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Objective : To develop a shortened form of the Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test 1 (YAAPST; original length = 27 items) using a novel combinatorial approach. Participants : 489 college freshmen, half of whom were above average risk for alcohol use disorder based upon family history, attending a large, Midwestern University followed prospectively for 16-17 years across 7 measurement occasions (waves). Methods : Using an exhaustive combinatorial approach, we evaluated all possible combinations of questions and questionnaire length. Each candidate short-form was evaluated using part-whole correlations, alpha coefficients, and polyserial correlations with DSM-III criteria. Results : The 12-item scale, the Brief-YAAPST, was chosen as the best candidate short-form as this scale had the fewest items while maintaining strong reliability and validity. Conclusions : Complete enumeration optimization effectively produced a 12-item short form with minimal loss of reliability and validity making the Brief-YAAPST a desirable assessment alternative when there are concerns about participant or client burden.

Tailgating drinking prior to a football game is a type of event-specific drinking associated with increased alcohol use and related problems. Personalized drinking feedback interventions (PFI) are efficacious in reducing alcohol use and problems. The current study aimed to advance understanding of event-specific interventions by examining: (1) the efficacy of an event-specific, text message PFI on tailgating alcohol outcomes, and (2) the extent to which intervention effects generalize to "typical" alcohol outcomes at 1-month follow-up. College students (N = 130; 71% female; 92% white) who reported tailgating within the past 30 days and binge drinking when tailgating in the past year completed assessments on tailgating and typical alcohol use. They were randomly assigned to one of two text message conditions delivered on the morning of a home football game: event-specific PFI (TXT PFI) or a control condition. Multilevel modeling examined the association of treatment condition on tailgating and 1-month alcohol outcomes. When tailgating, participants in TXT PFI reported lower estimated peak blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) and consumed less drinks than the control condition. At the 1-month "typical" drinking follow-up, participants in TXT PFI reported lower peak eBAC and fewer alcohol-related problems than the control condition. Perceived tailgating drinking norms were found to statistically mediate the relationship between condition and alcohol outcome at tailgating and 1-month follow-ups. Findings provide preliminary support for the efficacy of an event-specific, text message PFI in reducing both tailgating and typical drinking alcohol outcomes. Event-specific TXT PFI can be used for prevention/intervention of alcohol misuse.

There is some evidence that college student drinkers may continue drinking in the face of adverse consequences. We examined 2 hypotheses: (a) that this seemingly pathological behavior is a phenomenon of university life, occurring with consistency throughout the entirety of college, and (b) that individuals accumulate these consequences over multiple semesters in college. A sample of 3,720 students from a large Midwestern university was asked to complete surveys the summer before college and every semester thereafter for 4 years. Results showed that certain drinking-related consequences (e.g., blackouts, regretted sexual experiences) consistently predicted continued frequent heavy drinking in the following semester, even after controlling for sex, race, age, and previous-semester frequent heavy drinking (range of odds ratio = 1.17 to 1.45 across semesters, p < .01). Such potent consequences may predict subsequent drinking for a number of possible reasons that may be examined and addressed as they would pertain to specific protective behavioral strategy-related and cognitive interventions. Furthermore, consequences were accumulated over multiple semesters by notable proportions of students. For example, 13.8% of students reported blacking out 5 time-points or more--describing a full half or more of their college careers. Experimental studies which aim to modify students' perceptions of norms associated with these consequences may aid in developing interventions to reduce the burden of harm to students. In the broader context, and given the prevalence of students' accumulation of consequences, future study might aim to determine how and in what ways these findings describe either pathological or normative processes.

Background: Examining the natural language college students use to describe various levels of intoxication can provide important insight into subjective perceptions of college alcohol use. Previous research (Levitt et al., Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2009; 33: 448) has shown that intoxication terms reflect moderate and heavy levels of intoxication and that self-use of these terms differs by gender among college students. However, it is still unknown whether these terms similarly apply to other individuals and, if so, whether similar gender differences exist., Methods: To address these issues, the current study examined the application of intoxication terms to characters in experimentally manipulated vignettes of naturalistic drinking situations within a sample of university undergraduates (n = 145)., Results: Findings supported and extended previous research by showing that other-directed applications of intoxication terms are similar to self-directed applications and depend on the gender of both the target and the user. Specifically, moderate intoxication terms were applied to and from women more than men, even when the character was heavily intoxicated, whereas heavy intoxication terms were applied to and from men more than women., Conclusions: The findings suggest that gender differences in the application of intoxication terms are other-directed as well as self-directed and that intoxication language can inform gender-specific prevention and intervention efforts targeting problematic alcohol use among college students., (Copyright © 2013 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.)

