related to more frequent PBS use. The present findings further support the utility of the TSRQ for assessing motivations for responsible drinking and support SDT as a framework for understanding responsible drinking. Future directions for research applying SDT to understand and promote responsible drinking among college students are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).