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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Zachary PetzelORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Objective: Growing rates of abstention within higher-income countries and among younger populations (i.e. Generation Z) signals a need to expand our understanding of why drinkers reduce or abstain from alcohol consumption. This paper revisits the Motives for Abstaining from Alcohol Questionnaire (MAAQ) developed by Stritzke and Butt (2001) to validate its use within new populations. Methods and Measures: MAAQ items, drinking habits, and demographics were collected across two studies. Study 1 recruited Generation Z university students from the UK (N=207), while Study 2 recruited from the general population (N=178) and adapted items to reflect social responsibilities outside of education. Results: While the initial factor structure demonstrated good model fit, separating items capturing alcohol-related consequences into distinct subscales improved fit compared to the original 5-factor structure. These new factors capture fear of negative consequences (i.e. “Being intoxicated or drunk may make me vulnerable and put me at risk for harm.”) versus social responsibility concerns (i.e. “Drinking may interfere with my school [job] performance.”) which uniquely predicted fewer drinking occasions and alcohol units consumed per occasion, respectively. Conclusion: Consistent with alternative measures of abstinence and self-determination theory, findings suggest externally and internally motivated consequences predict unique drinking outcomes
Author(s): Petzel ZW, Pennock M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Psychology & Health
Year: 2026
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 09/07/2026
Acceptance date: 24/06/2026
Date deposited: 20/07/2026
ISSN (print): 0887-0446
ISSN (electronic): 1476-8321
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2026.2697154
DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2026.2697154
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/t4qt-f525
Data Access Statement: Data and materials are available via the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/s98qa/)
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