Potential cultural predictors of heavy episodic drinking in Hispanic college students

Heavy alcohol use in college students is a serious health risk. It is unclear how cultural variables impact alcohol use in Hispanic college populations. Here, the relationships between gender, bicultural identity, familism, and adherence to traditional gender roles with heavy episodic drinking (HED) in a Hispanic college sample are assessed. Participants, 80 males and 80 females, were asked to complete a questionnaire packet, which assessed demographic information, as well as measures designed to rate drinking amount and frequency, bicultural integration, familism, and traditional gender role adherence. Average age of the sample was 19.9 years (SD = 3.05), in which the majority of participants were classified as either Freshmen or Sophomores (88.8%). Overall, 47.5% of participants reported engaging in HED, with 51% of men and 44% of women reporting HED. Univariate analyses along with logistic regression were utilized to assess possible differences and correlates of HED. Neither individual predictors nor the overall model were statistically significant. These findings suggest the need for continued assessment of HED in Hispanic college students using other culturally based constructs, as well as psychosocial factors that are found to predict heavy drinking in other ethnocultural college-aged students.     

Association of acculturation with drinking games among Hispanic college students

Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate which components of acculturation relate to drinking games participation among Hispanic college students. We also sought to examine whether the relationships between acculturation and drinking games would differ from the associations between acculturation and other alcohol-related outcomes. Method: A sample of 1,397 Hispanic students aged 18–25 (75% women; 77% US-born) from 30 US colleges and universities completed a confidential online survey. Results: Associations among acculturative processes, drinking games participation, general alcohol consumption, and negative drinking consequences differed across gender. Most significant findings emerged in the domain of cultural practices. For women, US cultural practices were associated with greater general alcohol consumption, drinking games frequency, and amount of alcohol consumed while gaming, whereas for men, US cultural practices were associated with general alcohol consumption and negative drinking consequences. Conclusions: Hispanic and US cultural practices, values, and identifications were differentially associated with drinking games participation, and these associations differed by gender. It is therefore essential for college student alcohol research to examine US culture acquisition and Hispanic culture retention separately and within the domains of cultural practices, values, and identifications.     

Social anxiety and drinking game participation among university students: the moderating role of drinking to cope

Background: Few studies have examined the relationship of social anxiety with drinking game participation. Drinking games represent a popular form of drinking in university settings. Due to their structure, games may appeal to socially anxious drinkers, particularly among those seeking to fit in or cope with the social setting. Objectives: To examine the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation among a university undergraduate sample and to investigate if drinking motives moderate this association. Method: A total of 227 undergraduate students aged 18–24 years (73% female) who had consumed alcohol in the prior year were included in the current investigation. Hierarchical regression examined the influences of social anxiety and drinking motives on frequency of drinking game participation, as well the interactions of social anxiety with drinking for coping motives and conformity motives. Results: Social anxiety failed to emerge as a significant predictor of frequency of drinking game participation. However, drinking to cope moderated the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation. Socially anxious students who drank to cope were more likely to participate in drinking games on occasions when they consumed alcohol than those who did not endorse this drinking motive. Conclusion: Results demonstrated the influence of drinking to cope in the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation. Future work should examine the relationship with other indicators of drinking game activity. Intervention efforts addressing social anxiety and drinking should consider motives for drinking, as well as drinking patterns.     

