Alcohol Use and Emerging Adult Development: a Latent Profile Analysis of Community Drinkers

The purpose of the current study was to assess whether individuals differ in their experiences of emerging adulthood (EA) and associations with distinct patterns of alcohol use. To differentiate between EA drinking patterns, 153 regular community drinkers (ages 18-24 years; M=20.9, SD=1.9; 66.0% women; 53.6% Caucasian; 68.0% students) completed the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) and measures of alcohol use, drinking motives, and drinking consequences. Latent profile analysis revealed two profiles: EA-consistent (90%) had elevated scores on the five typical IDEA subscales; non-exploring EA (10%) had low scores on four dimensions. Non-exploring EA consistently demonstrated significantly lower scores on all alcohol variables at baseline and higher drinking volume, consequences, and social motives 1 year later. Findings indicate distinct profiles of EA development are associated with different patterns of alcohol use; how individuals experience this time of life may influence involvement in high-risk drinking during EA.