The Development of Social Goals and Risk for Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault

• In Event: 1-116 - Circle Up: Using Interpersonal Theory and The Interpersonal Circumplex to Study Interpersonal Relationships Across Development

Integrative Statement

As youth age, their social context is marked by increased opportunities for alcohol use and sexual interaction. These opportunities are accompanied by a rise in sexual assault (SA) of women, many involving alcohol and a perpetrator known to the victim. In navigating their social milieu, women often describe tension between avoiding assault risk and maintaining social relationships. These tensions underscore the importance of understanding the role of interpersonal dynamics and social goals (SGs) in vulnerability for SA. SGs shape interpersonal interactions and fall along the orthogonal dimensions of (1) agency (valuing power, dominance, and mastery in social interactions) and (2) communion (valuing intimacy, union, and solidarity in social interactions). SGs are dynamic during this period, reflecting the developmental tasks to establish independence and individuality (agency) and to cultivate close relationships with peers (communion). An interpersonal orientation characterized by high communal and low agentic goals is expected to be linked to risk behavior, as individuals with this orientation are more likely to be drawn into risky contexts, but lack the agency to assert personal needs. Furthermore, whether this goal orientation increases risk might depend on self-regulation. Through self-regulation, an individual manages SG orientations that may otherwise lead to harm. In the context of risky SG orientation, limited self-regulatory capacity may increase risk for acting to pursue communal goals, yet leave one ill equipped to engage in planful assertive efforts to extricate themselves or avoid threat as it emerges. The current study examined developmental trajectories of SG that spanned early adolescence into young adulthood, and tested whether a SG orientation characterized by strong communal and weak agentic goals increased risk for alcohol use and (SA) in young adulthood. Method: A community sample of 213 females (83% White/non-Hispanic, 10% Black/African American, 2% Hispanic/Latino, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 4% “other”) was recruited at ages 11-12 and assessed annually for nine years using self-report questionnaires. Results and Conclusions: Latent profile analysis, suggested two distinct longitudinal patterns of SGs (Figure 1): (1) A risky profile characterized by stable high communal goals and stable low agentic goals (Panel A), and (2) a protective profile characterized by declines in communal and increases in agentic SGs such that communal and agentic goals were balanced in young adulthood. A Poisson regression predicting alcohol use suggested that the risky SG orientation was associated with high levels of drinking (b=.862, p<.05, risk ratio=2.4), but this effect was qualified by a two-way interaction term (b=-.28, p<.01 risk ratio=.76). The risky SGs class was more risky as levels of self-regulation declined, as hypothesized (see Figure 2). Only 8% of our sample experienced an alcohol-related SA at our Wave 9 assessment. Despite limited power, logistic regression results suggested that the risky SG orientation (odds ratio = 4.11, p<.06), poor self-regulation (odds ratio=.46, p<.05), and high alcohol use (odds ratio=1.20, p<.05) were associated with alcohol-related SA. Findings demonstrate that SG orientations develop across adolescence and are of relevance to alcohol use and SA risk and protection in young adulthood.

Authors

• Jennifer Read, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
  Presenting Author

• Craig Colder, University at Buffal
  Non-Presenting Author

• Seth Frndak, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
  Non-Presenting Author