Examining the relationship between typical drinking behavior and 21st birthday drinking behavior among college students: implications for event-specific prevention

Aims   The purpose of this research was to: (i) compare 21st birthday drinking with typical drinking; (ii) assess the prevalence of negative consequences and risk behaviors experienced during the 21st birthday week; and (iii) examine the role of typical drinking and 21st birthday drinking in explaining 21st birthday week negative consequences and risk behaviors.
Setting and participants   Participants ( n  = 306; 50% male) included college students turning 21 at a Midwestern public university in the United States.
Design and measurement   Approximately 1 week prior to their 21st birthday, students completed measures of typical past 3-month alcohol consumption via a web-based survey. Following their birthday, students ( n  = 296; 50% male) completed measures of 21st birthday week drinking as well as negative consequences and risk behaviors.
Findings   Findings indicated that students consumed considerably larger amounts of alcohol during the week of their 21st birthdays in comparison to typical weekly consumption. Additionally, students experienced a variety of negative consequences and risk behaviors during the week of their 21st birthday, including hangovers, vomiting and not remembering part of the previous evening. Negative binomial regression results indicated that those most likely to experience more negative consequences and risk behaviors associated with 21st birthday drinking were those who consumed heavy amounts of alcohol the week of their birthday, but who did not typically drink excessively.
Conclusions   Findings underscore the need to develop event-specific prevention approaches for occasions associated with extreme drinking and provide direction for considering who may be at greatest risk for problems associated with celebratory drinking.     

Interaction between the ADH1B*3 allele and drinking motives on alcohol use among Black college students

Background: Black young adults have lower rates of alcohol use than other racial groups. Genetic factors may protect against drinking. Specifically, the ADH1B*3 allele is present almost exclusively in Black populations and has been protective against alcohol use and alcohol use disorder. The protective effects of the ADH1B*3 allele, however, may differ as a function of alcohol-promoting cognitions. Objectives: The current study examined whether ADH1B*3 moderated relations of drinking motives with alcohol consumption among Black college drinkers. Methods: Participants were 241 undergraduate students of self-identified Black race (mean age = 20 years; 66% female) who reported consuming alcohol at least once in the past 30 days. Results: ADH1B*3 was not significantly associated with drinking motives or drinking behaviors. However, significant, albeit small, interaction effects of ADH1B*3 with drinking motives on drinking behavior were found; the presence of an ADH1B*3 allele protected against greater drinking quantity among students with high social motives (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.95, 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]) and against frequent drinking among students with low coping motives (IRR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.01, 1.11]). Conclusion: These findings represent a novel demonstration of genetic modulation of alcohol-related cognitions within Black college drinkers, although replication is needed. Results represent an initial step toward better characterizing individual differences in associations of drinking motives with drinking behavior, with potential implications for interventions aimed at motivational processes in alcohol use.     

ALDH2*2 and peer drinking in East Asian college students

Background: The ALDH2*2 allele (A-allele) at rs671 is more commonly carried by Asians and is associated with alcohol-related flushing, a strong adverse reaction to alcohol that is protective against drinking. Social factors, such as having friends who binge drink, also contribute to drinking in Asian youth. Objectives: This study examined the interplay between ALDH2*2, peer drinking, and alcohol consumption in college students. We hypothesized that the relationship between ALDH2*2 and standard grams of ethanol per month would vary based on the level of peer drinking. Methods: Subjects (N = 318, 63.25% female) were East Asian college students in the United States who reported drinking alcohol. Data were from the freshman year of a university survey that included a saliva DNA sample. ALDH2*2 status was coded ALDH2*2(+) (A/G and A/A genotypes) and ALDH2*2(?) (G/G genotype). Peer drinking was students’ perception of how many of their friends “got drunk”. Results: Main effects of ALDH2*2(?) and having more friends who got drunk were associated with greater alcohol consumption. The ALDH2*2 × peer drunkenness interaction showed a stronger positive association with alcohol consumption for ALDH2*2(?) versus ALDH2*2(+) at increasing levels of peer drunkenness. Follow-up comparisons within each peer drunkenness level identified significantly higher alcohol consumption for ALDH2*2(?) compared to ALDH2*2(+) at the all friends got drunk level.

Conclusion: There was evidence of a stronger effect for ALDH2*2(?) compared to ALDH2*2(+) with greater alcohol use when students were more exposed to peer drinking. Findings contribute to a growing literature on the interrelationships between genetic influences and more permissive environments for alcohol consumption.     

