Alcohol use among college students as a function of their typical social drinking context.

Late adolescence (ie, 16 -20 years of age) is a period characterized by escalation of drinking and alcohol use problems for many and by the onset of an alcohol use disorder for some. This heightened period of vulnerability is a joint consequence of the continuity of risk from earlier developmental stages and the unique neurologic, cognitive, and social changes that occur in late adolescence. We review the normative neurologic, cognitive, and social changes that typically occur in late adolescence, and we discuss the evidence for the impact of these transitions on individual drinking trajectories. We also describe evidence linking alcohol abuse in late adolescence with neurologic damage and social impairments, and we discuss whether these are the bases for the association of adolescent drinking with increased risks of mental health, substance abuse, and social problems in adulthood. Finally, we discuss both the challenges and successes in the treatment and prevention of adolescent drinking problems. I N THE UNITED States, alcohol involvement sometimes starts but more often escalates between 16 and 20 years of age, when youths are also experiencing dramatic physical, emotional, and social changes. Specifically, a variety of forms of hazardous drinking emerge during middle to late adolescence and, for many youths, these problematic patterns of drinking continue to escalate through 18 to 20 years of age, the period of greatest risk for the onset of an alcohol use disorder (AUD).In seeking to understand youth development and alcohol involvement, it is important to consider all dimensions of functioning, because the interrelated cognitive, biological, social, and affective changes that occur during adolescence not only affect each another but also influence an individual's risk of problem drinking. In particular, the timing, sequence, and synchrony of developmentally specific transitions can affect how well youths master new roles, as well as continuities and discontinuities in their behavior. Therefore, developmental models representing a range of theoretical orientations, including systems theory, behavioral genetics, and developmental psychopathology, hold great promise for advancing our understanding of the processes that underlie adolescent changes, including the emergence of alcohol use and abuse.The need for developmental approaches is underscored by the existence of a consistent body of research showing that the escalation in drinking and the emergence of AUDs in middle and late adolescence have behavioral, social, and biological roots from earlier developmental stages. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly clear that alcohol involvement in adolescence has both short-and long-term effects on health and well-being at later developmental stages. Importantly, the consequences of adolescent drinking seem to differ from those associated with adult drinking, because there is increasing evidence that adolescents are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of heavy alcohol use on both biological and socia...

Substance use changes rapidly during late adolescence and early adulthood. Not coincidentally, this time in the life course is also dense with social role changes, as role changes provide dynamic context for individual developmental change. Using nationally representative, multiwave longitudinal data from age 18 to 28, we examine proximal links between changes in social roles and changes in substance use during the transition to adulthood. We find that changes in family roles, such as marriage, divorce, and parenthood, have clear and consistent associations with changes in substance use. With some notable exceptions, changes in school and work roles have weaker effects on changes in substance use compared to family roles. Changes in socializing (i.e., nights out for fun and recreation) and in religiosity were found to mediate the relationship of social role transitions to substance use. Two time-invariant covariates, socioeconomic background and heavy adolescent substance use, predicted social role status, but did not moderate associations, as within-person links between social roles and substance use were largely equivalent across groups. This paper adds to the cascading effects literature by considering how, within individuals, more proximal variations in school, work, and family roles relate to variations in substance use; and which roles appear to be most influential in precipitating changes in substance use during the transition to adulthood. * The first author gratefully acknowledges support from a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award in Population Research from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K01 HD054467). This paper uses data from the Monitoring the Future study, which is supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA01411; R01 DA016575); the second and other authors gratefully acknowledge support from these grants. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsors.Correspondence can be sent to Jeremy Staff; Department of Sociology; The Pennsylvania State University; 211 Oswald Tower; University Park, PA 16802-6207, jus25@psu.edu; Telephone: (814) At the population level, late adolescence and early adulthood are marked by rapid changes in substance use (Bachman et al., 2002;Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2009b). This time in the life course is also dense with regard to social role transitions (Shanahan, 2000), which provide the dynamic context for individual developmental change. Indeed, from a person-context interaction perspective, many of the individual-level changes can be viewed as a direct function of the social context transitions (Schulenberg, Maggs, & Hurrelmann, 1997); likewise, individual characteristics contribute to selection into different post-high school roles and contexts. Thus, it is not a coincidence that there are rapid changes in substance use at the same time in the life course as multiple social role changes. This empha...

