When Do First-Year College Students Drink Most During the Academic Year? An Internet-Based Study of Daily and Weekly Drinking

Tremblay, Paul F.; Graham, Kathryn; Wells, Samantha; Harris, Roma; Pulford, Roseanne; Roberts, Sharon E.

doi:10.1080/07448480903540465

Cited by 87 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous research has demonstrated these fi ndings in convenience samples of fi rst-year college students (Del Boca et al, 2004;Tremblay et al, 2010); however, the current study demonstrated this in a representative sample of drinkers from the general population. Although it is well known through media pieces about drunk driving during the holidays and special enforcement activities targeting those times that alcohol consumption is particularly high around the winter holiday season, this has not been previously quantifi ed.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

“…Previous accounts in college student samples indicating that men and women exhibit similar absolute drinking trajectories, albeit a greater tendency in consuming higher levels of alcohol among men (Tremblay et al, 2010), have also been confi rmed presently in the general population. Such drinking patterns certainly help explain similarities in temporal patterns of alcohol-related consequences among both genders and suggest that intervention and prevention efforts targeting high-risk special events where students engage in heavy drinking on college campuses may be well warranted for the general population (Glassman et al, 2010;Neighbors et al, 2007;Nelson and Wechsler, 2003;Poikolainen et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…College students have been the most examined population of event-specifi c drinking, showing elevated drinking patterns on holidays (New Year's Eve, 4th of July, St. Patrick's Day), on special occasions (21st birthdays and graduation), and at various sporting events (Beets et al, 2009;Greenbaum et al, 2005;Lee et al, 2006;Neighbors et al, 2005Neighbors et al, , 2011Nelson and Wechsler, 2003;Tremblay et al, 2010). Their drinking trajectories have shown that heavy episodic drinking is particularly higher on some events (New Year's Eve, 21st birthday) compared with others and that the number of drinks and proportion of students drinking heavily are much higher during the start of each semester (Del Boca et al, 2004;Nelson and Wechsler, 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Event-Specific Drinking in the General Population

Kushnir

Cunningham

2014

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Objective: It has been well established that college students engage in heavy drinking during specifi c social events; however, within the general population, evidence of event-specifi c drinking has been largely indirect. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the temporal variability in daily alcohol consumption in the winter holiday months among residents of a large metropolitan area. Method: A random-digit-dialing telephone survey was conducted of residents who drank alcohol at least once per month. During a 5-week period beginning December 1, 2009, the number of drinks consumed on each day within the past week was collected for 578 participants. Results: Weekly variation in alcohol consumption peaked on Fridays and Saturdays and was particularly high on Christmas and New Year's Eve. Mean drink consumption was signifi cantly higher on Christmas and New Year's Eve compared with most weekends within the sampling period. Conclusions: The present fi ndings provide the fi rst direct evidence, with temporal specifi city, that alcohol consumption within the general population is highly event specifi c. Targeted intervention strategies similar to those used within college student samples may be appropriate for reducing or preventing alcohol-related harmful events on a population level. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 968-972, 2014)

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Event-Specific Drinking in the General Population

Kushnir

Cunningham

2014

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent research has found that male and female college students report similar rates of alcohol use, perhaps because of evolving norms regarding drinking (Tremblay et al, 2010;Jackson, 2004/2005). The present results indicate that not only did male and female participants report similar rates of drinking behaviors, but they were also equally likely to belong to each of the four drinking classes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Alcohol Use and Related Consequences in Non-College-Attending Emerging Adults

