Relationship among motives for alcohol and caffeine consumption, personality traits, and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in nonproblem alcohol drinkers

Background Alcohol and caffeine have distinct pharmacological effects, yet they are often consumed in overlapping everyday contexts (e.g., social gatherings and shared leisure time). The psychological factors that may contribute to such overlap remain unclear. This study explores associations between motives for alcohol and caffeine consumption. Methods This study obtained Internet survey data from nonproblem alcohol drinkers in Japan aged 20–39 years ( N = 325). Correlation analysis was conducted between the scores for the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) and the Motives for Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire (MCCQ). Additionally, the study conducted an exploratory, person-centered cluster analysis based on DMQ-R and MCCQ subscale scores to descriptively summarize combined motive patterns, and compared external variables, including subscale scores from the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), between the resulting clusters. Results Among the significant positive correlation coefficients between the subscale scores for the DMQ-R and MCCQ, the largest was between conformity (DMQ-R) and social (MCCQ). Exploratory cluster analysis yielded two motive-profile clusters. The cluster characterized by relatively higher social-motive profiles showed lower neuroticism and higher openness (TIPI), as well as lower scores on several CERQ subscales (self-blame, acceptance, rumination, putting into perspective, and catastrophizing). Conclusion The findings suggest that motives for alcohol and caffeine consumption may be associated, particularly with respect to social-context motives, and that personality traits and cognitive emotion regulation strategies may be associated with individual differences in these motive patterns.