We also found evidence for the positive affect regulation pathway. Participants whose parents had a history of alcohol problems reported higher positive urgency, and in turn higher positive urgency predicted a greater likelihood of dating several people. Our finding that parental alcohol problems is associated with greater positive urgency is consistent with earlier findings from the neuroimaging literature that suggest that impulse control processes may be compromised in the context of heightened emotions for youth with a family history of alcohol use disorder (Cservenka et al., 2014). Furthermore, our finding that positive urgency is associated with a higher likelihood of dating several people similarly maps onto previous findings linking positive emotionality, reward-related neurobiology, and involvement in romantic relationships (Burkett & Young, 2012; Shiner et al., 2002). Finally, dating several people was part of an indirect pathway between the positive affect regulation variables and subsequent alcohol use. Notably, this indirect effect held even after we statistically controlled for the direct effects of parental alcohol problems and positive urgency on alcohol use, as well as the indirect effect of parental alcohol problems→positive urgency→alcohol use.
