{"doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354545","title":"Assessing self-determined motivation for drinking alcohol via the Comprehensive Relative Autonomy Index for Drinking","abstract":"Introduction Self-Determination Theory (SDT) examines human motivation in multiple domains; however, the only existing measure assessing SDT-informed behavioral regulations for drinking focuses on responsible drinker behaviors, rather than drinking per se , which is important given the alignment between SDT and harm reduction approaches to alcohol use. The aim of this study was to test the structural validity of the SDT-informed Comprehensive Relative Autonomy Index for Drinking (CRAI-Drinking) among college students. Methods Participants included two convenience samples with a total of 630 adult drinkers (M age = 21.5, 55% female, 88% undergraduates). Participants rated drinking behavioral regulations on the 24 original CRAI-Drinking items on a 5-point Likert Scale. Multi-dimensional scaling analyses and factor analyses were used to investigate the underlying autonomy continuum and factor structure of the CRAI-Drinking. Results In Sample 1 ( n = 274), multi-dimensional scaling analyses confirmed that CRAI-Drinking item and subscale order aligned with SDT's autonomy continuum. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a five factor, 19-item model of the CRAI-Drinking with factors for intrinsic, identified, positive introjected, external, and amotivation regulations (Cronbach's α: 0.68–0.85). In Sample 2 ( n = 356), a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the 19-item model fit was comparable to Sample 1. Discussion This study provides evidence for the structural validity of CRAI-Drinking scores for assessing SDT-based behavioral regulations for drinking in adults.","journal":"Frontiers in Psychology","year":2025,"id":551099,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":1,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9485,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":304796,"name":"Michael A. Russell","orcid":"0000-0002-3956-604X","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":225311,"name":"David E. Conroy","orcid":"0000-0003-0204-4093","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":557060,"name":"Jimikaye B. Courtney","orcid":"0000-0002-4609-4984","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":77,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:54:20.915388Z","pmid":"39845537","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}