Peer pressure vs. self-motivation: CASAA researches substance use choices
December 12, 2023 - Savannah Peat
When someone gets pulled over while driving under the influence, officers, friends and family don’t fully understand the why–why did this person think they could drive while high or drunk?
The motivation behind safe and unsafe decision-making when it comes to consuming substances is something UNM’s Center on Alcohol, Substance Use And Addictions’ (CASAA’s) Research Assistant Professor Dylan Richards is exploring with college-aged students.
Richards was recently published in the Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology and Addictive Behaviors for his application of an innovative theory on motivations for cannabis and alcohol behaviors.
“The literature focuses a lot on reasons why people drink, which we refer to as drinking motives. These are well studied. They've been around for decades. There's a ton of research on this, but this new sort of research has emerged on harm reduction behaviors for both alcohol and cannabis is what I’m focusing on,” Richards said.
Since ages 18 to 22 are pre-established peaks for cannabis and alcohol consumption, Richards began using data and surveys from 10 universities in the U.S., to analyze drinking motives, responsible drinking motives and drinking-related outcomes.
Full story at UNM Newsroom
