Alcohol Use, Daily Hassles, and Religious Coping Among Students at a Religiously Affiliated College

Abstract

Objective: This article presents empirical findings which suggest that religious coping moderates the relationship between daily hassles stress and alcohol use among female college students. Method: This study utilized a cross-sectional data collection strategy and convenience sampling to examine the relationship between alcohol use, daily hassles stress, and religious coping among 423 undergraduate students (269 females and 154 males) at a religiously affiliated college in the Midwestern USA. Data were collected in 2008. Instruments utilized for data collection included the Inventory of College Student Recent Life Experiences, the Brief RCOPE, and quantity/frequency measures of alcohol use. Results: Involvement in positive religious coping was significantly related to lower rates of alcohol use. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that among women, positive religious coping moderated the relationship between two types of daily hassles stress (academic alienation and romantic problems) and alcohol use. Conclusions: This study found that among female college students, the relationship between daily hassles stress and alcohol use weakened with increased participation in religious coping. This finding suggests that religious coping may protect against alcohol use among female college students. The results of this study also suggest that it may be important for university-based treatment and prevention practitioners to assess involvement in religious coping practices and to include such practices in the treatment planning process, when culturally appropriate and desired by consumers. Study limitations and areas for further research are also discussed.