Student Alcohol Research Articles

A time-varying effect model of the dynamic association between alcohol use and consequences over the first two years of college

College students experience myriad negative consequences from alcohol misuse. The strength of the association between level of alcohol use and consequences may change across the initial years of college, as students develop tolerance or learn to avoid negative effects of drinking. Time varying effect models (TVEM) allow for statistical examination of the changing strength of associations between two variables as they unfold across time. Goals of the present study were to test the hypothesis that the association between weekly quantity of alcohol use and the odds of an alcohol consequence that week would decrease in strength from the first week of freshman year to the end of sophomore year, and to examine gender differences in the association between use and consequences over time. Participants (N=812 college student drinkers, 60% female) completed 36 assessments of alcohol use and consequences across two years (every other week). TVEM models revealed that the proportion of those for whom alcohol use led to a consequence declined across time. Aside from the first few weeks of college, the association between alcohol use and odds of a consequence was consistently stronger for women than men. Among men, the odds of a consequence declined relatively steadily over time. Among women, the strength of this association was more dynamic. This study provides initial insight into the complex relationship between drinking and consequences. Future research focusing on understanding factors that explain the decreasing association between use and consequences with time can contribute to college student alcohol education and interventions.

Designing A Method for Alcohol Consumption Prediction Based on Clustering and Support Vector Machines

In this study, an implementation of several data mining techniques is presented, including decision trees, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Bayesian Networks and K-Nearest Neighbor and their comparison using different evaluation metrics such as True Positive Rate (TpRate), False Positive Rate (FpRate) and Recall, with the dataset “STUDENT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION”, that provides information of alcohol consumption in teenagers in Portugal. High alcohol consumption rate in teenagers in society, high schoolers and college students, has become a social problem with alarming data showing they start consuming alcohol between 10 and 14 years and this obviously has a huge impact in their behavior, especially with situations such as binge drinking. At the end of the study, the results found show that Support Vector Machines (SVM) have a better accuracy rate than other techniques used and corroborate that the proposed method it is quite efficient and highly precise for detection of students consuming alcohol, improving the results obtained in previous similar studies.

Prevalence and correlates of electronic cigarette use among Canadian students: cross-sectional findings from the 2014/15 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey.

Over the past decade, youth tobacco use has declined, and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have entered the market. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of e-cigarette use among youth in Canada, by province, across sociodemographic variables and smoking-related correlates; and to examine associations among e-cigarette use, sociodemographic variables and smoking-related correlates, with adjustment for other factors. The 2014/15 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, a biennial, school-based survey, was administered to students in grades 6-12 in all Canadian provinces. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate odds of ever and past 30-day e-cigarette use by sociodemographic variables and smoking-related correlates. A total of 336 schools from 128 school boards (47% of eligible schools approached) and 42 094 students (66% of eligible students approached) participated in the survey. In Canada, 17.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 16.4%-18.9%) of students in grades 6-12 reported ever using e-cigarettes, and 5.7% (95% CI 5.2%-6.3%) reported past 30-day use. Substantial variation was observed across provinces. Female students had decreased odds of past 30-day use relative to male students (odds ratio [OR] 0.71, 95% CI 0.59-0.86), whereas current smokers (OR 10.0, 95% CI 6.66-15.02) and experimental smokers (OR 3.61, 95% CI 2.40-5.42) had increased odds relative to never smokers. Students who perceived that access was easy also had increased odds of using e-cigarettes relative to students who perceived that access was difficult (OR 3.86, 95% CI 2.96-5.03). Students who believed that regular use entailed slight risk (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.52-0.88) and those who did not know risk levels (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.21-0.46) had decreased odds compared with those perceiving no risk. Our data confirm that many youth used e-cigarettes in the 30 days preceding the survey, although rates were substantially higher among current and experimental smokers than among students who had never tried smoking.

Under the influence: examination of prevalence and correlates of alcohol and marijuana consumption in relation to youth driving and passenger behaviours in Canada. A cross-sectional study.

