Second, the impact of personality traits on subsequent drinking is likely to include indirect and moderated effects not represented in this study. For example, previous research has shown that traits (including positive urgency) interact with learning and motives to predict drinking behavior concurrently [25, 34]; it is likely that both positive urgency and sensation seeking are more strongly predictive for some individuals than for others. Third, the tests we conducted were not tests of a comprehensive risk model; our intent was to isolate and investigate the dispositional contribution to risk. The effects observed here presumably operate in conjunction with many other contributors to risk.
