Schools, students and heavy drinking: a multilevel analysis

Abstract

Using a multilevel approach, this article examines the association of individual and school environment with heavy drinking of high school students. Using data from the 1999 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (a random sample of 2984 students from 72 high schools participated in the survey), our results show (1) that 11% of the total variance in heavy drinking is situated at the school level, (2) that both student and school characteristics are predictive of heavy drinking, and (3) that the effect of both school and student variables are additive. Policies addressing students excessive drinking will be more beneficial by jointly targeting both student and school risk factors.

Ethnic composition of schools affects episodic heavy drinking only in ethnic‐minority students

“…In other words, students within a particular school were notably more similar with regard to their alcohol use behaviour compared to other students within the total population, thus justifying a multi‐level approach. This finding is largely in line with the results of two other studies, both finding that 10% of the variation in (heavy) alcohol use was at the school level (versus 8.5% in the present study) [13,21].…”

“…Three studies were found that tested this hypothesis directly. In these studies school‐level disapproval of (heavy) drinking (aggregated result of students' perceptions of alcohol use) lowered the probability of students' (heavy) drinking [12–14]. Kairouz & Adlaf [13] found additionally that the mean perception of drinking harmfulness and the mean exposure to alcohol in the student body of a school were also predictive of individual‐level alcohol use among students attending that school.…”

“…In these studies school‐level disapproval of (heavy) drinking (aggregated result of students' perceptions of alcohol use) lowered the probability of students' (heavy) drinking [12–14]. Kairouz & Adlaf [13] found additionally that the mean perception of drinking harmfulness and the mean exposure to alcohol in the student body of a school were also predictive of individual‐level alcohol use among students attending that school. Indirect support for the contagion model was found in a Norwegian study, which found that a higher percentage of immigrant students in a school was associated with less drinking among the student population, in particular among those with an ethnic Norwegian background (the majority group) and among immigrant girls [16].…”

Systematic review of the effects of schools and school environment interventions on health: evidence mapping and synthesis

“…These were cited in a total of 38 reports 53,56,57, . The theories most commonly cited in empirical reports were ecological systems theory 68,75,77,78,80,83,85,90,96 (n=10), social control theory 71,73,80,82,97 (n=6), social disorganisation theory 70,79,88,89,97 (n=5), social learning theory 71,76,81,94 (n=4), the theory of human functioning and school organisation 53,[64][65][66]95 (n=5) and social cognitive theory 63,76,77,83 (n=4).…”

Stress and Alcohol Use Among College Students: A Case of Molepolole College Students

“…Another study by Nkowane, Rocha-Silva, Saxena, Mbatia, Ndubani and Wier-Smith (2004) investigated psychoactive substance use among young people in South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia (age [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The sample for the study was drawn from both rural and urban populations and it included participants from a college, a mental health center, and a human services research council.…”