Importance The prevalence of underage alcohol use has been studied extensively but binge drinking among youth in the U.S. is not yet well understood. In particular, adolescents may drink much larger amounts than the threshold (5 drinks) often used in definitions of binge drinking. Delineating various levels of binge drinking, including extreme levels, and understanding predictors of such extreme binge drinking among adolescents will benefit public health efforts. Objective To examine the prevalence and predictors of 5+ binge drinking and of 10+ and 15+ extreme binge drinking among 12th graders in the U.S. Design A non-clinical nationally representative sample. Setting High school seniors in the annual Monitoring the Future study between 2005 and 2011. Participants The sample included 16,332 12th graders (modal age 18) in the U.S. Response rates were 79–85%. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of consuming 5+, 10+, and 15+ drinks in a row in the past two weeks. Results Between 2005 and 2011, 20.2% of high school seniors reported 5+ binge drinking, 10.5% reported 10+ extreme binge drinking, and 5.6% reported 15+ extreme binge drinking in the past 2 weeks. Rates of 5+ binge drinking and 10+ extreme binge drinking have declined since 2005, but rates of 15+ extreme binge drinking have not. Students with college-educated parents were more likely to consume 5+ drinks but less likely to consume 15+ drinks than students whose parents were not college educated. Students from more rural areas were more likely than students from large metropolitan areas to drink 15+ drinks. Socializing with substance-using peers, number of evenings out with friends, substance-related attitudes, and other substance use (cigarettes, marijuana) predicted all three levels of binge and extreme binge drinking. Conclusions Binge drinking at the traditionally defined 5+ drinking level was common among high school seniors representative of all 12th graders in the contiguous U.S. A significant segment of students also reported extreme binge drinking at levels two and three times higher. These data suggest the importance of assessing multiple levels of binge drinking behavior and their predictors among adolescents in order to target effective screening and intervention efforts.

Aims To identify childhood and adolescent predictors of alcohol use and harmful drinking in adolescence and adulthood. Design Longitudinal data from childhood to mid-life from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) were used, including predictors collected at ages 7, 11, 16 years and alcohol outcomes collected at ages 16, 23, 33 and 42 years. Setting The NCDS is an ongoing longitudinal study of a cohort of 1 week's births in Britain in 1958. Participants Childhood and adolescent predictors and alcohol use data from at least one adolescent or adult wave were available from 7883 females and 8126 males. Measurements Social background, family, academic and behavioural predictors measured at ages 7, 11 and 16 years were entered into hierarchical multiple and logistic regressions to predict quantity of alcohol use at ages 16, 23, and 33 years and harmful drinking [i.e. Cut-down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener (CAGE) questionnaire score] by age 42 years. Findings Previous drinking was controlled in final models to predict change. Drinking was heavier among those with greater childhood and adolescent social advantage (especially females), less harmonious family relationships, more social maladjustment, greater academic performance, less internalizing problems, more truancy and earlier school-leaving plans. Conclusions Alcohol use and problems in adulthood can be predicted by indicators of social background, adjustment and behaviour in childhood and adolescence. Results demonstrate that the early roots of adolescent and adult alcohol use behaviours begin in childhood.

