Abstract
BackgroundCampus alcohol policy has been associated with student alcohol consumption in numerous studies. However, more information is required to assess the extent to which school policy affects student drinking behavior; especially when both individual-level sociodemographic characteristics of students and area-level characteristics of college campuses are controlled for. Thus, this paper explores the association between campus alcohol policy and student alcohol consumption among a nationally representative sample of college students in South Korea, while controlling for both individual and area-level characteristics.MethodsWe surveyed and analyzed the data of 4592 students from 82 colleges. Multilevel (hierarchical) linear modeling was used to identify the association between campus alcohol policy and alcohol consumption levels, measured via the AUDIT-C (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption). Controlled individual-level characteristics included sex, year level, major, GPA (grade point average), pocket money, smoking status, stress level, depressive thoughts, suicidal thoughts, and number of clubs/organizations. Controlled area-level characteristics included college type, number of students, number of faculty members, number of workers/administrators, and region.ResultsCompared to students unaware of their school’s campus alcohol policy, students who self-reported that their campuses allow drinking in outdoor spaces (β = 0.755 p = 0.010) or in all areas (β = 0.820, p = 0.044) had higher AUDIT-C scores. Students attending schools with a large number of students, males, freshmen, students with low GPA, students with high amounts of pocket money, and smokers also had higher alcohol consumption scores relative to their peers. Alcohol education experience in the form of lectures, mail, and/or campaigns were not associated with student alcohol consumption levels.ConclusionOur results suggest an association between self-reported campus alcohol policy and student alcohol consumption. College educators and administrators must be aware that relative to students unaware of their school’s campus alcohol policy, students at colleges that allow drinking in outdoor spaces or all areas consume higher amounts of alcohol than their peers; even when area-level factors are controlled for.Trial registrationYonsei IRB (IRB number: Y-2017-0084). https://irb.yonsei.ac.kr Date of registration: 01/2017. Date of enrolment of first participant to trial: 03/01/2017. Y-2017-0084.
Highlights
Campus alcohol policy has been associated with student alcohol consumption in numerous studies
Three thousand five hundred ninety-six students reported to being “unaware of campus alcohol policy,” followed by 704 students reporting to college “bans all drinking on campus,” 85 students reporting to college “bans minors from drinking on campus, 201 students reporting to college “occasionally allows drinking on campus at certain locations/during events, 148 students reporting to college “allows drinking in outdoor spaces,” and 69 students reporting to college “allows drinking in all areas.”
Students who perceived that their campuses allow drinking in outdoor spaces (7.189 ± 3.009) or all areas (7.232 ± 3.392) had the highest Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores
Summary
Campus alcohol policy has been associated with student alcohol consumption in numerous studies. More information is required to assess the extent to which school policy affects student drinking behavior; especially when both individual-level sociodemographic characteristics of students and area-level characteristics of college campuses are controlled for. This paper explores the association between campus alcohol policy and student alcohol consumption among a nationally representative sample of college students in South Korea, while controlling for both individual and area-level characteristics. In the context of South Korea, transition to college is often associated with an escalation in binge drinking; one investigation reported that approximately 71.2% of students consume at least four to five standard drinks per drinking session [1]. There are multiple area-level characteristics such as peer drinking norms [6], wealth and entertainment of the neighborhood surrounding the campus [7], and alcohol outlet density [8, 9] that previous studies have associated with student drinking
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