Objective: Cross-sectional data show that college athletes consume more alcohol and experience more general alcohol-related problems than those not participating in athletics. To our knowledge, the current study is the first to use a longitudinal design to examine the extent to which the course of drinking and alcohol-related problems relates to involvement in intercollegiate athletics, including transitioning into and out of athletic involvement., Method: Participants were drawn from a sample of 3,720 college students from the Intensive Multivariate Prospective Alcohol College-Transitions Study who completed a survey every semester through their fourth year. Four groups were created based on athletic involvement status at baseline (freshman year) and follow-up (senior year): nonathlete, nonathlete (no reported athletic involvement at either time point), nonathlete, athlete (nonathlete at freshman year, athlete at senior year), athlete, nonathlete (athlete at freshman year, nonathlete at senior year), and athlete, athlete (athlete at freshman year, athlete at senior year)., Results: A series of repeated measures analyses were then conducted to test for developmental differences among the athlete groups involving alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Although findings differed as a function of alcohol outcome and comparison among various groups with differing athletic involvement, the general pattern of results showed that individuals who were more athletically involved demonstrated sharper increases in problem drinking (i.e., heavy drinking, frequency of intoxication, alcohol-related problems) during the college years., Conclusions: These findings highlight the apparent risk associated with participation in intercollegiate athletics on college drinking.

Twenty-first birthday celebrations often involve dangerously high levels of alcohol consumption, yet little is known about risk factors for excessive drinking on this occasion. Participants (N = 150) from a larger prospective study who consumed at least one drink during their celebration completed questionnaires and semistructured interviews about their 21st birthday within four days after the event. Assessments were designed to characterize 21st birthday alcohol use, adjusted for alcohol content, as well as situational/contextual factors (e.g., celebration location, peer influence) that contribute to event-level drinking. Participants reported an average of 10.85 drinks (9.76 adjusted drinks), with experienced drinkers consuming significantly more than relatively naïve drinkers who had no previous binge or drunken episodes. Men consumed more drinks, whereas age of first drunken episode and heavier drinking during the 3-months preceding the 21st birthday predicted higher estimated blood alcohol concentrations (eBACs) on the 21st birthday. Celebrating in bars and engaging in birthday-specific drinking traditions (free drinks at bars) explained additional variance in 21st birthday eBACs. Both physical consequences (e.g., blacking out or having a hangover) and behavioral risks (e.g., sexually provocative behaviors) were prevalent and were predicted by higher eBACs. Together these findings indicate that 21st birthday celebrations are associated with heavy drinking and a variety of physical consequences and behavioral risks.

Aims: Alcohol tolerance is a hallmark indicator of alcohol dependence. Even so, the allure of peers' admiration for having the ability to drink heavily may lead some adolescents and young adults to practice, or 'train', to increase their tolerance (particularly at US colleges, where heavy drinking is highly prevalent and central to the social culture). This is a potential health hazard that has not been documented empirically. Thus, we initiated a study of tolerance 'training' and its association to risky and heavy drinking., Design, Setting and Participants: A cross-sectional online survey of 990 college student life-time drinkers at a large Midwestern US university., Findings: Of the sample, 9.9% (n = 97) reported deliberately 'training' to increase tolerance. On average, they reported increasing from approximately seven to 10 US standard drinks in a night prior to 'training' to 12-15 drinks at the end of 'training,' over approximately 2-3 weeks' duration. Although the proportion of frequent binge drinking among 'non-trainers' (34.4%) was similar to national rates, 'trainers' were much more likely to be frequent bingers (76.3%; OR = 6.15)., Conclusions: A number of students report deliberately inducing alcohol tolerance, probably directly increasing the risk for alcohol poisoning and other acute harms and/or dependence. This phenomenon might additionally be applicable to other populations, and deserves further study and attention as a potential personal and public health risk. Prevention efforts might aim to reduce the perceived importance of heavy-drinking abilities., (© 2010 The Authors, Addiction © 2010 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Epidemiological data indicate a robust association between smoking and alcohol use. However, a critical question that is less resolved is the extent to which the smoking event takes place during the time of alcohol consumption. The present study used data from an 8-week prospective web-based study of college student smokers to examine daily associations between smoking and alcohol use, using measures of both likelihood and level of use. Findings indicated that consumption of alcohol and smoking covaried on a daily basis per person. In addition, consistent with the idea of smoking as a social activity for college students, light smokers were more likely than heavier smokers to smoke while drinking and to smoke more cigarettes while drinking. Smoking behavior among light smokers may be influenced by external social contextual cues, in contrast to heavier smokers who may be more affected by internal cues. Implications of findings for prevention work suggest the importance of targeting social situations in which smoking and drinking co-occur.

