Luke Herchenroeder

Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD; caloric restriction before or during drinking alcohol to enhance alcohol's effects [FAD-intoxication] and/or to compensate for calories from alcohol [FAD-calories]) is common and poses concerns for public health. However, little is known regarding day-level risk factors of FAD. To address this gap, we applied the prototype willingness model to examine which cognitions (i.e., perceived vulnerability, social norms, attitudes, prototypes, intentions, and willingness) predict FAD at the within- and between-person levels. Participants were college students (n = 72) who reported weekly alcohol use and past-month FAD engagement. Participants identified primarily as female (73.8%), White non-Hispanic (51.4%), with a mean age of 19.64 (SD = 1.35). Participants completed a baseline survey as well as two daily surveys for 5 weeks. At the within-person level, intentions and willingness predicted FAD-intoxication and FAD-calories. Further, willingness mediated the association between descriptive norms and prototype similarity with daily FAD-calories engagement. At the between-person level, attitudes as well as prototype similarity, positively associated with FAD-intoxication and FAD-calories. Overall, this study represents one of the most comprehensive multilevel examinations of risk factors for FAD to date, with implications for theory development and intervention efforts aimed at reducing FAD engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Prior work suggests psychological need satisfaction (PNS) may protect against single-substance alcohol and marijuana use, yet little is known about its association with simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use. This study aims to address this gap by examining the link between PNS and SAM use in college students. Further, to better explain the conditions under which PNS associates with SAM use, we also explore SAM use motives as a potential mechanism through which PNS associates with SAM use, and investigate whether this relationship is moderated by positive expectancies about SAM use (i.e., first-stage moderated mediation). Methods: Participants were 822 college students from six universities who reported past-month SAM use. The sample was predominantly White, non-Hispanic (62.9%), female (70.2%), with a mean age of 19.44 (SD = 1.98) years. Results: Calm/coping and social motives mediated the association between PNS and SAM use, such that students with lower PNS reported higher levels of these motives, which were in turn associated with greater SAM use. The indirect effect of PNS on SAM use through calm/coping motives, but not social motives, was stronger among students with higher levels of positive expectancies for SAM use, compared to those with lower or average positive expectancies. Consclusion: These findings suggest that students with lower PNS and higher positive SAM expectancies may be at greater risk of engaging in SAM use, especially for relaxation or coping reasons. Overall, the results highlight the importance of addressing unmet psychological needs and positive expectancies in efforts to reduce SAM use among college students.

Researchers have documented robust associations between food and alcohol disturbance (FAD-intoxication; restricting caloric intake before or during alcohol consumption to experience a quicker and/or more intense alcohol intoxication) and alcohol use and related negative consequences. However, most of this research has utilized cross-sectional designs. Consequently, two crucial gaps have not yet been filled: (a) the separation of the relatively stable, between-person and the fluctuating, within-person components in the relations between FAD-intoxication and alcohol-related constructs; and (b) the examination of the directionality of these within-person relations. Participants were college students (n = 686) who reported past-month binge drinking. Most participants identified as White (71.3%), female (78.4%), non-Hispanic (87.8%), with a mean age of 20.64 (SD = 3.25). Participants completed three online surveys assessing FAD-intoxication (College Eating and Drinking Behaviors Scale), alcohol use (Daily Drinking Questionnaire), and related negative consequences (Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire). Analyses revealed that FAD-intoxication was positively associated with alcohol use and related negative consequences at the between-person level. Additionally, at the within-person level, FAD-intoxication at Time 2 significantly predicted alcohol use at Time 3. Notably, the cross-lagged effect from FAD-intoxication at Time 1 to alcohol use at Time 2 was not significant. FAD-intoxication did not significantly predict negative consequences. Neither use nor consequences significantly predicted FAD-intoxication. Our results suggest that FAD-intoxication is relevant to the study of alcohol use and related negative consequences and should be considered in interventions targeting alcohol use and related negative consequences among students who endorse binge drinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Public Health Significance This study suggests that distraction appears to be equally effective at reducing stress-induced alcohol cravings as breath counting. Therefore, it may be that the effectiveness of breath counting at reducing alcohol cravings is a result of distraction, rather than increased mindfulness. Prior research suggests brief mindfulness (breath counting) interventions may be effective at attenuating stress-induced alcohol-related cravings. However, it remains unclear whether this reduction in craving is due to increased state mindfulness or mere distraction. To test this, the present study examined whether brief breath counting would attenuate a stress-induced increase in the relative value of alcohol in young adult alcohol users, and whether this therapeutic effect was superior to simple distraction (cross counting). University students from England and the United States (N = 278, M (age) = 20.2 years, 56.5% females) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: breath counting, distraction, stress-only, no-stress. Participants first listened to a 6-min audio file training the breath counting technique or control audio, before exposure to 2-min noise stress induction or no-stress during which participants engaged in breath counting, cross counting (distraction), or nothing. The relative value of alcohol was then assessed by preferential choice of alcohol versus food pictures. Results indicated that stress-only augmented alcohol picture choice compared to no-stress, and that this stress induction effect was attenuated to a comparable extent by breath counting and distraction. Group differences in alcohol picture choice washed out in the second half of the choice test. The results suggest that the therapeutic effect of breath counting (interoceptive attention) on stress-induced alcohol-seeking may stem from distraction (cognitive load) rather than a unique state of mindful acceptance. The implications of this lab study for mindfulness therapy are considered.

Loneliness and alcohol misuse are common among college students and pose a threat to public health. To better understand the longitudinal association between these public health concerns we examined food and alcohol disturbance (FAD; i.e., restricting one’s caloric intake prior to drinking) as a moderator in the association between loneliness and alcohol-related problems. Participants were 456 college students from a mid-sized university who engaged in past 30-day binge drinking. The majority of participants identified as being White (67.1%), female (78.1%), and reported a mean age of 19.61 (SD = 1.54) years. Participants completed two surveys (3 weeks apart) over the course of an academic semester. Analyses revealed a significant interaction between loneliness and FAD, such that loneliness (T1) significantly and positively predicted alcohol-related problems (T2), but only among individuals who engaged in relatively higher levels of FAD (T1). FAD may be an appropriate target for interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related problems among college students experiencing loneliness.