Superior Self-Regulatory Skills in African American College Students

Abstract

Excessive drinking is more common among Whites (W) than African Americans (AA) on college campuses, but the reasons for this are not clear. The authors investigated demographic and personality factors in a group of 369 W and 202 AA college students, finding that alcohol consumption was significantly less prevalent among AA students (69%) than W students (78%) ( p = .02) and that binge drinking was significantly less frequent in AA drinkers (42% past month, 60% past year) than W drinkers (56%, 79%) ( p < .00001). Cigarette smoking was also dramatically less frequent in AA students (5%) than W students (28%) ( p < .00001). AA students also scored significantly higher on Overcontrolled Hostility ( M = 18.2, SEM = 0.40) than did W students ( M = 15.7, SEM = 0.19) ( p < .00001). The authors conclude that AA college students are a more self-selected group of high achievers who reveal evidence of superior self-regulatory skills.