Alcohol use problems have long been framed as disorders of self-regulation. From this perspective, drinking becomes problematic not simply because of the pharmacological effects of alcohol, but because the psychological machinery that normally governs impulses, delays gratification, and steers behavior toward long-term goals begins to malfunction. Impaired control over alcohol use is recognized as an under-addressed risk factor for problem drinking in young adults, and prior work has linked self-regulatory deficits to the development and maintenance of alcohol problems. What has been less clear is which upstream psychological factors protect this regulatory machinery—and whether existential constructs such as meaning in life play a measurable role.

To investigate these questions, Won recruited 186 emerging adults aged 18 to 35, who completed an online survey comprising four validated instruments. The Valued Living Questionnaire measured the extent to which participants were actively living in line with their chosen values across life domains. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire captured both the presence of meaning—the felt sense that one’s life is meaningful—and the search for meaning, an active orientation toward discovering purpose. The Goal-Focused Self-Regulation Scale assessed participants’ capacity to plan, monitor, and sustain goal-directed behavior, while the Impaired Control Scale measured self-reported failures to limit drinking. Gender was included as a covariate, and the data were analyzed using moderated mediation models, a statistical framework that tests both indirect pathways and the conditions under which those pathways strengthen or weaken.

The results were strikingly consistent at the level of simple associations. Valued living, meaning in life, and goal-focused self-regulation were each negatively associated with alcohol self-regulation failure. In other words, young adults who reported living according to their values, feeling that their lives had meaning, and demonstrating stronger goal-directed self-control also reported fewer instances of drinking more than intended or being unable to stop once they had started. While the study’s cross-sectional design means causality cannot be established, the pattern aligns with a growing body of literature suggesting that existential and motivational factors are intertwined with the capacity to regulate alcohol consumption.

The central theoretical contribution of the study lies in its mediation analysis. The indirect association between valued living and alcohol self-regulation failure through meaning in life was statistically significant. This suggests a specific psychological pathway: people who live in accordance with their values tend to experience a stronger sense of meaning in life, and that sense of meaning, in turn, is associated with fewer failures of alcohol self-regulation. The finding echoes ideas rooted in Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, which holds that the perception of meaning is central to psychological health, and it converges with prior research showing that the relationship between meaning in life and harmful drinking is mediated by individual differences in self-control and the value people place on alcohol.

But the study did not stop at mediation. Won also tested whether the strength of this indirect pathway depended on participants’ goal-focused self-regulatory capacities—a moderated mediation hypothesis. The model received partial support. The indirect association between valued living and alcohol self-regulation failure through overall meaning in life was stronger at higher levels of goal-focused self-regulation. This interaction pattern was evident for the Presence of Meaning subscale but not for the Search for Meaning subscale. Put simply, the protective chain running from valued living through felt meaning to better alcohol self-regulation appears to operate most powerfully in people who also possess robust goal-directed self-regulatory skills.

This moderating effect carries an important conceptual implication. Existential resources and self-regulatory resources may not be redundant; rather, they appear to work in concert. A person may derive a deep sense of meaning from living according to their values, but translating that meaning into concrete behavioral control over drinking may require the planning, monitoring, and persistence captured by goal-focused self-regulation. Without those regulatory skills, the meaning derived from valued living may remain a diffuse psychological benefit that does not reliably protect against impaired control in drinking situations. Conversely, self-regulatory skill alone may be less sustainable without the motivational fuel that meaning provides. The study’s findings underscore the importance of integrating existential and self-regulatory perspectives in understanding alcohol self-regulation failure, rather than treating these as competing frameworks.

The distinction between presence of meaning and search for meaning adds further nuance. The Presence of Meaning subscale reflects the subjective experience that one’s life already has significance, and it was this facet whose mediating role was amplified by strong goal-focused self-regulation. The Search for Meaning subscale, by contrast, reflects an ongoing quest that may or may not culminate in a settled sense of purpose, and the moderated mediation pattern did not hold for it. This asymmetry suggests that it is the achieved experience of meaning—not the striving for it—that interacts with self-regulatory capacity to buffer against alcohol self-regulation failure. For researchers, this highlights the value of disaggregating multidimensional constructs like meaning rather than treating them as unitary.

The focus on emerging adulthood is also significant. The period between roughly 18 and 35 years of age is characterized by identity exploration, instability, and, in many cultural contexts, elevated rates of heavy drinking. Prior research has shown that meaning in life follows distinctive trajectories during this developmental window, and that impaired control over alcohol use is a critical risk factor for the escalation of problem drinking in young adults. Identifying modifiable psychological factors during this period could therefore have outsized preventive value. Because valued living is a target of established interventions—most notably acceptance and commitment therapy, which explicitly trains people to clarify their values and commit to valued action—the findings point toward intervention strategies that combine values clarification and meaning-focused work with the strengthening of goal-directed self-regulation.

Several caveats temper the conclusions. The sample of 186 participants was surveyed at a single point in time, so the direction of the relationships cannot be confirmed; it is plausible, for example, that alcohol self-regulation failure erodes meaning in life rather than the reverse, or that unmeasured third variables drive the associations. All measures were self-reported, and the study was conducted with a Korean sample, raising questions about generalizability to other cultural contexts where drinking norms differ. The author notes that the datasets are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request, and the study protocol was approved by the Daegu Catholic University Institutional Review Board. Even with these limitations, the study offers a compelling empirical bridge between two research traditions that have often run in parallel: the existential psychology of meaning and the self-regulation science of addictive behavior. If future longitudinal and experimental studies confirm the pathway, interventions that help young adults live their values and find meaning—particularly those who already possess strong goal-focused self-regulation—could become a meaningful component of strategies to prevent alcohol problems before they take hold.

Subject of Research: The roles of valued living, meaning in life, and goal-focused self-regulation in alcohol self-regulation failure among emerging adults

Article Title: The effect of valued living on alcohol self-regulation failure: the mediating role of meaning in life and a moderating effect of goal-focused self-regulation

Article References: Won, S.-D. (2026). The effect of valued living on alcohol self-regulation failure: the mediating role of meaning in life and a moderating effect of goal-focused self-regulation. Current Psychology, 45(18), Article 1539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-10101-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s12144-026-10101-z

Keywords: valued living, meaning in life, goal-focused self-regulation, alcohol self-regulation failure, emerging adulthood, impaired control, moderated mediation, acceptance and commitment therapy, drinking, self-regulation, Current Psychology, prevention