Data were collected before and after the first two drinks of a drinking episode due to concerns that higher levels of intoxication could decrease measurement reliability.2 In the Begin Drink Report, participants were asked to rate their urge and mood “just before drinking.” The End Drink Report assessed mood and urge to drink at the current time (i.e., “right now”) and included questions about the type and quantity of beverage consumed. The following were the dependent variables used in this study: (a) Mood items were derived from the Profile of Mood States (POMS; McNair et al., 1971) to capture the following mood dimensions: Vigor (items: aroused, energetic) and Negative Mood (items: miserable, sad, contented – the last item was reversed scored). These items mirrored previous reports of alcohol’s subjective effects (Ray & Hutchison, 2004; 2007), were rated on scales from 0 (Not at all) to 10 (Extremely), and were combined into a mean score for each mood dimension; and (b) Urge to drink was rated on 0 (No urge) to 10 (Strongest ever) scales. See Table 2 for average scores on each dependent variable at Begin and at End Drink 2 Report.
