The existing literature suggests inconsistent and limited application of various salient motives to use substances across substance classes and has been further limited by only measuring substance use motives by the frequency at which one uses for a given reason. The purpose of this study was the development and initial validation of the Motivations for Substance Use Questionnaire (MUSQ). The MUSQ was intended to be a more comprehensive measure identifying motives to use that have been selectively included in some measures and expanding the breadth of substances addressed. We also aimed to index and test cognitive aspects of the motives (i.e., wanting, and liking and satisfaction) for use-related patterns.
Factor analysis (n = 367) indicated that the MUSQ was characterized by 12 factors: Reduce Anxiety/Unpleasant Arousal, Conformity, Effects of Other Substances, Relative Low Risk, Positive Social Interactions, Rebellion, Altered Perceptions/Experiential Processes, Performance/Arousal Enhancement, Increase Positive Affect, Manage Negative Social Interactions, Reduce Negative Affect, and Substitution. Regressions supported the predictability of wanting, but not liking and satisfaction, for severity and change variables. Canonical correlations were conducted to assess incremental validity of the MUSQ but were limited due to small effects and sample sizes. ANOVAs suggested salient motives differed by drug of choice. This measure may direct motivational interviewing dialogue by supporting change talk and may expand the current understanding of substance use motivation.
","abstract_html":"<p>The existing literature suggests inconsistent and limited application of various salient motives to use substances across substance classes and has been further limited by only measuring substance use motives by the frequency at which one uses for a given reason. The purpose of this study was the development and initial validation of the Motivations for Substance Use Questionnaire (MUSQ). The MUSQ was intended to be a more comprehensive measure identifying motives to use that have been selectively included in some measures and expanding the breadth of substances addressed. We also aimed to index and test cognitive aspects of the motives (i.e., <em>wanting</em>, and <em>liking</em> and <em>satisfaction</em>) for use-related patterns.</p> <p>Factor analysis (<em>n</em> = 367) indicated that the MUSQ was characterized by 12 factors: Reduce Anxiety/Unpleasant Arousal, Conformity, Effects of Other Substances, Relative Low Risk, Positive Social Interactions, Rebellion, Altered Perceptions/Experiential Processes, Performance/Arousal Enhancement, Increase Positive Affect, Manage Negative Social Interactions, Reduce Negative Affect, and Substitution. Regressions supported the predictability of <em>wanting</em>, but not <em>liking</em> and <em>satisfaction</em>, for severity and change variables. Canonical correlations were conducted to assess incremental validity of the MUSQ but were limited due to small effects and sample sizes. ANOVAs suggested salient motives differed by drug of choice. This measure may direct motivational interviewing dialogue by supporting change talk and may expand the current understanding of substance use motivation.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Altenberger, Taylor"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Randy Arnau","Richard Mohn","Bradley Green"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:12Z","subjects":["motives","substance use","illicit use","substance use disorder","motivations to use","Clinical Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/740","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Randy Arnau","Richard Mohn","Bradley Green"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Altenberger, Taylor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-05-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["motives","substance use","illicit use","substance use disorder","motivations to use","Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/740"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The existing literature suggests inconsistent and limited application of various salient motives to use substances across substance classes and has been further limited by only measuring substance use motives by the frequency at which one uses for a given reason. The purpose of this study was the development and initial validation of the Motivations for Substance Use Questionnaire (MUSQ). The MUSQ was intended to be a more comprehensive measure identifying motives to use that have been selectively included in some measures and expanding the breadth of substances addressed. We also aimed to index and test cognitive aspects of the motives (i.e., wanting, and liking and satisfaction) for use-related patterns.
Factor analysis (n = 367) indicated that the MUSQ was characterized by 12 factors: Reduce Anxiety/Unpleasant Arousal, Conformity, Effects of Other Substances, Relative Low Risk, Positive Social Interactions, Rebellion, Altered Perceptions/Experiential Processes, Performance/Arousal Enhancement, Increase Positive Affect, Manage Negative Social Interactions, Reduce Negative Affect, and Substitution. Regressions supported the predictability of wanting, but not liking and satisfaction, for severity and change variables. Canonical correlations were conducted to assess incremental validity of the MUSQ but were limited due to small effects and sample sizes. ANOVAs suggested salient motives differed by drug of choice. This measure may direct motivational interviewing dialogue by supporting change talk and may expand the current understanding of substance use motivation.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Development and Exploration of a Twelve-Factor Model of Motivations for Using Substances"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Randy Arnau","Richard Mohn","Bradley Green"],"dc:creator":["Altenberger, Taylor"],"dc:date.available":["2020-05-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The existing literature suggests inconsistent and limited application of various salient motives to use substances across substance classes and has been further limited by only measuring substance use motives by the frequency at which one uses for a given reason. The purpose of this study was the development and initial validation of the Motivations for Substance Use Questionnaire (MUSQ). The MUSQ was intended to be a more comprehensive measure identifying motives to use that have been selectively included in some measures and expanding the breadth of substances addressed. We also aimed to index and test cognitive aspects of the motives (i.e., wanting, and liking and satisfaction) for use-related patterns.
Factor analysis (n = 367) indicated that the MUSQ was characterized by 12 factors: Reduce Anxiety/Unpleasant Arousal, Conformity, Effects of Other Substances, Relative Low Risk, Positive Social Interactions, Rebellion, Altered Perceptions/Experiential Processes, Performance/Arousal Enhancement, Increase Positive Affect, Manage Negative Social Interactions, Reduce Negative Affect, and Substitution. Regressions supported the predictability of wanting, but not liking and satisfaction, for severity and change variables. Canonical correlations were conducted to assess incremental validity of the MUSQ but were limited due to small effects and sample sizes. ANOVAs suggested salient motives differed by drug of choice. This measure may direct motivational interviewing dialogue by supporting change talk and may expand the current understanding of substance use motivation.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/740"],"dc:subject":["motives","substance use","illicit use","substance use disorder","motivations to use","Clinical Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Development and Exploration of a Twelve-Factor Model of Motivations for Using Substances"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:12Z"}