Evaluation of an alcohol expectancy typology : group differences in psychosocial functioning and developmental history in a treatment sample of adolescents

• Main Author: Des Rosiers, Sabrina E.
• Format: Others
• Published: FIU Digital Commons 2006
• Subjects: Psychology; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2777; http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4077&context=etd

The goals of the present study were (a) to identify distinct and meaningful groups of adolescents on the basis of their self-reported alcohol expectancies and, (b) to document multivariate group differences between alcohol expectancy clusters and specific adjustment outcomes. Six distinct homogenous subgroups were identified via Cluster Analysis. Subsequent validation analyses involving between-cluster comparisons of psychosocial adjustment outcomes identified significant group differences. Clusters with stronger endorsement of positive alcohol expectancies were more likely to receive a lifetime diagnosis of conduct disorder, engage in negative social interactions, have higher ratings of perceived stress, and reckless behaviors. Between-cluster differences were also identified for age, school grade, family structure and ethnicity. The results of this study supported the merit of using a person-centered analytic strategy to describe heterogeneity in patterns of alcohol expectancies and their relations with specific adjustment outcomes among high-risk samples of adolescents.