Consequences of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving affect youth disproportionately. We describe individual- and area-level characteristics associated with risky driving and passenger behaviours among grade 9-12 students in Canada. The 2014-2015 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Survey was administered to 24 650 students in provincially generalizable samples. Dichotomous outcomes included ever and last-30-day driving after drinking alcohol, ever and last-30-day driving after using marijuana, and ever and last-30-day reporting of being a passenger with a driver who had been drinking or using marijuana. A total of 9.1% (99% confidence interval 7.9-10.3) of grade 11-12 students reported ever driving after drinking, and 9.4% (99% confidence interval 8.3-10.4) reported ever driving after using marijuana. Almost half (48%) of grade 11-12 students reported ever participating in any risky driving or passenger behaviour. Over one-third (35%) of grade 9-12 students reported ever riding with a driver who had been drinking, and 20% reported ever riding with a driver who had been using marijuana. Logistic regression models showed that boys had higher odds of risky driving behaviours relative to girls, whereas girls had higher odds of risky passenger behaviours relative to boys. Students from rural schools had higher odds of drinking and driving and of riding with a driver who had drunk relative to students from urban schools. There were significant differences in risky driving and passenger behaviours by province. A substantial number of Canadian youth reported risky driving and passenger behaviours, which varied by individual and area-level characteristics. Federal marijuana policy should aim to reduce the prevalence of drug-impaired driving. Additional provincial policies to prevent impaired driving are needed.

Examining the Impact of Alcohol and Other Drug Education Exposure on Student Alcohol Consumption.

This investigation examined the association between alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention/education programs and drinking behaviors among students aged 12 to 17 years. We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health ( N = 17,736). AOD prevention/education was assessed in three school settings: special class, regular class, and outside regular class. Outcome variables included past year alcohol use and current heavy episodic drinking. Associations were assessed via one-way analyses of variance and multiple regression models. There was a significant effect of program exposure on alcohol use ( p<.001) and heavy episodic drinking ( p = .002). Regression results found AOD prevention/education exposure ( p = .004) was significant, indicating that exposure decreased past year use. No difference was found based on heavy episodic drinking. Increasing exposure to AOD prevention/education programs is warranted and encouraged.

Not all drinking events are the same: Exploring 21st birthday and typical alcohol expectancies as a risk factor for high-risk drinking and alcohol problems

Alcohol expectancies are a central construct in understanding college student typical alcohol use. However, to our knowledge, there is no research addressing how alcohol expectancies for specific events (i.e. 21st birthday) are different from expectancies regarding typical drinking. We examine the extent to which 21st birthday alcohol expectancies differ from general alcohol expectancies and how 21st birthday expectancies are associated with actual alcohol use and consequences experienced on 21st birthdays, above and beyond expectancies for typical drinking. Participants were college students (N=585; 54% women) who were turning 21 within a week, and intended to drink 4/5 (female/male) drinks on their birthday. All negative expectancies (impairment, risk and aggression, negative self-perception) and positive expectancies (social, liquid courage, sex) except tension reduction were significantly greater for 21st birthday drinking than for typical drinking. While 21st birthday expectancies were not uniquely related to actual birthday drinking, several positive and negative 21st birthday expectancy subscales were associated with 21st birthday drinking-related consequences, even when controlling for typical drinking expectancies. Expectancy challenge interventions aimed specifically at these subscales may be effective at attenuating alcohol-related consequences that result from 21st birthday drinking.

The role of religious fundamentalism in college students’ perceived drinking norms, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems

ABSTRACTPeer influence has been shown to be an important factor in college student alcohol use. One facet of peer influence, perceived descriptive norms, constitutes a strong and consistent predictor of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Previous research has also found that various aspects of individuals’ religious beliefs are negatively associated with alcohol use. Religious fundamentalism, a construct that has not previously been examined in relation to alcohol use, may be especially pertinent and may protect against the impact of peer influences such as descriptive drinking norms. The present study examined whether the impact of descriptive norms on alcohol consumption and problems is moderated by religious fundamentalism. Participants were undergraduate college students (N = 449). Findings suggest that the influence of descriptive norms on alcohol consumption was decreased as a function of religious fundamentalism, but that religious fundamentalism did not influence the impact of descriptive norms on alcohol problems.

Gender differences in remission from alcohol and marijuana dependence in college students

Gender differences in remission from alcohol and marijuana dependence in college students

Alcohol Consumption among Female University Students in Israel: a Cross Sectional Study of Background Characteristics and Drinking Patterns

This cross sectional study examined alcohol use, binge drinking and other problem behavior among Israeli university female students. Scant information is known about Israeli university student alcohol use and related problem behavior. Academic study discipline status (e.g., social work, nursing and other non-helping disciplines) was hypothesized to be a predictor of university student alcohol use and problem behavior rates. Study hypotheses were supported, in part. Academic discipline (social work and nursing) differentiated rates of alcohol use, binge drinking and other problem behavior. However, when grouped into helping and non-helping academic disciples, few differences were evidenced. Students drink more beer, wine and hard alcohol than those 20 years ago at the same university; however, fewer students drive after drinking. Present results, albeit restricted, reflect increased drinking but less driving after drinking after an intensive campaign to curb such problem behavior. Further research is needed of alcohol use and problem behavior for policy, prevention and treatment purposes. Such research should include regular monitoring throughout the country regardless of gender status and academic discipline.

