Does mindfulness moderate the relationship between protective behavioral strategies and alcohol use in high school seniors?

Decreases in alcohol consumptions have been linked to the use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) a number of times (Arterberry et al., 2014; Kenny et al., 2014; & Braitman et al., 2014). Trait mindfulness has been researched looking for a link in substance use treatment. Promising results have been found (Grow et al., 2015; Vinci et al., 2014) that have led to the creation of treatment modalities such as Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (Bowen, Charla, Marlatt, 2010). The present study investigates the relation between PBS, mindfulness, and negative outcomes due to alcohol consumption. The participants are part of a larger study (N = 3,352) investigating a brief online alcohol use intervention amongWashington state (n = 1,181) and Swedish high school seniors (n = 2,171). Data was collected at a six-month follow-up via an online survey. Participants completed the 15-item Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale that measures PBS with responses ranging from 1-Never to 6-Always (PBSS; Martens et al., 2007); a 12-item trait mindfulness measure with responses ranging from1-Rarely/Not at all to 4-Almost always (Cognitive and AffectiveMindfulness Scale Revised; Feldman et al., 2007); and the Young Adult Alcohol Problem Screening Test (Hurlbut & Sher, 1992), which measures social and personal problems related to drinking. A regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the measures. Significant main effects were found for PBS (p < 0.001) and mindfulness (p < 0.01) on negative consequences of alcohol use. However, there was no moderating effect of mindfulness on the relation between PBS and negative effects of alcohol (p = 0.10). Results support past research on the impact of mindfulness on negative effects of alcohol. Results regarding PBS were not consistent with past literature regarding their impact on decreasing negative effects of alcohol. This may be attributed to a relationship between those individuals using PBS and the amount of negative drinking consequences they already experience. There was not enough evidence to suggest amoderating effect ofmindfulness as a factor that would further decrease negative alcohol effects. Future research could investigate whether a treatment designed to increase the effectiveness of PBS through increased mindfulness is a suitable intervention. This research was supported by NIAAA # 5R01AA018276 awarded to Drs. Larimer & Berglund