Daily covariation of sleep quantity and quality with affective, stressful, academic, and social experiences were observed in a sample of Canadian 17-19-year-olds in their first year of university. Participants (N 5 191) completed web-based checklists for 14 consecutive days during their first semester. Multilevel models predicting sleep quantity and quality from daily experiences indicated that more time on schoolwork, expecting a test, and alcohol use predicted less sleep whereas socializing predicted more sleep. More positive affect and no alcohol use predicted better sleep quality. Models predicting daily experiences from sleep the night before indicated that less sleep preceded increases in negative affect, decreases in schoolwork time, and a higher likelihood of socializing. Better sleep quality preceded increased positive affect, decreased negative affect and stress, and less time on schoolwork. These data are informative for understanding relations between sleep and daily experiences as they occur naturally in first-year university students.

We apply latent transition analysis (LTA) to characterize transitions over time in substance use behavior profiles among first-year college students. Advantages of modeling substance use behavior as a categorical latent variable are demonstrated. Alcohol use (any drinking and binge drinking), cigarette use, and marijuana use were assessed in a sample (N=718) of college students during the fall and spring semesters. Four profiles of 14-day substance use behavior were identified: (1) Non-Users; (2) Cigarette Smokers; (3) Binge Drinkers; and (4) Bingers with Marijuana Use. The most prevalent behavior profile at both times was the Non-Users (with over half of the students having this profile), followed by Binge Drinkers and Bingers with Marijuana Use. Cigarette Smokers was the least prevalent behavior profile. Gender, race/ethnicity, early onset of alcohol use, grades in high school, membership in the honors program, and friendship goals were all significant predictors of substance use behavior profile. Keywords latent transition analysis; college students; substance useThe transition to college is associated with increases in heavy alcohol use (White et al., 2006) and marijuana use (Fromme, Corbin, & Kruse, 2008). Students who attend college engage in more binge drinking (i.e., consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks) and have a higher prevalence of annual and 30-day alcohol use, but do not evidence elevated levels of cigarette, marijuana, or cocaine use compared to their same-age peers who do not attend college (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002). Approximately 40% of college students engage in binge drinking in a 14-day period (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002), and this behavior is associated with well-documented negative consequences (e.g., Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005;Jackson, Sher, & Park, 2006). In addition, college students' tobacco use continues to be a concern, although smoking is less prevalent among college attenders than among non-attenders (Tercyzk, Rodriguesz, & Audrain-McGovern, 2007). Cannabis (i.e., marijuana) use among college students is also associated with substance use disorders and other negative use-related consequences (Caldeira, Arria, O'Grady, Vincent, & Wish, 2008). However, much less research has considered patterns of college students' use of multiple substances and the public health importance of the intersection of these behaviors. A better understanding of substance use behavior and negative consequences and their predictors among college students requires a more holistic NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript treatment of behavior, where use of multiple substances is considered simultaneously. The current study takes a person-centered approach to modeling behavior; we demonstrate the advantages of using latent transition analysis (LTA) to describe behavioral profiles characterized by profiles of alcohol use, binge drinking, cigarette use, and marijuana use across the first year of college. Transitions in subst...

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is an important period for establishing behavioral patterns that affect long-term health and chronic disease risk. Nelson and colleagues speculated that developmental changes and changes in living situation may play an important role in the nutrition and physical activity behaviors of college students. Data from the University Life Study, a longitudinal study of college students that includes web-based surveys administered 14 consecutive days each semester, were used to examine fruit, vegetable, and sugared soda consumption, physical activity, and sedentary activity behaviors across seven semesters. Estimates for each semester were calculated to determine the frequency with which students consumed fruits, vegetables, and sugared soda, engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and engaged in sedentary activities. Four models, estimated with HLM 6.04, were used to predict changes in these behaviors across the seven semesters. Living on or off campus was included to determine if this explained additional variance. Results indicated that few college students consumed fruits and vegetables or exercised at optimal levels during the seven semesters surveyed. Daily fruit and vegetable consumption and daily physical activity declined significantly from the first to the seventh semester. For both of these findings, living off campus exacerbated the problem. Average number of hours of sedentary behaviors declined over time, as did number of days on which at least one sugared soda was consumed. Living location did not explain additional variance in these positive trends. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.