Protective Behavioral Strategies Survey (PBSS; Martens et al., 2005), and
the Protective Strategy Questionnaire (PSQ; DeMartini et al., 2013).
However, it is unlikely that these are the ‘final’ measures of PBS use,
and future research should continue to strengthen the measurement
of PBS by using both EFA and CFA. Although several putative antecedents
to PBS use have been examined, many of these predictive effects have
not been replicated and most rely on cross-sectional designs with very
limited ability to make causal inferences. The same replication and design
issues limit what we know regarding moderators of the effects of
PBS on alcohol-related outcomes. Intervention, experimental, and longitudinal
research have given mixed evidence for PBS use as amediator of
intervention effects, and PBS use as a prospective predictor of alcoholrelated
outcomes. As more studies using these designs are published, it
should begin to become clearer how these relationships unfold over
time. Although the present review was restricted to studies focused on
college students, this focus was pragmatic based on the availability of
studies. Reviews including other populations are critical to determining
the extent towhich the findings fromthe college student literature generalize
to other populations. There is no clear reason to believe that PBS
use would only be effective for college students, so extensions to other
populations reflect a logical next step for future research. Despite the
unique contributions that can be provided by comprehensive reviews
of a literature, a quantitative research synthesis (i.e., meta-analysis) is
sorely needed to better examine heterogeneity across studies and quantify
the effects of PBS use on alcohol-related outcomes. Overall, research
shows PBS use as a promising way to reduce alcohol use and the negative
consequences from drinking.