Acceptability of targeting social embarrassment in a digital intervention to reduce student alcohol consumption: A qualitative think aloud study.

ObjectiveIncreasing knowledge about alcohol-related harms, changing social norms, or encouraging drinking within safe unit levels often fails to change behaviour in young people. A novel intervention called ‘OneTooMany’ was developed, which targets the short-term social, and potentially, embarrassing consequences of drinking alcohol. The aim of this paper was to explore its acceptability, and to determine any features that might influence its effectiveness as a means of reducing alcohol consumption.MethodsParticipants were 23 young adults (aged 18–30) currently studying at university (n = 18) or in the first six months following graduation (n = 5). A think aloud interview approach was employed. Three main themes were identified in a deductive thematic analysis.ResultsEmbarrassing experiences were a normalised part of drinking occasions, while some were actively avoided, others were celebrated. Humour served as a device to engage and interest participants, but could also diminish intervention messages. OneTooMany prompted reflections on many regrettable drinking experiences, but the participants did not see themselves as the target audience for this intervention.ConclusionsInterventions may benefit from focusing on some of the short term, embarrassing consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. Further research is needed to ensure that reflections on past behaviour are helpful in addressing future behaviour.

Prevalence, perceptions, and consequences of substance use in medical students

ABSTRACTBackground: Research regarding the health and wellness of medical students has led to ongoing concerns regarding patterns of alcohol and drug use that take place during medical education. Such research, however, is typically limited to single-institution studies or has been conducted over 25 years ago.Objective: The objective of the investigation was to assess the prevalence and consequences of medical student alcohol and drug use and students’ perceptions of their medical school’s substance-use policies.Design: A total of 855 medical students representing 49 medical colleges throughout the United States participated in an online survey between December 2015 and March 2016.Results: Data showed that 91.3% and 26.2% of medical students consumed alcohol and used marijuana respectively in the past year, and 33.8% of medical students consumed five or more drinks in one sitting in the past two weeks. Differences in use emerged regarding demographic characteristics of students. Consequences of alcohol and drug use in this sample of medical students included but were not limited to interpersonal altercations, serious suicidal ideation, cognitive deficits, compromised academic performance, and driving under the influence of substances. Forty percent of medical students reported being unaware of their medical institution’s substance-use policies.Conclusions: Findings suggest that substance use among medical students in the US is ongoing and associated with consequences in various domains. There is a lack of familiarity regarding school substance-use policies. Although there has been some progress in characterizing medical student alcohol use, less is known about the factors surrounding medical students’ use of other substances. Updated, comprehensive studies on the patterns of medical student substance use are needed if we are to make the necessary changes needed to effectively prevent substance-use disorders among medical students and support those who are in need of help.

Examination of Drinking Habits and Motives of Collegiate Student-Athletes

Universities across the United States have reported consistently high rates of alcohol use and abuse among students during the past 20 years. The college student alcohol consumption level is considered an important public health concern. The increase in problematic drinking seems to be campus wide, but there is an understudied at-risk demographic—collegiate student-athletes. The purpose of this study is to examine student-athletes’ motives for alcohol consumption, drinking patterns, and alcohol-related negative consequences. Student-athletes (N = 283) from five Midwestern universities completed an online questionnaire assessing this behavior. Male student-athletes reported higher levels in all three categories than females. In addition, differences were found in the drinking motives of individual and team sport student-athletes. Unlike previous studies, Division I student-athletes did not differ from Division III with respect to these behaviors. Male student-athletes seem particularly at-risk for problematic alcohol consumption. Additionally, differences were found in motives experienced for alcohol consumption based on sport type (i.e., individual versus team). Level of play was not found to influence drinking motives or alcohol consumption which may signify participation in intercollegiate athletics is a greater influence than division. Differences found in gender and sport type may provide insight to help decrease dangerous drinking habits of student-athletes.

