Moderators of the Effects of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies: Three Attempts of Replication and Extension

Background: Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) can be used to reduce alcohol-related harm when drinking. Despite much research demonstrating that use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) is associated with decreased alcohol use/problems, few studies have examined moderators of these associations. Moderation tests are important as they define the boundary conditions of the protective effects of PBS use (i.e., identify for whom and in what context PBS use reduces harm). Objectives: We aimed to replicate and extend the findings from three published studies that have examined putative moderators of PBS-alcohol associations: self-regulation, negative urgency, and drinking refusal self-efficacy. Method: Participants were recruited from a psychology department participant pool at a large, southwestern university in the United States (N = 628). Results: Although we replicated most main effects and bivariate correlations, we failed to replicate any of the moderation effects (i.e., interaction effects). Conclusions/Importance: We urge PBS researchers to attempt to replicate moderation effects in independent samples to determine these effects' reproducibility. Limitations and future directions are discussed.