Examining women's alcohol consumption: The Theory of Planned Behavior and self-identity

Background Changing trends demonstrate that women, in several economically-developed countries, are drinking at higher levels than ever before. Objective: This study applied an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), including self-identity, to examine women’s intentions to consume alcohol. Methods Women (N = 1069) aged 18 to 87 years, completed a questionnaire measuring their intentions to engage in binge drinking and frequent drinking. As research indicates that drinking trends are a function of age, hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted separately for four age groups (18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 and above). Results: Results supported the predictive utility of the TPB, (particularly Attitudes and Perceived Behavioral Control). Across the age groups, the final models explained between 48% and 62% of the variance in intentions to binge drink and between 33% and 51% of the variance in intentions to drink frequently. Subjective norms were significant associated with the youngest group (18 to 24 years) and the oldest group (45+ years). Self-identity was significantly associated with intentions to binge drink in younger women. Conclusions Implications are discussed with regard to the predictive utility of an extended TPB to include self-identity in determining women’s intentions to consume alcohol. Key factors that influence women’s decisions to engage in risky drinking behaviors have been underlined to inform future interventions