Prevalencia y riesgo del consumo de alcohol y tabaco en estudiantes de 7° a 9° grado en centros educativos públicos de San Salvador

La presente investigación tuvo como propósito determinar la prevalencia del consumo de alcohol y tabaco en estudiantes de primaria en tres centros escolares de San Salvador. El diseño del estudio fue transversal con un enfoque descriptivo. La muestra fue de 169 estudiantes. Los resultados obtenidos fueron los siguientes: la prevalencia del consumo de alcohol y tabaco fue alta en los patrones evaluados, donde el género masculino presentó porcentajes más altos que el femenino. La bebida más consumida fue la cerveza y, la forma de consumo de tabaco fue el cigarrillo. La mayoría de los estudiantes comentaron que el consumo de alcohol y tabaco es un gran riesgo. Para los diferentes patrones de consumo de tabaco se detectaron 13 factores de riesgo y 4 de protección. En el caso de consumo de alcohol, se detectaron 5 factores de riesgo y 6 de protección. En conclusión, el consumo de alcohol y tabaco en estudiantes de Tercer Ciclo (7° a 9° grado) pueden ser influenciados por los factores de riesgo encontrados, especialmente en el consumo de tabaco.CREA CIENCIA Vol. 10 No 2 ISSN1818-202X julio-diciembre 2016, p. 28-36

Deficits in Access to Reward Are Associated with College Student Alcohol Use Disorder.

Reward deprivation has been implicated in major depressive disorder and severe substance abuse, but its potential relation to alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms in non-treatment-seeking young adult drinkers is less clear. Depression is often comorbid with alcohol misuse, so relations of AUD with reward deprivation might be due in part to the presence of depressive symptoms in young adults. Behavioral economic theory views addiction as a state that is related in part to deficits in drug-free rewards, and therefore requires an investigation into whether reward deprivation has a direct relation to alcohol misuse that is, at least partially, independent of mood. This study evaluates the contribution of 2 facets of reward deprivation (reward availability and experience) to alcohol use, AUD symptoms, and depression in a sample of young adult heavy episodic drinkers. Data were collected from 392 undergraduates (60.4% female, 85.1% Caucasian) who reported recent heavy drinking (83.7% with at least 1 AUD symptom). Low reward availability (environmental suppression) was significantly associated with both DSM-5 AUD symptoms and alcohol-related problems after controlling for age, gender, depressive symptomatology, and drinking level. This study provides support for behavioral economic models that emphasize reward deprivation as a unique risk factor for AUD that is independent of mood and drinking level. Limited access to natural rewards may be a risk and/or maintaining factor for AUD symptoms in college student drinkers.

Determinants of alcohol use and khat chewing among Hawassa University students, Ethiopia: a cross sectional study.

Students' alcohol and khat use have been associated with various health related problems. However, its magnitude and associated factors among Ethiopian students are not yet well documented. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of alcohol use, khat chewing and its associated factors among Hawassa University students. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2011. Multistage stratified sampling technique was employed to select 590 students. Self administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Data was entered and analysed by SPSS version 20.0. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the association of different variables. The current prevalence of student's alcohol and khat use were 29.5% (95% CI: 25.8-33.3) and 16.3% (95% CI: 13.7-20.0) respectively. Being male (AOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.0) and living alone (AOR 20.1; 95% CI 2.5-166.7) had a higher odds of alcohol use. Similarly, family substance use history (AOR 4.8; 95% CI 2.5-9.3) and peer influence (AOR 4.6; 95% CI 2.3-9.0) had also higher odds of khat use. The proportion of student's khat chewing and alcohol use was significant. Hence, higher education in collaboration with other stakeholders should work on convincing students about the ill effects of these substances.

Improving Prevention Curricula: Lessons Learned Through Formative Research on the Youth Message Development Curriculum

This article describes formative research (a pilot study, interviews, and focus groups) conducted as part of a feasibility test of 2 versions (Analysis vs. Planning) of a brief media literacy intervention titled Youth Message Development (YMD). The intervention targets high school student alcohol use with activities to understand persuasion strategies, increase counter-arguing, and then apply these new skills to ad analysis or a more engaging ad poster planning activity. Based on the theory of active involvement (Greene, 2013), the Planning curriculum is proposed to be more effective than the Analysis curriculum. Overall, results of the formative research indicated that students (N = 182) and mentors/teachers (N = 53) perceived the YMD Planning curriculum as more interesting, involving, and novel, and these ratings were associated with increased critical thinking about the impact of advertising, lower alcohol use intentions, and fewer positive expectations about the effects of alcohol use. Qualitative feedback indicated a need to supplement alcohol-focused ad stimuli with ads targeting other advertising images, use incentives and competition-based activities to further enhance student motivation, and provide flexibility to enhance the appropriateness of the curriculum to various settings. These concerns led to the development of a revised curriculum and plans for further study.

