Binge Drinking During the First Semester of College: Continuation and Desistance From High School Patterns |
| |
| Authors: | Wendy K Watson MS |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Health and Safety , Western Kentucky University , Bowling Green , Kentucky , 42101 , USA;2. Coliseum, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation , University of Nebraska/Lincoln , Lincoln , Nebraska , 68588 , USA;3. School of Health Education Project , National Center for Health Education , 901 Sueath Lane, Suite 215, San Bruno , California , 94066 , USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Abstract Students' first semester on campus may set the stage for their alcohol use/misuse throughout college. The authors surveyed 274 randomly sampled first-semester freshmen at a large southwestern university on their past 2 weeks' binge drinking, their high school binge drinking, and psychosocial factors possibly associated with drinking. They conducted separate analyses among high school nonbinge drinkers (testing for predictors of college binge onset vs continued nonbinge drinking) and high school binge drinkers (testing for predictors of continued binge drinking in college vs desistance from drinking). In both analyses, the variables that predicted college binge drinking largely revolved around gregarious socializing (eg, partying, having a social network of individuals who drank relatively heavily). Gender was predictive only among high school nonbinge drinkers; women had a higher probability than did men of adopting binge drinking in college. |
| |
| Keywords: | binge drinking college students social networks socializing |
|
|
