TY - JOUR
T1 - Awareness of alcohol as a breast cancer risk factor and intentions to reduce alcohol consumption among U.S. young adult women
AU - Alalwan, Mahmood A.
AU - Long, Lauren
AU - Hirko, Kelly A.
AU - LoConte, Noelle K.
AU - Scherr, Courtney L.
AU - Keller-Hamilton, Brittney
AU - Atkinson, Leanne
AU - Suraapaneni, Sriya
AU - Gatti-Mays, Margaret E.
AU - Manne, Sharon
AU - Mays, Darren
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Society of Behavioral Medicine 2023. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
PY - 2023/9/28
Y1 - 2023/9/28
N2 - Alcohol consumption is prevalent in young adult women and linked with breast cancer risk. Research to inform interventions targeting alcohol consumption as a breast cancer prevention strategy is limited. We examined young women's awareness of alcohol use as a breast cancer risk factor, identified correlates of awareness, and determined how awareness and conceptual predictors relate to intentions to reduce drinking. Women aged 18-25 years who drank alcohol in the past month (N = 493) completed a cross-sectional survey. Measures captured sociodemographics, breast cancer risk factors, awareness of alcohol use as a breast cancer risk factor, intentions to reduce drinking, and conceptual predictors. Analyses examined correlates of awareness and associations between awareness, conceptual predictors, and intentions to reduce drinking. Awareness was low (28%) and intentions to reduce drinking were moderate (M = 2.60, SD = 0.73, range 1-4). In multivariable analyses, awareness was associated with greater worry about cancer, beliefs that there's not much one can do to reduce cancer risk and everything causes cancer, higher perceived breast cancer risk, and stronger beliefs that reducing drinking reduces breast cancer risk. Awareness was not associated with intentions to reduce drinking. Younger age, older age of alcohol initiation, negative attitudes towards alcohol, fewer friends consuming alcohol, and stronger self-efficacy were associated with intentions to reduce drinking. Few young women recognize alcohol consumption as a breast cancer risk factor. Researchers and policymakers can apply our findings to design new or refine existing interventions to optimize their impact on awareness and alcohol consumption in young women.
AB - Alcohol consumption is prevalent in young adult women and linked with breast cancer risk. Research to inform interventions targeting alcohol consumption as a breast cancer prevention strategy is limited. We examined young women's awareness of alcohol use as a breast cancer risk factor, identified correlates of awareness, and determined how awareness and conceptual predictors relate to intentions to reduce drinking. Women aged 18-25 years who drank alcohol in the past month (N = 493) completed a cross-sectional survey. Measures captured sociodemographics, breast cancer risk factors, awareness of alcohol use as a breast cancer risk factor, intentions to reduce drinking, and conceptual predictors. Analyses examined correlates of awareness and associations between awareness, conceptual predictors, and intentions to reduce drinking. Awareness was low (28%) and intentions to reduce drinking were moderate (M = 2.60, SD = 0.73, range 1-4). In multivariable analyses, awareness was associated with greater worry about cancer, beliefs that there's not much one can do to reduce cancer risk and everything causes cancer, higher perceived breast cancer risk, and stronger beliefs that reducing drinking reduces breast cancer risk. Awareness was not associated with intentions to reduce drinking. Younger age, older age of alcohol initiation, negative attitudes towards alcohol, fewer friends consuming alcohol, and stronger self-efficacy were associated with intentions to reduce drinking. Few young women recognize alcohol consumption as a breast cancer risk factor. Researchers and policymakers can apply our findings to design new or refine existing interventions to optimize their impact on awareness and alcohol consumption in young women.
KW - alcohol use
KW - breast cancer
KW - intentions to reduce alcohol use
KW - theory-guided design
KW - young adult women
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172940531&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/tbm/ibad045
DO - 10.1093/tbm/ibad045
M3 - Article
C2 - 37582629
AN - SCOPUS:85172940531
SN - 1869-6716
VL - 13
SP - 784
EP - 793
JO - Translational Behavioral Medicine
JF - Translational Behavioral Medicine
IS - 10
ER -