College Alcohol Use Research Articles

Alcohol use and the fear of weight gain in college: Reconciling two social norms

Recent research reports a, link between diet-related behavior and alcohol abuse among women, but fails to explain this relationship. In the present study, a grounded theory approach is used to explore the link between diet-related behavior, body image, and alcohol use among a sample of college students. In the feminist tradition of “giving voice,” 78 college students participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interview to generate insight into the sociocultural practice of diet behavior and its association with alcohol use. Four specific categories of diet-related behaviors in the context of alcohol use emerged. Students reported altering their eating and drinking patterns, self-induced purging, or exercising to stave off unwanted weight gain believed to be caused by alcohol use. These categories are useful for understanding the alcohol-use and diet-related behavior associations reported in previous studies Results suggest drinking behavior among some college students is perhaps mutually influenced by socio-cultural pressures to conform both to dody-image norms and to drinking, norms. Interventions to reduce college alcohol use and the social consequences that accompany such behavior may need to take into account these social and psychological factors.

Studying college alcohol use: widening the lens, sharpening the focus.

The study was designed to assess current trends in studying, and emerging approaches to furthering understanding of, college drinking. A literature review was conducted of findings and methods highlighting conceptual and methodological issues that need to be addressed. Most studies address clinical, developmental and psychological variables and are conducted at single points in time on single campuses. Factors affecting college alcohol use and methods of studying them are discussed. Most current studies of college drinking do not address the influence of the college and its alcohol environment. Our understanding of college drinking can be improved by expanding the scope of issues studied and choosing appropriate research designs.

A Conceptual Model of the Alcohol Environment of College Students

Alcohol use is highly prevalent among U.S. college students and alcohol-related problems are often considered the most serious public health issue on American college campuses. Recent efforts in alcohol prevention on college campuses have focused on changing drinking environments. However, little conceptual work has been produced or published to guide such efforts. This paper presents an empirically based conceptual model of college alcohol use from an environmental perspective. Specifically, the paper discusses the underlying assumptions of environmental approaches to alcohol problems, presents a program model to guide and evaluate interventions, discusses a conceptual model to organize the social environment related to alcohol use and problems, and provides a series of interventions and measurement approaches consistent with the conceptual model.

Binge drinking and the American college students: What's five drinks?

The use of the term binge drinking and the 5/4 measure have helped to advance the understanding of college alcohol use over the past 10 years. The present article discusses the importance, relevance, and utility of this measure.

Binge drinking and the American college student: what's five drinks?

The use of the term binge drinking and the 5/4 measure have helped to advance the understanding of college alcohol use over the past 10 years. The present article discusses the importance, relevance, and utility of this measure.

ALCOHOL USE IN HIGH SCHOOL: PREDICTING STUDENTS' ALCOHOL USE AND ALCOHOL PROBLEMS IN FOUR-YEAR COLLEGES

This research examined the effect of students' drinking behaviors in high school on their alcohol use and alcohol problems in college. Five colleges in New York State were randomly selected for the study. The telephone interview method was employed to survey college students during the spring semester of 1998. Within each participating college, students were randomly selected through the use of complete student telephone directories provided by the college administration. A total of 813 students were interviewed. Alcohol problems were measured with items from DSM-IV. Results indicate that both frequency and quantity of alcohol use in high school significantly affect students' alcohol consumption in college. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol use in high school on alcohol problems in college tends to be composed of a moderate direct effect and a relatively strong indirect effect via its impact on current alcohol consumption in college. Prevention efforts for drinking in college may need to start in high school to reduce or delay alcohol use by high school students. Additional assessment services and more readily available treatment services may be required to address potential alcohol problems among college students. Future research should examine the effect and longevity of students' alcohol problem symptoms after they graduate from college.

College Alcohol Use: A Full or Empty Glass?

Data from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (1993) were used to describe weekly alcohol consumption and its associated problems among a representative national sample of college students. The median number of drinks consumed/week by all students, regardless of drinking status, was 1.5. When students were divided by drinking pattern, the median number of drinks/week was 0.7 for those who did not binge drink and 3.7 for those who did so infrequently. For frequent binge drinkers, the median was considerably higher: 14.5 drinks/week. Nationally, 1 in 5 five college students is a frequent binge drinker. Binge drinkers consumed 68% of all the alcohol that students reported drinking, and they accounted for the majority of alcohol-related problems. The data indicate that behavioral norms for alcohol consumption vary widely among students and across colleges. Therefore, it may not be possible to design an effective “one size fits all” approach to address college alcohol use.

Measuring excessive alcohol use in college drinking contexts: The drinking context scale

Research on youthful drinking has shown that the greatest risks associated with alcohol abuse are related to contextual factors that may potentiate heavy drinking as well as increase risks for adverse consequences. These contextual factors include interacting psychological, interpersonal, and environmental dimensions of alcohol use. However, despite considerable college drinking research to identify these factors, few formal instruments have been produced for measuring excessive drinking in multidimensional contexts. The current study of 197 college students who were cited their first time for breaking university drinking rules focuses on the development and validation of a scale for measuring the likelihood of excessive drinking across an array of psychological, interpersonal and situational contexts resulting in the 23-item Drinking Context Scale (DCS). Three distinct factors emerged defining Convivial drinking. Private Intimate drinking, and drinking as a form of Negative Coping. These three factors explained 61.5% of the variance after principal components analysis and varimax rotation, showed excellent internal reliabilities, and were moderately intercorrelated. MANOVA analysis demonstrated concurrent validity with the Quality Frequency Index (QFI) and a modified version of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). Implications for further research with the DCS are suggested.

College alcohol use

A composite screening measure pin-pointed college students9 drinking patterns and predicted risk for future problem drinking, reported the April 1996 Journal of Adolescent Health. A random sample of 452 subjects — about 90 percent white, from a selective Southern university — entered a long-term study of alcohol use at the beginning of their college freshman year. Of the 318 still enrolled at the end of junior year, 184 (58 percent) completed follow-up questionnaires.

Drinking among College Students in New England; Extent, Social Correlates and Consequences of Alcohol Use

A survey of over 7000 New England college students revealed that fewer than 5% of both men and women abstain from alcohol, that men tend to drink more than women and that both men and women drink more frequently as they progress in college; high-school drinking patterns were more important than any other variable in determining alcohol use in college.