Fake IDs are highly prevalent among underage college students, and are strongly associated with heavy drinking. However it is not currently known how exactly fake IDs are most commonly obtained and used, and how often individuals are caught. Such information could aid law enforcement and school personnel in their enforcement responsibilities, and might further elucidate the extent and means by which students "make ethical compromises" to gain illegal access to alcohol. A cross-sectional online survey of 1098 underage students at a large Midwestern university indicated that comparable to previous findings, 21.0% reported possessing a fake ID (which was strongly associated with past-month frequent heavy drinking; OR=4.84, 95% CI=3.41-6.86). Of those with fake IDs, 93.5% reported having used them, and 29.1% reported having been caught. Greek (i.e., fraternity/sorority) members were more likely than others to obtain them through a Greek organization (OR=8.02, 95% CI=1.81-35.54). Also, men were more likely than women to buy (OR=2.74, 95% CI=1.57-4.77), yet less likely to be given them (OR=0.53, 95% CI=0.31-0.90). Future studies might examine whether and how fake ID capture reduces (or exacerbates) drinking over time., (2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Risky drinking among college students differs as a function of living types, with living at Greek houses as a major risk factor. Both self-selection based on prior drinking and socialization through living environments have been shown to account for this association. However, it is not clear whether selection and socialization processes occur as a function of specific living units within living types. Multilevel models using a prospective sample of incoming college students (N = 2,392) demonstrated that (1) precollege drinking based selection into specific living units occurred within both fraternity houses and residence halls (beyond selection into the Greek system in general) and (2) socialization of extremely risky drinking among certain fraternity houses was greater than other houses (beyond greater socialization of living at fraternity houses than residence halls in general). Living unit-level precollege correlates (i.e., college attendance motives and cigarette use) and college correlates (i.e., peer drinking norms and alcohol availability) accounted for most of the selection and socialization effects. These findings highlight the importance of micro-environments associated with specific living units in risky drinking during the college transition., (2009 APA, all rights reserved.)

Aims: To investigate which clusters of gambling activities exist within a longitudinal study of college health, how membership in gambling clusters change over time and whether particular clusters of gambling are associated with unhealthy risk behaviour., Design: Four-year longitudinal study (2002-2006)., Setting: Large, public university., Participants: Undergraduate college students., Measurements: Ten common gambling activities were measured during 4 consecutive college years (years 1-4). Clusters of gambling activities were examined using latent class analyses. Relations between gambling clusters and gender, Greek membership, alcohol use, drug use, personality indicators of behavioural undercontrol and psychological distress were examined., Findings: Four latent gambling classes were identified: (1) a low-gambling class, (2) a card gambling class, (3) a casino/slots gambling class and (4) an extensive gambling class. Over the first college years a high probability of transitioning from the low-gambling class and the card gambling class into the casino/slots gambling class was present. Membership in the card, casino/slots and extensive gambling classes were associated with higher scores on alcohol/drug use, novelty seeking and self-identified gambling problems compared to the low-gambling class. The extensive gambling class scored higher than the other gambling classes on risk factors., Conclusions: Extensive gamblers and card gamblers are at higher risk for problem gambling and other risky health behaviours. Prospective examinations of class membership suggested that being in the extensive and the low gambling classes was highly stable across the 4 years of college.

