Individual differences in trait urgency moderate the role of the affect heuristic in adolescent binge drinking

This study investigated the roles of the affect heuristic and outcome beliefs in explaining the relationship between negative urgency and adolescent binge drinking behaviour. The sample consisted of 391 Australian high school students, who were selected to be low or high on urgency. We hypothesised that highly urgent adolescents would be more likely than adolescents low in urgency to utilise the affect heuristic (i.e., to rely upon affective input) when making alcohol-related decisions. Multiple-group path analysis supported this prediction. Adolescents high in urgency exhibited greater use of the affect heuristic by displaying a direct path from affective associations to binge drinking; whereas adolescents low in urgency exhibited greater reliance upon rational processing by displaying an indirect path via outcome beliefs.