Session
College student and young adult drinking
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
Abstract
Acculturative Stress, Resilience, Mental Health, and Binge Drinking among International Students
Kim Youn Kyoung, Ph.D., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, Moses Okumu, MSW, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX and Eusebius Small, PhD, MSSW, University of Texas, Arlington, Arlington, TX
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
Purpose: This study tested the mediating effects of resilience and mental health on the relationship between acculturative stress and binge drinking among international students. Methods: The cross-sectional survey design tested the hypothetical model of alcohol use among a sample of 322 international students nationally. The modified Index of Life Stress (Yang & Clum, 1995), the Resilience Scale for Adults (Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge, & Martinussen, 2003), and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 & GAD-7 (Spitzer et al., 1994) were used to measure the four latent variables. Binge drinking was one item question. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), using Mplus version 7, was conducted to test the measurement and structural models. Results: The results from the measurement model showed good model fit (χ²=145.83, df=57, χ²/df=2.56, CFI=0.95, TLI=0.93, SRMR=0.048, RMSEA=0.07). Also, the results from the structural model showed that the direct effect of acculturative stress on resilience (b=-0.32, p <.001), the direct effect of resilience on binge drinking (b=-0.183, p <.003), and the direct effect of acculturative stress on mental health (b=-0.59, p <.001) were significant. The indirect effect of acculturative stress on binge drinking through resilience was significant (b=0.02, p <.01). Resilience fully mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and binge drinking in the hypothesized model. Conclusions: The study found that resilience as a collective and protective factor leads to positive behavioral health outcomes; specifically binge drinking, in the acculturation process among international students. The awareness of resilience may help schools and health care providers adopt more effective strategies to overcome binge drinking caused by acculturative stress among international students.
Diversity and culture Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences
Abstract
Restrictive peer networks among substance-using college students: An untapped intervention target?
Hannah Allen, MHS1, Kimberly Caldeira, MS1, Kathryn B. Vincent, MA1, Brittany A. Bugbee, MPH1, Kevin O'Grady, PhD2 and Amelia M. Arria, PhD3, (1)University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, (2)University of Maryland, College Park, MD, (3)University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
Background: Peer alcohol and substance use are risk factors for the development of substance use problems, but the extent to which substance-using students restrict their peer networks to other users during college is unclear. Method: As part of a longitudinal study beginning at college entry, 1,253 undergraduates (52% female, 72% non-Hispanic white) were categorized into four groups based on criteria for cannabis use disorder (CUD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and past-year substance use during their first year of college. Annually thereafter, students were queried about their close friends' substance use. Differences in proportions of substance-using friends were examined between groups each year and within groups over time. Results: Students were categorized as (a) CUD+ (n=181); (b) AUD+ without CUD (n=230); (c) Past-year substance use without CUD or AUD (n=455); or (d) No past-year CUD, AUD, or substance use (n=387). Compared with the no-past-year-use group, the groups with any baseline substance use had significantly higher proportions of substance-using friends in Years 2, 3, and 4. The CUD+ group had significantly higher proportions of marijuana-using friends relative to all other groups, consistently over time. Proportion of alcohol-using friends remained stable in the CUD+ and AUD+ groups but increased significantly over time in the substance use without CUD or AUD and no-past-year-use groups. Conclusion: Students who entered college with substance use disorders tended to associate with substance-using friends; these peer networks remained stable throughout college. Constrained peer networks as a social consequence of substance use have potential utility in personalized feedback interventions.
Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences
Abstract
Slope of Change: An Environmental Approach to Reduce Drinking on a Day of Celebration at a US College
Laura Santacrose, MPH Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016) background: Cornell University has an annual end-of-the-year celebration known as “Slope Day” which essentially is a large concert that takes place on an open hillside below the main university library known as Libe Slope. The event is notorious for high-risk drinking that results in both the university health service and the local hospital treating a significant number of students for acute alcohol intoxication. methods: An environmental management plan was implemented including a festival with music, games and food in the courtyard adjacent to the slope, increased enforcement of the minimum legal drinking age, regulation of alcohol sales, and a physical barrier to entry onto the slope. In 2014, there were additional changes to Slope Day including using a new wristband entry system and an academic calendar change that shifted the event from the last day of classes on a Friday, to a Thursday, now the day after the last day of classes. From 2001-2016 Cornell University has conducted self-report, anonymous surveys of undergraduate student experiences on Slope Day using a randomized sample. results: Overall, the interventions significantly reduced high-risk drinking on the day of the event, especially among those under the age of 21. Over the years there has been a significant decrease in drinking at the event (Slope Day itself) and drinking before the event (pre-gaming the event) has increased slightly. However, since 2014 there has been an increase in the percent of students who report engaging in high-risk drinking and extreme ritualistic alcohol consumption, which correspond with the recent academic calendar change and wristband entrance system. conclusions: A coordinated, integrated approach is necessary to reduce high-risk drinking at the population level and to provide medical care to those individuals in need. It is also important to measure the impact changes to the event have on drinking patterns.
