The role of goals and alcohol behavior during the transition out of college.

Abstract

Personal goals are desired outcomes that guide behavior (Palfai et al., 2011), and are typically oriented around age-appropriate developmental tasks (e.g., college graduation, employment). Goals and their pursuit take on much salience during senior year of college as individuals prepare for the transition into adult roles. This also is a time during which naturalistic changes in alcohol consumption are occurring. These changes may impact the relationship between age-related goals and their attainment, thus compromising the likelihood of a successful transition out of college. The present study examined whether and how changes in drinking over senior year moderate the association between achievement goals and related developmental task attainment as students move toward transitioning out of college. Alcohol-involved college seniors (N=437; 62.5% female) were assessed via web survey in September of their senior year and again one year later (T4). Results of multinomial logistic regression revealed that greater Achievement Goals were predictive of college graduation (versus remaining a continuing undergraduate), but only for those whose drinking decreased during senior year. Among those graduated by T4 (n=307), Achievement Goals predicted pursuing graduate education (versus being unemployed), but only for students whose drinking increased during senior year. Thus, Achievement Goals are important predictors of goal attainment as students prepare to transition out of college, and these goals can interact with drinking in complex ways during this time. Findings suggest that interventions aimed at bolstering personal goals and reducing drinking during senior year may increase the likelihood of successful transitions out of the college environment.

Drinking, Cigarette Smoking, and Employment Among American College Freshmen at a Four-Year University

“…We were not able to examine parental smoking habits, which may influence students’ smoking; academic performance or perceived stress levels, which may influence both working and substance use; workplace factors like work-school conflict, which can impact college student health (Park & Sprung, 2013); or personal and career goals, which may affect college seniors’ drinking (Radomski, Read, & Bowker, 2015). We could also not address variability in types of, or reasons for, employment.…”

College alcohol beliefs: Measurement invariance, mean differences, and correlations with alcohol use outcomes across sociodemographic groups.

“…For example, over the course of undergraduate experience, students have been found to drink increasingly frequently but engage in decreasing binge drinking episodes (Harford & Muthén, 2001). More junior college students may be more likely to model peers’ alcohol use patterns through an experiential learning process, whereas more advanced students may be more likely to redefine their college identity and drinking habits as they mature and prepare for adult roles after they graduate (Radomski et al, 2015; Russell & Arthur, 2016).…”

“…The beliefs surrounding the centrality of alcohol in college life have been shown to predict students' motives to drink, alcohol consumption, and drinking-related problems in crosssectional and longitudinal studies (Bravo et al, 2018;Crawford & Novak, 2006;Osberg, Insana, Eggert, & Billingsley, 2011). Reduced alcohol use during the last year in college also is associated with greater probability of graduating (Radomski, Read, & Bowker, 2015). Thus, a reliable and robust measure of college alcohol beliefs could be instrumental in identifying students who are at risk for poor mental health and academic adjustment during college and as they transition out of college.…”

College students’ comparative focus on grades, career preparation, and educated citizenry.

“…College students whose life goals include higher levels of meaningfulness are less likely to use marijuana (Wright & Palfai, 2012). In a sample of alcohol-consuming college seniors, as alcohol drinking decreased, their achievement goals predicted on-time graduation (Radomski, Read, & Bowker, 2015).…”