The Impact of Protective Behavioral Strategies

Alcohol consumption among college students continues to be a concern on college campuses. It is estimated that a large majority (83%) of college students use alcohol (Johnston, O¿Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2008). The negative consequences of alcohol consumption range broadly in both domain and degree of harm to the individual and society. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) can be utilized to reduce the degree of negative consequences of alcohol consumption when people choose to drink. Anxiety sensitivity is the fear of the symptoms of anxiety including the fear of somatic symptoms, the fear of social consequences of anxiety, and the fear of losing control mentally (Reiss, Peterson, & Gursky, 1988). The study examined the relationships among alcohol consumption, anxiety sensitivity, PBS and the negative consequences of alcohol consumption among 706 college student drinkers in the southeastern United States. A weak positive correlation was found between anxiety sensitivity and PBS use. Amount of alcohol consumed emerged as a predictor of the negative consequences of alcohol consumption. PBS use emerged as a predictor of the negative consequences of alcohol consumption.