Drinking among College Students in New England; Extent, Social Correlates and Consequences of Alcohol Use

Abstract

The extent, social correlates and consequences of drinking were examined in a mail questionnaire survey of 7083 students (3898 women) attending 34 New England colleges. Fewer than 5% of both men and women students said that they did not drink in the past year. Drinking at least once a week was reported by 69% of the men and 50% of the women and both men and women tended to drink more frequently as they progressed in college. Men exceeded women in both frequency and quantity of drinking, particularly of beer: more than twice as many men as women reported drinking beer on a weekly basis and usually consuming 4 or more cans or bottles at 1 sitting. Although similar proportions of both sexes were abstainers (3.4% of men and 4% of women), nearly 3 times as many men (29%) as women (11%) were classified as frequent-heavy drinkers. More than 1/3 of the men, compared with 1/6 of the women, reported getting drunk at least once a month, and many more men than women reported negative consequences of drinking such as trouble with authorities, physical fights and accidents. Correlations were found between drinking and race, religion, frequency of attendance at religious services, social class, academic achievement and other factors such as cigarette smoking and use of cannabis and other drugs. Parental drinking practices had a significant influence on drinking by college students. Abstainers were more likely than drinkers to report that their fathers and mothers were nondrinkers, and proportionately more students in the heavy drinking than in the other categories described their fathers as heavy or problem drinkers. The factor most strongly related to drinking in college was the frequency of drinking in high school. Over 90% of the men and women drank before entering college. Only 8% of the men and 3% of the women who were abstainers in high school became frequent-heavy drinkers in college, compared with 50 and 27% who reported drinking 1 or more times a week in high school. Apparently alcohol education should begin in the elementary or secondary school.