Examining factors associated with heavy episodic drinking among college undergraduates
Heavy episodic drinking among college stu dents is a serious health concern. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with heavy episodic drinking behaviors amongst a predominately Asian undergraduate college student population in the United States. A survey measuring alcohol use behav iors was completed by a random sample of 18 24 year old undergraduates during April, 2011. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine factors associated with students’ heavy episodic drinking behav ior. Independent factors associated with heavy episodic drinking included living on campus, ethnicity, perceived drinking behavior among peers, and a belief that alcohol is a central part of one’s social life. Heavy episodic drinking was also associated with poor academic per formance. Campus-wide educational strate gies to reduce heavy episodic drinking among college undergraduates should incorporate accurate information regarding alcohol use norms to correct students’ perceived over esti mation of their peers alcohol consumption rates and the under estimation of students pro tective alcohol use behaviors. These efforts should focus in on-campus residence halls where a higher occurrence of heavy episodic drinking is often found.
1. Dawson DA, Grant BF, Stinson FS, Chou PS. Another look at heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use disorders among college and noncollege youth. J Stud Alcohol 2004;65:477-88.
2. Wechsler H, Nelson TF. What we have learned from the Harvard School of Public Health college alcohol study: focusing attention on college student alcohol consumption and the environmental conditions that promote it. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2008;69:481-90.
3. American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Data Report Spring 2012. Linthicum, MD: American College Health Association; 2012.
4. Wechsler H, Lee JE, Kuo M, Lee H. College binge drinking in the 1990s: a continuing problem. Results of the Harvard School of Public Health 1999 college alcohol study. J Am Coll Health 2000;48:199-210.
5. Lewis MA, Neighbors C. Social norms approaches using descriptive drinking education: a review of the research on personalized normative feedback. J Am Coll Health 2008;54:213-8.
6. Fromme K, Corbin WR, Kruse MI. Behavioral risks during the transition from high school to college. Dev Psychol 2008;44:1497-504.
7. Jessor R, Costa RM, Krueger PM, Turbin MS. A developmental study of heavy episodic drinking among college students: the role of psychosocial and behavioral protective and risk factors. J Stud Alcohol 2006;67:86-94.
8. Weitzman ER, Nelson TF, Wechsler H. Taking up binge drinking in college: the influences of person, social group, and environment. J Adolesc Health 2003;32:26-35.
9. Gfroerer JC, Greenblatt JC, Wright DA. Substance use in the US college-age population: Differences according to educational status and living arrangement. Am J Public Health 1997;87:62-5.
10. Paschall MJ, Bersamin M, Flewelling RL. Racial/ethnic differences in the association between college attendance and heavy alcohol use: a national study. J Stud Alcohol 2005;66:266-74.
11. Iwamoto DK, Corbin W, Fromme K. Trajectory classes of heavy episodic drinking among Asian American college students. Addiction 2010;10:1912-2
12. Perkins HW. Social norms and the prevention of alcohol misuse in collegiate contexts. J Stud Alcohol Suppl 2002:164-72.
13. Scholly K, Katz AR, Cole D, Heck RH. Factors associated with adverse sexual outcomes among college students. Am J Health Stud 2010;25:176-85.
14. Scholly K, Katz AR, Gascoigne J, Holk PS. Using social norms theory to explain perceptions and sexual health behaviors of undergraduate college students: an exploratory study. J Am Coll Health 2005;53:159-66.
15. Martens MP, Page JC, Mowry ES, et al. Difference between actual and perceived student norms: an examination of alcohol use, drug use, and sexual behavior. J Am Coll Health 2006;54:295-300.
16. Berkowitz AD. An overview of the social norms approach. In: Lederman LC, Stewart LP, eds. Changing the culture of college drinking: a socially situated health communication campaign. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press; 2005. pp 193-214.