Positive expectancies mediate the link between race and alcohol use in a sample of Native American and Caucasian college students

- Native American college students drank significantly less than Caucasian students.
- Caucasians reported stronger positive expectancies than Native Americans.
- Positive expectancies mediated the relationship between race and drinking.

Background: Though abundant research suggests that Native Americans report high rates of alcohol use and related consequences, little research has examined drinking patterns among Native American college students. It is possible that drinking rates for this group may differ from their non-college counterparts and also from those of Caucasian college students. The aim of this study was to examine whether alcohol use differs between Native American and Caucasian college students, and specifically whether alcohol expectancy effects mediate the relationship between race and drinking. Method: Participants were 43 Native American and 87 Caucasian college students who reported on their positive and negative expectancy effects and past-6-month drinking. Results: Caucasians reported drinking significantly more alcohol and holding stronger positive expectancies. Bootstrapping mediational analysis with 95% confidence intervals indicated that positive but not negative expectancy effects mediated the relationship between race and past-6-month drinking. Conclusions: This preliminary research is the first to examine expectancy effects as mediators of the relationship between Native American and Caucasian race and drinking. Further understanding of the differences in positive expectancy effects between groups may have important implications for prevention and treatment of alcohol use among Native American college students.