Adult attachment and drinking context as predictors of alcohol problems and relationship satisfaction in college students

Background: Evidence suggests that for young adults, intimate partners influence each other’s drinking patterns. Therefore, exploration of variables related to intimate partner relationships (such as attachment style) could broaden the current understanding of risk factors for alcohol problems in this demographic. Objectives: The current study examined the role of drinking context in the relationships among insecure attachment, alcohol problems, and relationship satisfaction. A path model was hypothesized where the relationship between insecure attachment and alcohol problems would be explained via two distinct drinking contexts (i.e., drinking with one’s partner and drinking away from one’s partner). It was also hypothesized that the relationship between insecure attachment and relationship satisfaction would be explained via these same two drinking contexts. Methods: Participants were 194 undergraduate students ages 18–25 who reported being in a monogamous intimate partner relationship for at least 90 days and had also consumed alcohol in the past 90 days. The sample was comprised of 76% women and 24% men. Results: The hypothesized direct relationship from anxious attachment to alcohol problems was significant; there were also significant direct paths from both anxious and avoidant attachment to relationship satisfaction. The hypotheses regarding indirect relationships were not supported. Conclusion: The results of this study contribute to the existing literature, in that they suggest that drinking in the context of an intimate relationship may not directly affect relationship satisfaction in this population. However, relationship functioning still appears to be an important variable to consider in the prevention and treatment of alcohol-related problems affecting college students.     

A time-series analysis of the impact of heavy drinking on homicide and suicide mortality in Russia, 1956-2002

AIM: Assess the impact of heavy drinking on homicide and suicide mortality in Russia between 1956 and 2002. MEASURES AND DESIGN: Alcohol-related mortality was used as a proxy for heavy drinking. We used autoregressive integrated moving average techniques to model total and sex-specific alcohol-homicide and alcohol-suicide relationships at the population level. FINDINGS: We found a positive and significant contemporaneous association between alcohol and homicide and between alcohol and suicide. We found no evidence of lagged relationships. These results held for overall and sex-specific associations. CONCLUSION: Our results lend convergent validity to the alcohol-suicide link in Russia found by Nemtsov and to the alcohol-homicide associations found in cross-sectional analyses of Russia. Levels of alcohol consumption, homicide and suicide in Russia are among the highest in the world, and the mounting evidence of the damaging effects of consumption on the social fabric of the country reveals the need for intervention at multiple levels.     

Questions about the validity of the binge or heavy drinking criterion have implications for more than just treatment evaluation

Commentary to: Questioning the validity of the 4+/5+ binge or heavy drinking criterion in college and clinical populations     

Age–period–cohort modelling of alcohol volume and heavy drinking days in the US National Alcohol Surveys: divergence in younger and older adult trends

Aims   The decomposition of trends in alcohol volume and heavy drinking days into age, period, cohort and demographic effects offers an important perspective on the dynamics of change in alcohol use patterns in the United States.
Design   The present study utilizes data from six National Alcohol Surveys conducted over the 26-year period between 1979 and 2005.
Setting   United States.
Measurements   Alcohol volume and the number of days when five or more and eight or more drinks were consumed were derived from overall and beverage-specific graduated frequency questions.
Results   Trend analyses show that while mean values of drinking measures have continued to decline for those aged 26 and older, there has been a substantial increase in both alcohol volume and 5+ days among those aged 18–25 years. Age–period–cohort models indicate a potential positive cohort effect among those born after 1975. However, an alternative interpretation of an age–cohort interaction where drinking falls off more steeply in the late 20s than was the case in the oldest surveys cannot be ruled out. For women only, the 1956–60 birth cohort appears to drink more heavily than those born just before or after. Models also indicate the importance of income, ethnicity, education and marital status in determining these alcohol measures.
Conclusions   Increased heavy drinking among young adults in recent surveys presents a significant challenge for alcohol policy and may indicate a sustained increase in future US alcohol consumption.