Environmental Predictors Of Heavy Episodic Drinking - in college students - Statistical Data Included

American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, May, 2001 by John D. Clapp, Audrey M. Shillington

In a recent study, Clapp and associates (8) were able to collect detailed information from 110 heavy episodic drinkers about their most recent heavy drinking event. Slightly less than half (47.3%) of these events resulted in a self-reported problem for the drinker. Respondents typically reported that their last heavy episodic drinking event was large (median = 10 people), lasted slightly more than 5 hours, and was on a weekend. On average, students reported drinking slightly more than 8 drinks (standard deviation [SD] = 3.0) on the last heavy episodic drinking event. Men (55.5%) reported more heavy episodic drinking events than did women (44.5%). Furthermore, it was also found that parties, dates, and socializing were the most common occasions associated with respondents' last heavy drinking events. These events were almost evenly split between public (42.2% bars and restaurants) and private (43.1% homes) contexts, with women drinking slightly more in a public setting than in a private setting. In their most recent heavy episodic drinking event, students most often drank with friends (either from school or not) and their partner/spouse. Most events had food and nonalcoholic beverages available, but more than two-thirds of events also had illicit drugs available.

METHODS

This relational study uses survey data collected in 1999 at a large urban public university in southern California. A university-based social science research laboratory administered 409 telephone interviews of randomly selected undergraduate students. Given the size of the population at the study university (N = 24,000), this sample size allows for a 95% level of confidence ([ or -] 3.5) when estimating population parameters. Confirmed students refusing to participate in the study (4.9% of all contacted students) were randomly replaced. The average interview took 18.8 minutes to complete (SD = 6.03). All interviews were completed in the spring semester of 1999. Table 1 presents the characteristics of the sample and the undergraduate student population at the study university. As can be seen in the table, the study sample slightly overrepresents white students and older students.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of the Sample and the Population

                              Population          Sample
Characteristic                N        (%)       N       (%)

Gender
   Male                     10,727   (44.2)     179     (43.8)
   Female                   13,549   (55.8)     230     (56.2)
Ethnicity
   American Indian             244    (1.0)       1       (.2)
   African-American           1278    (5.3)      30      (7.4)
   Hispanic                   4996   (20.6)      55     (13.4)
   Asian/Pacific Islander     3653   (15.1)      41     (10.1)
   White                    10,766   (44.3)     264     (65.0)
   Other                      3339   (13.8)      15      (3.7)
Age (years)
   Mean                       23.8               25.9
   Median                     22.2               24.0