Objective: Heavy episodic drinking remains a significant problem on college campuses. Although most interventions for college students are behavioral, pharmacological treatments, such as naltrexone, could provide additional options., Participants: The authors evaluated receptivity to various alcohol treatment options in a general population of college student drinkers (N = 2,084), assessed in 2005., Methods: The authors asked participants to indicate which of 8 treatment options (ie, self-help book, self-help computer program, self-help group, group therapy, individual therapy, monthly injection, targeted oral medication, or daily oral medication) they would be willing to consider if they were going to cut down on or stop drinking., Results: Over 50% of drinkers expressed receptiveness to self-help options or psychotherapy options, and over 25% of drinkers expressed receptiveness to medication options., Conclusions: Increasing treatment options for students interested in reducing or stopping drinking by offering pharmacological interventions such as naltrexone could provide an important unmet need among college students.

Heavy drinkers prior to college have been shown to increase their drinking in college via their self-selection into the Greek societies and subsequent Greek influence on their drinking. This study characterized the dual mechanisms underlying these processes: (a) the Greek selection on the basis of personality and precollege drinking and (b) the Greek influence through alcohol-conducive environmental factors. Prospective data obtained in the summer prior to college and over the first 6 semesters of college (N = 3,099) indicated strong precollege drinking-based selection, strong initial influence immediately after college entrance, and sustained influence afterward. Impulsivity/novelty seeking was associated with Greek affiliation both directly and indirectly via precollege drinking, whereas extraversion and neuroticism were associated with Greek affiliation largely independent of precollege drinking. Greek affiliation was related to higher levels of drinking norms immediately after college entrance and alcohol availability by the sophomore year, but not afterward, after controlling for prior drinking. Findings highlight the diverse mechanisms underlying accentuation of risky drinking over the transition to college and during the college years, through dynamic interplay between individuals and high-risk environments.

Research shows high comorbidity between Cluster B Personality Disorders (PDs) and Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs). Studies of personality traits and alcohol use have identified coping and enhancement drinking motives as mediators of the relation among impulsivity, negative affectivity or affectivity instability, and alcohol use. To the extent that certain PDs reflect extreme expression of these traits, drinking motives were hypothesized to mediate the relation between PD symptoms and presence/absence of an alcohol use disorder (AUD). This hypothesis was tested using a series of cross-sectional and prospective path models estimating the extent that coping and enhancement drinking motives mediated the relation between cluster A, B, and C PD symptom counts and AUD diagnosis among a sample of 168 young adults between ages 18 and 21. Enhancement motives mediated the cross-sectional relation between Cluster B symptoms and AUD. Prospectively, enhancement motives partially mediated the relation between Cluster B personality symptoms and AUD through the stability of Year 1 AUD to Year 3 AUD. Results suggest that enhancement motives may be especially important in understanding the relation between Cluster B personality disorders and AUDs.

This study aimed to resolve the direction of the relation between Greek affiliation and substance use by taking advantage of the quasi-experimental nature of change in college fraternity/sorority affiliation. Precollege individual differences and college substance use were examined as a function of time-varying Greek status to characterize self-selection (by which heavy substance users opt into Greek systems) and socialization (by which Greek systems foster heavy substance use). Prospective data on continuously enrolled college students (N=2,376), assessed at precollege and in the first 6 semesters of college, were used. Latent class analysis indicated 4 discrete groups of status: constant Greek members (30%), constant nonmembers (64%), late joiners (2%), and droppers (4%). Random coefficient models demonstrated disaffiliation with Greek systems is associated with decreases in risky drinking and alcohol-conducive environmental factors (peer norms and alcohol availability), whereas affiliation is associated with increases, indicating Greek socialization via sociocognitive and physical environments. Future Greeks differed from nonmembers in diverse individual characteristics and heavier substance use at precollege, suggesting multiple selection paths into Greek systems. Findings suggest a reciprocal relation between Greek environment and individuals in determining the trajectories of college drinking and heterogeneity in drinking as functions of changes in Greek affiliation., (2008 APA)

