Alcohol expectancies—Alcohol expectancies were measured
using the comprehensive expectancies of alcohol (CEOA) measure
[22]. This 38-item tool includes seven subscales and was validated
in a college-age population. All items are measured on a four point
scale ranging from 1—disagree to 4—agree. Four subscales measure
positive expectancies toward alcohol use: increased sociability,
tension reduction, increased bravery and creativity (liquid
courage), and enhanced sexuality. Three additional subscales
measure negative expectancies: cognitive and behavioral impairment,
increased risk taking and aggression, and negative selfperceptions.
The score for each scale is calculated as the average of
the Likert-scale responses for the items in the scale.
Descriptive analyses summarize the sample demographics by
health literacy level. Demographic differences in health literacy
were assessed using the chi-squared test. Mean expectancy scores,
ranging from 1-completely disagree to 4-completely agree were
calculated for those who did and did not acknowledge each alcohol
use behavior. The relationship between mean expectancy subscale
scores and behavior were tested using Student’s t-test. All tests
were considered significant at the 0.05 level.
Next, we tested whether health literacy moderates the
relationship between alcohol expectancies and alcohol use
behaviors. A variable is considered to be a moderator if the
relationship between a predictor and an outcome varies at
different levels of the proposed moderator variable. Moderation