Examining the Role of Source Credibility and Reference Group Proximity on Personalized Normative Feedback Interventions for College Student Alcohol Use: A Randomized Laboratory Experiment

ABSTRACTBackground: Personalized normative feedback (PNF) interventions are designed to reduce misperceived drinking norms by delivering feedback regarding the actual drinking behavior of college students, thereby leading to subsequent reductions in one's own drinking. Objective: We examined the roles of data source credibility and reference group proximity in the effectiveness of a laboratory-based PNF intervention to reduce perceived drinking norms and thereby decrease intentions to drink. Method: Following completion of an online preintervention survey and using a 2 (highly credible data source/low credible data source) × 2 (proximal reference group/distal reference group) between-subjects factorial design, 104 college student drinkers were randomly assigned to condition. Participants then completed a postintervention questionnaire to assess for changes in various aspects of drinking. Results: Highly credible feedback was associated with greater reductions in perceived weekly drinking by American college students compared to feedback with low credibility. Similarly, more proximal than distal reference group feedback led to greater reductions in perceived weekly drinking by a same-gender/same-class year students at one's university. No condition effects emerged for intended drinks per week. Conclusions: PNF interventions may benefit from considering data source credibility and reference group proximity to reduce misperceptions of college student drinking, depending on the goals and resources of practitioners implementing such programs. Even the use of such a distal reference group as American college students can indeed lead to a reduction of normative perceptions provided there is an emphasis on the credibility of the data source.

El consumo de drogas en estudiantes de México: tendencias y magnitud del problema

Resumen Introducción. El consumo de drogas y sus consecuencias sociales y de salud son del interés de múltiples sectores. Las encuestas en estudiantes son estrategias epidemiológicas para monitorear el problema, las cuales se complementan con encuestas de hogares y en grupos especiales de la población, lo que permite ver anticipadamente fenómenos que posteriormente son evidentes en la población general. Además de las tendencias y del patrón de consumo de drogas, estos estudios muestran la influencia de otros factores que incrementan el uso y sus consecuencias. Objetivo. Conocer las prevalencias de uso de drogas, alcohol y tabaco en estudiantes de primaria (5° y 6°) y secundaria-bachillerato de México y sus Estados. Método. Es una encuesta probabilística en población escolar 5º y 6º de primaria, secundaria y bachillerato con representatividad nacional y de cada Estado del país. La muestra fue de 52 171 alumnos en primaria y 114 364 en secundaria-bachillerato. La información se obtuvo mediante un cuestionario estandarizado y validado en encuestas anteriores. Resultados. El consumo de tabaco alguna vez fue de 30.4% y la edad promedio de inicio de esta sustancia fue 13.4 años. El 53.2% ha bebido alcohol y 14.5% ha bebido en exceso. La prevalencia de consumo de drogas alguna vez fue de 17.2%. Las drogas de preferencia son la mariguana (10.6%), seguida de inhalables (5.8%) y cocaína (3.3%). Discusión y conclusión. El crecimiento del consumo de sustancias, principalmente mariguana y alcohol, resalta la importancia de la creación de nuevas estrategias de prevención para disminuir los índices de consumo entre los estudiantes.

Dangerous Beliefs: College Alcohol Beliefs Are Associated With Increased Risk of Regretted Sexual Encounters

ABSTRACTThis study explored the relative impact of college alcohol beliefs (CABs; i.e., the extent to which the student views alcohol as part of the fabric of college life), descriptive norms, injunctive norms, positive alcohol expectancies, and sensation seeking on college students' (N = 415) risk for engaging in regretted sexual encounters (RSE). Overall, 12% of our sample reported having experienced RSE within the past 30 days. When pitted against the other traditional predictors of college student drinking and its consequences, such as positive alcohol expectancies, descriptive and injunctive norms, and sensation seeking, CABs emerged as the strongest correlate of RSE other than drinking itself, and explained significant additional variance in RSE beyond these other predictors. Mediation analyses revealed that CABs had a significant indirect effect on RSE through typical weekly drinking. This pattern of findings indicates that college alcohol beliefs are, from a public health perspective, dangerous beliefs, that warrant serious consideration in the development of new approaches to college student drinking and its consequences.

An Analysis of U.S. Student Drug and Alcohol Policies through the Lens of a Professional Ethic for School Leadership

This study explored the moral complexity of student drug and alcohol policies that are often disciplinary, punitive, and exclusionary in nature. The Ethic of the Profession (Shapiro &amp; Stefkovich, 2001, 2005, 2010; Stefkovich, 2006), a professional ethical construct for educational leadership and for school workers writ large, was employed as a theoretical framework to evaluate a bounded case of seven school districts’ pupil policies. This research utilized textual analysis of school policies from the school communities represented in the study in addition to interview data employed in a larger systemic study from which this research is drawn. Findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the valuation process of local administrators when drafting policy in relation to an Ethic of the Profession. Practical implications include the impact of such school policies on the immediate and long-range needs of at-risk students.