Despite public recognition of the hazards of 21st birthday drinking, there is little empirical information concerning its prevalence, severity, and risk factors. Data from a sample of 2,518 college students suggest that 21st birthday drinking poses an extreme danger: (a) 4 of every 5 participants (83%) reported drinking to celebrate, (b) birthday drinkers indicated high levels of consumption, (c) 12% of birthday drinkers (men and women) reported consuming 21 drinks, and (d) about half of birthday drinkers exceeded their prior maximum number of drinks. Current problematic alcohol involvement and its typical correlates strongly predicted both the occurrence and severity of 21st birthday drinking. It is imperative that investigators consider a variety of potential interventions to minimize the harm associated with this rite of passage., ((c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

The present study investigated social influence and selection explanations for the association between frequency of heavy drinking and perceived peer alcohol involvement in emerging and early adulthood. Participants were 489 young adults recruited from a university setting who were taking part in an 11-year longitudinal study, which includes 6 waves of data. Piecewise latent growth curve analyses indicated that patterns of change from ages 18 to 30 for both frequency of heavy drinking and perceived peer alcohol involvement are best represented by two distinct developmental periods (i.e., college and post-college years). Several models were compared to identify a framework that yielded the best estimates of influence and selection effects. Evidence suggests that selection mechanisms may best account for the relation between frequency of heavy drinking and perceived peer alcohol involvement especially during the post-college years.

Objective: This study examined the relationship between spring break vacation and changes in alcohol consumption among college students. Analyses also examined the effects of spring break activity (vacationing with friends, visiting parents, staying in college town, etc.) and selection (i.e., whether heavy drinkers are more likely to vacation with friends) on the spring break/alcohol consumption relationship., Method: Participants were 3,720 students (46% male; 90% white; mean age = 17.96) at a large midwestern university. Students were contacted during the fall and spring of their freshman, sophomore, and junior years and were asked to complete online surveys assessing (1) their typical alcohol use, (2) their alcohol use during spring break week, and (3) the activities they engaged in during spring break week., Results: Students who vacationed with friends during spring break dramatically increased their alcohol use. In contrast, students who stayed home or vacationed with parents during spring break were at low risk for excessive alcohol use., Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for targeted drinking interventions geared specifically toward students taking trips with friends. Findings also highlight the need for further research into both person and environmental variables that predict increases in drinking during spring break.

Background: For many college students, Friday class schedules may contribute to weekend-like drinking behaviors beginning on Thursday. This study characterizes college students' daily alcohol consumption patterns and the relation between Thursday drinking and Friday classes overall and for specific vulnerable groups., Methods: A sample of 3,341 volunteer participants was drawn from 3,713 eligible first-time undergraduates (56% female, 90% non-Hispanic white). Eligible participation rates ranged from 66.5 to 74.0% across follow-ups; 90% contributed data at for least one follow-up. Precollege survey and web-based surveys administered in the fall and spring semesters across 4 years of college were merged with student academic transcripts and university academic schedules at a large Midwestern public university. The main outcome measures included past 7-day self-reports of drinking behavior for each of 8 semesters., Results: Excessive drinking on Thursday, relative to other weekdays, was found and was moderated by Friday class schedule: hierarchical linear models indicated that students with no Friday classes drank approximately twice as much on Thursdays as students with early Friday classes (i.e., mean drinks=1.24 for students with early Friday class vs 2.41 for students with no Friday class). Students who had classes beginning at 12 pm. or later consumed similar amounts as those with no Friday classes (M=2.52). The magnitude of the Friday class effect was comparatively larger among males and among those who were members of the Greek system or participated in Greek activities. Ancillary analyses based on the subset of students who showed within-subject variability in Friday classes across semesters (i.e., had both early and late or no Friday classes) produced findings similar to those based on the entire sample. Little evidence was found for compensatory drinking on Friday and Saturday among those with early Friday classes., Conclusions: Rates and amounts of alcohol consumption on Thursday are high, although they appear to be influenced by the presence and timing of Friday classes. Friday classes, especially those before 10 am, may reduce excessive drinking. Controlled institutional interventions are suggested to provide definitive research on the causal status of these ostensibly strong effects. This research provides a strong rationale for conducting such research.

