Prediction of alcohol use and negative drinking-related consequences among university undergraduates

Abstract

Current alcohol research tends to be atheoretical and concerned almost exclusively with etiology. In their attempts to explain why individuals drink, researchers have progressed from simple correlational studies identifying related variables to examinations of multiple factors using multiple regression and causal modeling methodologies. The present study contributes to the understanding of alcohol use and problem drinking by college studnets. Three hundred undergraduates from two Nova Scotia universities comprised the sample. Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficients identified significant relationships between the Quantity-Frequency Index of alcohol use (Q-F) and peer drinking, gender, age, the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ), the number of observed college sporting events, and the number of college social functions attended. The Straus-Bacon Problem Drinking Scale (S-BPDS) was significantly related to the AEQ, gender, peer drinking, the Hassles Scale, percentage of times having drunk alcohol with people living nearby, and the number of participant sporting events attended. The present correlational findings corroborate previous research identifying these variables to be related to alcohol use and to problem drinking. The multiple regression findings contribute to previous research in suggesting different reasons why young men and women drink and experience negative drinking related consequences.