The Role of Social, Familial, and Individual‐Level Factors on Multiple Alcohol Use Outcomes During the First Year of University

• Published in: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research clinical and experimental research, 2017-10, Vol.41 (10), p.1783-1793
• Main Authors: Cooke, Megan E., Neale, Zoe E., Barr, Peter B., Myers, John, Dick, Danielle M., Kendler, Kenneth S., Edwards, Alexis C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictions; Adolescent; Age Factors; Alcohol Addiction Resistance; Alcohol Drinking in College - psychology; Alcohol Problems; Alcohol use; Alcohol-Related Disorders - diagnosis; Alcohol-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Alcohol-Related Disorders - psychology; Autonomy; College Drinking; Demographics; Drinking behavior; Emotional behavior; Environmental factors; Externalizing; Family - psychology; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Motivation; Social Behavior; Social Environment; Teenagers; Time Factors; Universities - trends; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0145-6008; 1530-0277
• DOI: 10.1111/acer.13478

Background The first year of university attendance represents a critical time frame for the development of alcohol use and misuse given changes in autonomy and increased access to alcohol. Prior studies have demonstrated that the establishment of drinking patterns during this period is impacted by an array of demographic, environmental, and familial factors. It is critical to consider such factors jointly, and to understand potentially differential effects on stages of alcohol use/misuse, in order to identify robust predictors that may be targeted in prevention and intervention programming. Methods As part of a longitudinal study, students at a large, public U.S. university were invited to complete online surveys that included questions related to alcohol use, emotional and behavioral health, environmental factors, sociodemographic factors, and familial environment. This study uses data from surveys administered in the fall and spring of the first year of university. We used univariate (maximum N = 7,291) and multivariate (maximum N = 4,788) logistic and linear regressions to evaluate the associations between potential risk and protective factors with 4 alcohol use outcomes: initiation, consumption, problems, and addiction resistance. Results In multivariate models, we observed associations between demographic, social/environmental, and personal‐level predictors with all 4 alcohol outcomes, several of which were consistent across each stage of alcohol use. A deviant high school peer group was one of the strongest predictors of risk across outcomes. The influence of drinking motives and alcohol expectancies varied by alcohol use outcome. Externalizing characteristics were associated with increased risk across outcomes, while internalizing symptoms were associated with more problems and lower addiction resistance. Conclusions These findings underscore the complex network of factors influencing stages of alcohol use during the first year of university. Importantly, these findings demonstrate that the impact of predictors changes across stages of alcohol use/misuse, which presents opportunities for targeted prevention efforts. The current study uses a large (n = 7,291), diverse (50% white) college sample to examine the effect of a wide range of predictors on alcohol initiation, alcohol consumption, alcohol problems, and addiction resistance during the first year of college. Externalizing behaviors, such as antisocial behavior and peer deviance, were associated