Parents, public health officials, college personnel, and society at-large continue to be concerned about the increase in heavy drinking that occurs across the transition to college, prompting alcohol researchers to continue the search for effective interventions. In this report we use data from a large (N=3720) prospective study to (1) estimate how predictable heavy drinking in the first semester of college is on the basis of information obtained prior to college and (2) identify precollege variables that are important predictors of heavy drinking in the first semester. We found that first-semester heavy drinking is highly predictable, primarily because of continuity from precollege heavy drinking, but also from precollege peer drinking norms, precollege other substance use (esp. tobacco use), and precollege party motivation for attending college. These findings have implications for both the timing and targets of interventions. Interventions timed to occur prior to college and/or in the early months of college may disrupt the momentum of previously established drinking behavior. Furthermore, interventions may be most effective if they target conjoint alcohol and tobacco use, college party motivation, and self-selection into heavy-drinking social environments.

College students are at risk for problematic alcohol use. Few studies, however, have examined alcohol dependence symptoms within a college sample. The current study assesses the prevalence, predictors, and stability of proxy Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) alcohol dependence symptoms among college freshmen. Participants were 3,720 freshmen taking part in a longitudinal study. Participants completed measures of alcohol use, fraternity and sorority membership, and behavioral undercontrol. Results revealed that alcohol dependence symptoms were prevalent and moderately stable among college freshmen. Both membership in a Greek organization and behavioral undercontrol predicted responses to our alcohol dependence proxy. In addition, Greek status interacted with behavioral undercontrol to predict alcohol dependence symptoms, such that Greek members high in behavioral undercontrol were especially vulnerable to symptoms of dependence.

The association of college attendance with alcohol use and alcohol use disorders was examined in a population-based young adult female twin sample identified from a systematic search of birth records. College-attending women consumed a larger overall volume of alcohol than did their non-college-attending peers, but they were not more likely to be diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder. Significant associations between college attendance and alcohol involvement were probed using 3 different complementary research designs: multivariate cross-sectional analyses, longitudinal analyses of the precollege and college years, and cotwin-control analyses of twin pairs discordant for attending college. Although demographic and lifestyle characteristics accounted for most or all of the association between college attendance and alcohol involvement, there was 1 aspect of drinking behavior, occasionally consuming large quantities of alcohol, that remained significantly associated with college attendance even after controlling for these characteristics or for genetic and family background factors. These results are consistent with the conclusion that some aspect of the college experience may be an important environmental risk factor for this pattern of drinking among young adults., (Copyright 2004 APA.)

Although affiliation with a fraternity or sorority is an important risk factor for heavy drinking, recent research indicates that this risk may be limited to the college years. Random coefficient growth modeling was used to track changes in patterns of heavy drinking over the course of 11 years as a function of gender and collegiate Greek involvement (N=318). Overall, greater cumulative exposure to the Greek system led to increased heavy drinking during the college years, particularly among men. Shortly after leaving college, heavy drinking levels dropped markedly and remained low through approximately age 30. Inclusion of peer alcohol use norms in the model reduced the influence of Greek involvement. Implications for models of heavy drinking and health risks are discussed.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between stress (defined alternatively as negative life events and emotional distress) and heavy drinking across late adolescence and early young adulthood, as well as the roles of tension-reduction drinking motives and gender as moderators of that relationship. The role of personality variables (neuroticism, behavioral undercontrol and extraversion) as moderators also was explored., Method: The data were obtained from 485 individuals (255 women) participating in a five-wave longitudinal study that spanned 7 years. The effects on heavy drinking of stress (either negative life events or emotional distress), tension-reduction drinking motives, gender and personality were analyzed each year with hierarchical multiple regression., Results: Stress (negative life events) was positively related to heavy drinking, but only for men with stronger tension-reduction drinking motives at Year 4 (age 21). The relationship between tension-reduction drinking motives and heavy drinking was positive, developmentally graded, and moderated by gender, after the freshman year, the role of tension-reduction drinking motives in heavy drinking became less important for women, relative to men, a trend that grew stronger after the college years. Behavioral undercontrol played a limited role in the relationship of gender and tension-reduction drinking motives to heavy drinking., Conclusions: The findings have implications for theories of stress-related and stress-motivated drinking. Such theories should consider developmental processes, particularly the transition to adult drinking status at age 21 and the roles of tension-reduction drinking motives, gender and behavioral undercontrol.

