Theory of Planned Behavior-Based Predictors of High-Intensity Drinking Behavior among Undergraduate Students during College Home Football Games

Each year excessive alcohol use costs the United States (US) economy $250 billion and results in 95,000 deaths. Binge drinking is a form of excessive alcohol use and accounts for over 70% of these statistics. High-intensity drinking (HID), an extreme measure of binge drinking, is operationally defined as drinking twice the gender-specific binge drinking threshold; 8+ standard alcoholic drinks for women and 10+ standard alcoholic drinks for men throughout one drinking occasion. Undergraduate students have a higher prevalence of HID than other demographics which results in more negative alcohol related consequences. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) were associated with HID among undergraduate students throughout their Game Day experience. An online, theory of planned behavior-based instrument predicting HID was delivered to a cross-sectional convenience sample of undergraduate students attending a southeastern university that watched home college football games at various locations throughout the 2022-2023 football season. The instrument was operationalized by modifying previous items validated from two surveys that measured drinking in college students. A total of 444 individuals met the HID eligibility requirements. A majority were females (56.3%), white (92.6%), and had a mean age of 20.20 years old. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients revealed TPB relationships with behavioral intention for females (ATT: [rho] = 0.646; SN: [rho] = 0.300; PBC: [rho] = 0.516) and males (ATT: [rho] = 0.606; SN: [rho] = 0.324; PBC: [rho] = 0.205). Gender based multiple regression analyses revealed the female model (R[superscript 2] = 0.48) explained more variance than males (R[superscript 2] = 0.39). The three predictors regressed on BI resulted in ATT ([beta] = 0.53, t = 9.70, p < 0.007) and PBC ([beta] = 0.27, t = 5.19, p < 0.001) being significant for females and ATT ([beta] = 0.60, t = 5.02, p < 0.001) for males. A common theme of excessive alcohol consumption utilizing TPB explaining 44% of the variance on intention was explored. Future researchers need to analyze the gender differences of undergraduate college students HID at celebratory events. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]