Analysing change among study abroad students. A novel application of the person-centred approach to alcohol use patterns |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Psychology Department, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123, Milano, Italy;2. CERISVICO Research Centre on Community Development and Organisational Quality of Life, via Trieste 17, 25121, Brescia, Italy;3. Violence & Society Research Group, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XY, UK;1. Universidad de los Andes, Department of Psychology, Bogotá, Colombia;2. Universidad de los Andes, International Affairs Office, Bogotá, Colombia;3. University Leipzig, Department of Medical Psychology and Sociology, Germany;1. Department of Sociology, Centre for Research on Environmental and Social Change (CRESC), University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobsstraat 2-4, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium;2. Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobstraat 2B, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium;3. Department of Training and Education Sciences, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium;1. Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology. University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain;2. Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatments. University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain;3. National Autonomous University of Mexico, México DF, Mexico;4. Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Jaume I University, Castellón, Spain |
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| Abstract: | This study re-analysed longitudinal data on international students’ alcohol use to demonstrate the practical value of person-centred statistical techniques, such as Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and its longitudinal extension Latent Transition Analysis (LTA). These techniques offer new analytic perspectives, can reveal typologies (i.e., subpopulations characterized by different profiles) and examine change (i.e., transition probabilities) in outcomes of interest. The use of these approaches remains limited in the intercultural research field, however. A step-by-step guide to the use of LCA and LTA is presented. The analyses demonstrate how alcohol use profiles can be identified, how transitions across profiles as students move from home to overseas can be examined and are affected by students' motivation to study abroad and their adjustment to the host environment. The validity for study abroad students of the four-class model of drinker types found in other populations was confirmed. Results, however, challenge the dominant view that most students increase alcohol intake during study abroad experiences, and indicate that moderate drinkers are at greatest risk of transitioning to heavy drinking as they travel abroad. Implications and suggestions for use of these statistical techniques by intercultural research specialists are discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Person-centred approach Latent class analysis Latent transition analysis Study abroad Alcohol use Motivations to study abroad Psychological adjustment |
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