Different forms of spirituality and heavy episodic drinking among college students

Objective: The current study examined prospective, bidirectional relationships between 3 measures of spirituality (Daily Spiritual Experiences, Positive Religious Coping, and Negative Religious Coping) and frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Participants: Three hundred ninety-one students attending a large, public university in the Midwest. Methods: Electronic surveys assessing predictors of college alcohol use were sent to participants in the winter of their freshman and sophomore years. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. Results: A latent factor comprised of Daily Spiritual Experiences and Positive Religious Coping (ie, “positive spirituality”) was negatively related to future frequency of heavy episodic drinking. Negative Religious Coping was unrelated to heavy episodic drinking. Additionally, heavy episodic drinking did not prospectively predict any measures of spirituality. Conclusions: Data are supportive of continued efforts to integrate positive spirituality into interventions for collegiate heavy episodic drinking.