This study sought to determine whether the well-established relation between fraternity/sorority (Greek) membership and heavy alcohol use persists beyond the college years and whether some common third variables might account for the relation between Greek status and heavy drinking. During each of 4 years of college and 1 additional year, young adults (N = 319) completed measures of alcohol use, personality, alcohol expectancies, and environmental influences on drinking. Throughout the college years, Greeks consistently drank more heavily than non-Greeks. Statistically controlling for previous alcohol use did not eliminate this effect. However, Greek status did not predict postcollege heavy drinking levels. Also, perceived peer norms for heavy drinking mediated the relation between Greek affiliation and heavy alcohol use. Results are discussed in terms of situational determinants of heavy alcohol involvement in young adults.

Objective: Recent research has highlighted the magnitude of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems on college campuses. However, the effects of alcohol use and abuse during the college years on early adult role attainment are not well characterized. Accordingly, this study was designed to prospectively examine relations between alcohol involvement during the college years and early adult educational and occupational attainment., Method: Participants (N = 429: 231 women) at low and high risk for the development of alcoholism were recruited at a large midwestern university for a study of alcohol and health during the college years. Alcohol involvement was assessed by self-report and structured clinical interviews conducted annually for 4 years. Educational and occupational attainment were assessed by self-report 6 years postmatriculation., Results: Alcohol involvement demonstrated a modest prospective effect on educational attainment, with a reduced effect observed when analyses controlled for academic aptitude and high school academic achievement. Prior academic achievement moderated the relation between alcohol involvement and educational attainment, such that individuals who were higher on secondary school class ranking were more negatively affected by pathologic alcohol involvement than those with lower levels of prior academic achievement. Less consistent evidence was found for prospective relations between alcohol involvement and early adult occupational attainment., Conclusions: These findings indicate a modest role for alcohol involvement in negative educational outcomes, with a more pronounced negative effect of alcohol involvement on educational attainment among those who were high academic performers in high school.

Objective: The present article examines the relation of problematic alcohol use to collegiate academic problems based on a systematic assessment of problematic alcohol use and college transcript data. The degree to which this prospective association can be explained by reference to third variables is also explored. These third variables include: students' high school academic achievement and aptitude, concurrent drug use, participation in deviant behaviors and students' investment or participation in the college experience., Method: A sample of 444 (240 female) college freshman recruited for a longitudinal study of alcohol use was followed for 6 years. Alcohol and drug involvement, general deviance, academic investment, campus involvement and several background variables were assessed during the freshman year. Additional measures of high school aptitude and achievement as well as collegiate performance were calculated based on college transcript data from all institutions attended., Results: A latent variable structural equation model revealed that problematic alcohol use during the freshman year correlated +.32 with collegiate academic problems. No evidence was found for a unique association between the two constructs when additional constructs were included in the model. Specifically, the association was substantially reduced when preexisting student differences traditionally associated with academic failure in college were taken into account. The inclusion of concurrent drug use and deviance also resulted in a significant reduction in the magnitude of the association., Conclusions: Although a substantial bivariate association exists between problematic alcohol use and academic problems during college, much of this association appears attributable to preexisting student differences on admission to college.

Alcohol abuse among college students is prevalent, yet few instruments with sound reliability and validity are available to assess these problems in this population. As part of a large, baseline assessment battery for a prospective study of offspring of alcoholics, the 27-item Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test (YAAPST) was given to 490 freshmen at a large midwestern university; approximately 9 months later, 482 subjects completed the scale again. In addition to asking about such traditional problems as experiencing blackouts and driving while intoxicated, the YAAPST included specific items relating to college experiences (eg, getting into sexual situations that were later regretted, missing classes, and receiving lower grades than usual). The YAAPST was designed to assess these drinking consequences over two different time frames, lifetime and past year, and also to indicate the frequency of occurrence during the past year. Results indicated that the YAAPST is a unidimensional scale with good psychometric properties (good internal consistency and test-retest reliability). Three different approaches were used to demonstrate the validity of the YAAPST. Findings supported criterion validity (with interview-based alcohol abuse/dependence diagnoses as the criterion), concurrent validity (comparing the YAAPST with other drinking measures), and construct validity (correlating the YAAPST with etiologically relevant personality, motivational, and peer influence variables). The YAAPST is a promising screening instrument for alcohol problems in college students. It has excellent psychometric properties and the potential to provide a range of useful information to the clinician or researcher.