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health
Abstract
Assessing Alcohol Consumption and Academic Performance among a Nationally Representative Sample of College Students
Adam E. Barry, PhD, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, Anna K. Piazza-Gardner, PhD, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL and Ashley L. Merianos, PhD CHES, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016) Purpose: This investigation assessed whether alcohol consumption was negatively related to grade point average (GPA) among a nationally representative sample of college students. Methods: Items from the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment (n=22,424) were investigated. One-way analyses of variance were conducted. Following a statistically significant F-statistic, Scheffe post- hoc analyses were conducted to identify differences among groups. Then, two separate logistic regression models were tested to determine if (a) amount of alcohol consumed last time partied/socialized, and (b) frequency of binge drinking, significantly influenced one's academic achievement, above and beyond several demographic controls (i.e., age, gender, race, fraternity/sorority affiliation, and involvement in varsity athletics). Results: Results identified that respondents with lower GPAs consumed a greater number of drinks [F(3, 942.65)=75.719, p=.000] compared to those with higher GPAs. Students with higher GPAs engaged in heavy episodic drinking [F(3, 726.98)=34.996, p=.000] less than students with lower GPAs. Number of drinks consumed during most recent party/social event was the strongest predictor of academic performance (OR = 0.932, Wald = 271.733); the likelihood of being an A student decreased with each additional drink consumed the last time partied/socialized (B = -.071). Frequency of binge drinking was the strongest predictor of academic performance (OR = 0.881, Wald = 139.012); the likelihood of being an A student decreased as the frequency of binge drinking increased (B = -.126). Conclusions: The dynamic, interdependent relationship between alcohol and GPA documented herein confirms previous research, which delineates reduced academic performance as a function of alcohol consumption.
Epidemiology Public health or related research
Abstract
Comparative role of religious internalization and social support in alcohol use in a conservative Christian University
Wendy Thompson, DrPH, MSW Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
The objective of these analyses is to examine the relative statistical explanatory power of internalization of religious values and social support in understanding alcohol use in a student population at a conservative Christian university Seventh-day Adventists populations have been the focus of public health research for the last 50 years. The current analyses focus on Adventist student decision to use alcohol and the relative statistical strength of their internalization of Christian beliefs and their social support systems in explaining alcohol using behaviors. Data was collected from a representative classroom survey of students at a large Adventist University; N= about 350. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (PSSS) was used to measure social support and Christian Religious Internalization Scale to measure religious involvement. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationships. The internalization of religion and social support were significantly related to lower levels of alcohol use. However, a multiple regression analysis showed that when both variables were entered into a model (controlling for socio-demographic characteristics), only Christian Religious Internalization was significantly related to lower levels of alcohol use. Our findings are consistent with previous literature on the role of religion in lower rates of alcohol use. These data suggest that the extent to which Seventh-day Adventists internalize their religious beliefs rather than their social support system helps explain lower rates of alcohol use within a population whose church forbids alcohol use.
Advocacy for health and health education Diversity and culture Epidemiology Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs Public health or related education Public health or related public policy
Abstract
Undergraduate drinking: Early alcohol experiences and defining oneself as a drinker Chia-Kuei Lee, PhD1, Karen Stein, PhD1 and Colleen Corte, PhD2, (1)University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, (2)University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
Background: Alcohol use among undergraduates is a serious public health problem. Among undergraduates, defining oneself in terms of alcohol use (referred to as a drinker self-schema) is a common and valued identity that has been shown to predict alcohol use and alcohol problems. However, evidence is lacking about determinants of the drinker self-schema. This study was to determine whether early alcohol experiences (from family, peers, and individual) contribute to the drinker self-schema, which in turn predicts alcohol use in undergraduate students. Methods: Two-hundred twenty-six undergraduate students who reported alcohol and tobacco use in the last 30 days were recruited for an online survey study currently in progress. Current alcohol use was measured with a 7-point frequency rating scale. Participants rated “Non- drinker‒Drinker” according to self-descriptiveness and importance on separate 11-point scales. A concurrent rating of “drinker” as both highly self-descriptive and highly important (8-11 points) was considered presence of a drinker self-schema. Early parental, peer and individual alcohol experiences were also measured. Path analysis was conducted. Results: High frequency of alcohol use during high school was the only predictor of the drinker self-schema, which in turn predicted high frequency alcohol use during college. The indirect effect was not significant. Conclusions: Adolescents who drink frequently during high school are likely to define themselves in terms of alcohol when they are in college, which may serve to structuralize alcohol-use behavior. Interventions to prevent alcohol use during high school may inhibit the formation of a drinker self-schema and subsequent high frequency alcohol use among undergraduate students.
Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences
Abstract
Drinking at bars, others' parties and in public places raises risks of being assaulted by drinking buddies and strangers: National results from population surveys in 2015
Tom Greenfield, PhD1, Katherine J. Karriker-Jaffe, PhD1, Deidre Patterson, MPH1, Lauren Kaplan, PhD2 and William C. Kerr, PhD1 (1)Public Health Institute, Emeryville, CA, (2)University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
Background: Heavy drinking in multi-person contexts can potentiate drinker's own aggression but also expose them to other drinkers' violence. Objectives: We studied how drinking in bars, parties, and public places is related to assaults attributed to other drinkers. Methods: Telephone interviews from the 2015 US National Alcohol Survey and the National Alcohol's Harm to Others Survey (analytic N = 4,974) assessed typical quantity in bars, others' parties, and public places (parks, street, etc.). Weighted logistic regression models estimated associations between typical intake in each setting and experiencing being pushed, hit or assaulted by drinking friends, or strangers, controlling for respondents' overall drinking and demographics: age, gender, region, marital status, ethnic group, and employment. Results: Drinking stranger assaults were elevated by the amount recipients drank in bars and parties but not public places. Bar drinking predicted (p<0.0001) stranger assaults (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1-1.3), controlling covariates and overall volume (also significant). So did intake at others' parties, though less so (p < 0.01). In contrast, assaults involving drinking friends were not predicted by drinking in bars or parties, but were instead predicted (p < 0.00001) by drinking in public places (aOR = 1.3, CI 1.1-1.4). Conclusions: Drinking in gathering places beyond home predict exposures to aggression differentially, depending on whether drinking perpetrators are known or unknown. We will discuss effects on wellbeing from types of alcohol-fueled perpetrators and how relationships are potentially modified by the recipient's risky-drinking-setting choices, helping to develop more nuanced place-based policies and interventions.
Epidemiology Public health or related public policy Public health or related research Abstract
Formative research to develop an empirically grounded collegiate recovery program
Christy Kollath-Cattano, PhD1, Andrea DeMaria, PhD, MS1, Beth Sundstrom, Ph.D., M.P.H.1, Stephanie McInnis, BA1, Hannah Manzi1, Anna Kooper1, Kianna Thomas1 and Jeri Cabot, PhD, MA (1)College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
APHA 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo (Oct. 29 - Nov. 2, 2016)
Background: Collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) are becoming more common across the U.S. and help support the special needs for students in recovery from substance use disorders. However, few programs have been developed in accordance with systematic research. This study presents formative research to develop an empirically grounded CRP at a liberal arts college in the Southeast. Methods: Formative research consisted of: 1) a website content analysis of existing CRPs to gather information about types of services offered and program specifications; 2) qualitative interviews with students in recovery (n=12) and experts (n=12) with backgrounds in substance use dependence and/or CRPs; and 3) Photovoice with students in recovery. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed in HyperRESEARCH using constant comparative analysis. Results: The majority (70%) of CRPs in existence have websites, and nearly all (88%) offer on-campus support group meetings. The majority of the students interviewed credited their success in recovery to support groups such as AA, but also expressed interest in having the additional support of a CRP on campus. Only a few CRPs (30%) appear to have membership requirements. However, many students and experts suggested there should be some requirements. Experts were reluctant to mandate requirements in fear of limiting access. Conclusions: This study informs researchers and practitioners about college students' perceptions of, and experiences with, alcohol and drug use. Practitioners can use this information to develop effective campus-wide CRPs and mixed-media social marketing campaigns in order to best support college students who are recovering from substance abuse disorders.
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences