(PS1-12) Differences in Food and Alcohol Disturbance (FAD) and Alcohol Expectancies Based on FAD History and Motives

Abstract Text: Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) is the use of compensatory behaviors before, during, and/or after a drinking episode for specific motives: 1) enhancing the effects of alcohol (FAD-AE) and/or 2) compensating for alcohol-related calories (FAD-CC). FAD is prevalent among US college students and linked to greater alcohol-related harms than alcohol use alone. Expectancy effects (i.e., beliefs about the anticipated outcomes of a behavior) play a critical role in understanding the trajectory of FAD, as they influence the initiation and maintenance of alcohol use behaviors. While alcohol expectancies have been shown to differentiate individuals based on their drinking motives and patterns of use, it is unclear whether individuals who differ based on FAD history and motives have expectancy dimension differences. This study examined whether positive and negative FAD expectancies differed based on FAD history and motives endorsed, and whether similar group differences were found for alcohol expectancies. College students (N=3809, Mage=19.31, 59.7% White non-Hispanic; 75.3% female) from six US universities completed an online survey on FAD expectancies, alcohol expectancies, and past-month FAD. Participants were categorized into four groups: no past-month FAD (49.0%), FAD-AE only (15.9%), FAD-CC only (5.3%), or both FAD-AE and FAD-CC (i.e., FAD-Both; 29.8%). Four analysis of covariance models examined group differences in positive and negative FAD and alcohol expectancies, controlling for biological sex. Parameter estimates indicated that students who engaged in FAD-Both endorsed the strongest positive FAD expectancies compared to all other groups. Those who engaged in FAD-AE, but not FAD-CC, reported stronger positive FAD expectancies than those who did not engage in FAD. For negative FAD expectancies, students who engaged in FAD-Both reported weaker expectancies than all other groups, whereas those who did not engage in FAD endorsed the strongest negative FAD expectancies. The FAD-AE and FAD-CC groups did not differ on positive or negative FAD expectancies. A similar pattern emerged for alcohol expectancies, with students engaging in FAD-Both endorsing the strongest positive and weakest negative alcohol expectancies, while those who did not engage in FAD endorsed the weakest positive and strongest negative alcohol expectancies. However, for only positive alcohol expectancies, students who engaged in FAD-AE endorsed stronger expectancies than those who engaged in FAD-CC. Overall, findings highlight important expectancy differences among college students based on their FAD history and motives. While FAD expectancies generally functioned similarly to alcohol expectancies, notable differences emerged in positive alcohol expectancies among students engaging in FAD for a single motive. Specifically, those engaging in FAD-AE endorsed stronger positive alcohol expectancies than those engaging in FAD-CC, likely because they aim to maximize the desirable effects of alcohol rather than manage weight/shape concerns. Since students engaging in FAD-Both reported the strongest positive and weakest negative expectancies, they may represent a high-risk group warranting targeted cognitive-behavioral interventions.