Cleveland

Mallett

White

et al. 2013

J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. Objective: Among emerging adults, those who do not attain postsecondary education are at highest risk for experiencing longterm problems related to alcohol use, including alcohol dependence. The purpose of the current study was to identify latent classes of alcohol users among non-college-attending youth and examine correlates of class membership. Method: Screening criteria were used to select emerging adults between ages 18 and 22 years with no postsecondary education (N = 264) from a prerecruited probability-based Web panel. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify common patterns of alcohol use. Grouping variables and demographic variables were added to the LCA model, and rates of alcohol-related consequences across the LCA classes were compared. Results: Four classes of drinking patterns were identifi ed: (a) current nondrinkers (34%), (b) weekend light drinkers (38%), (c) weekend risky drinkers (23%), and (d) daily drinkers (5%). Class membership was associated with early onset of alcohol use (age 14 or younger), marital status, employment status, and urban residency (area populated by 50,000 or more people). The number of latent classes did not differ across sex and legal drinking age status, although proportions of subjects within classes varied by age. Weekend risky drinkers were most likely to report sickness and feelings of guilt because of drinking, whereas daily drinkers were most likely to report getting into fi ghts, driving a car after drinking, and missing work. Conclusions: Similar to college samples of emerging adults, most of this noncollege sample belonged to latent classes defi ned by rare or moderate alcohol use. Nevertheless, nearly a quarter of the sample reported high-risk drinking behaviors, and a small number reported drinking alcohol on a daily basis. Both of these classes were at elevated risk for experiencing a number of alcohol-related consequences. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 74, 84-93, 2013)

show abstract

“…However, if semester timing did contribute to differences in alcohol use estimates, we would expect that the diet recalls would have captured more frequent alcohol reports. Drinking among college students is usually higher early and mid-semester, and lower around final exams [42], and diet recalls were conducted earlier in the semester, while…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photography-based mobile assessment of alcohol use in young adults: Feasibility and comparison to standard assessment methodology (Preprint)

Fazzino¹,

Martin²,

Forbush³

2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Heavy alcohol use is prevalent among young adults and may contribute to obesity.However, measurement tools for assessing caloric intake from alcohol are limited and rely on self-report, which is prone to biases.Objective: The purpose of the pilot study was to conduct feasibility testing of SmartIntake®, a photo-based smartphone app, to assess alcohol use among young adults. Aims consisted of 1) quantifying the ability of SmartIntake® to capture drinking behavior; 2) assessing app usability with the Computer System Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ); 3) conducting a qualitative interview; and 4) comparing preference, compliance, and alcohol use estimates (calories, grams per drinking episode) between SmartIntake® and online diet recalls that participants completed for a parent study.Methods: College students (N=15) who endorsed a pattern of heavy drinking were recruited from a larger study examining the impact of drinking on weight. Participants used SmartIntake® to send photographs of all alcohol and food intake over a three-day period, and then completed a follow up interview and the CSUQ. CSUQ items range from 1-7, with lower scores indicating greater usability. Total number of drinking occasions was determined by adding the number of drinking occasions captured by SmartIntake® plus the number of drinking occasions participants reported that they missed capturing. Compliance was defined by the number of days participants provided food/beverage photo data through the app, or the number of diet recalls completed.Results: The SmartIntake® app captured 13 of 15 (87%) drinking occasions. Participants rated the app as highly usable in the CSUQ (M= 2.28). Most participants (93%) preferred using SmartIntake® vs. recalls and compliance was significantly higher with SmartIntake® than recalls (93% vs 78%; P= .04). Alcohol grams and calories per drinking occasion were not significantly different between the two methods (P values range .25-.99); however triple the number of participants submitted alcohol reports with SmartIntake® compared to the diet recalls (SmartIntake® 9/15 vs recalls 3/15; P=.06).Conclusions: SmartIntake® was well accepted by college students who drink heavily and captured most drinking occasions. Participants had higher compliance with SmartIntake® compared to diet recalls and triple the number of participants reported alcohol use with SmartIntake®, suggesting this method may be well suited to assessing alcohol use in young adults.

show abstract

When Do First-Year College Students Drink Most During the Academic Year? An Internet-Based Study of Daily and Weekly Drinking

Abstract: The present study provides evidence that periods of high and low alcohol consumption are contingent upon specific events and the time of the year.

Cited by 87 publications

References 19 publications

Event-Specific Drinking in the General Population

Event-Specific Drinking in the General Population

Patterns of Alcohol Use and Related Consequences in Non-College-Attending Emerging Adults

Photography-based mobile assessment of alcohol use in young adults: Feasibility and comparison to standard assessment methodology (Preprint)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About