Self efficacy, alcohol expectancy and problem-solving appraisal as predictors of alcohol use in college students

College Student Journal, Dec, 2004 by Michael Biscaro, Karen Broer, Nancy Taylor

This study updated that of Broer 1996 and re-examined self-efficacy, alcohol expectancy and problem-solving appraisal as predictors of alcohol use in undergraduate college students. Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that alcohol expectancy of Global Positive Changes and gender were significant predictors for both number of drinks and binge episodes.

Alcohol use is a major concern on college campuses. College drinking is often considered socially acceptable behavior on the college social and cultural scene (Buckman, 1994). The college culture often views excessive drinking as a rite of passage, encouraging behavior that is destructive to the college subculture and the general population (CASA, 1994).

Numerous studies document patterns of college drinking and problems related to alcohol use and abuse (Presley, Meilman, Cashin, & Lyerla, 1996; Johnson, O'Malley, Bachman, 1997; Meilman, Presley,& Cashin, 1997; Wechsler, Dowdall, Maener, Gledhill-Hoyt, & Lee, 1998; Wechsler, Molnar, Davenport, & Baer, 1999; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo & Lee, 2000). Heavy episodic drinking or binge drinking is reported by 2 in 5 students (Wechsler, et al., 2000). Binge drinking with its negative consequences has become a major health hazard.

Alcohol use and abuse are cause for concern because the educational process and quality of campus student life are disrupted. Abusive drinking can have serious consequences on all areas of college life, including economic, health, social and educational. Heavy alcohol use may result in personal injury, drunk driving, alcohol overdose, unplanned sexual activity, decreased academic performance, legal problems and financial costs.

Data on alcohol use and consequences of abuse also provide important information to college administration and counselors. It is important for staff in college counseling centers to understand why students are drinking the way they do and what happens when they do. Clinical interactions with students and appropriate educational programs flow from accurate assessment of drinking patterns and students' perceptions.

A key component of effective intervention programs is knowledge about the variables related to alcohol use, primarily those variables that might have predictive utility. Broer (1996) suggested that alcohol research and psychological theory help in understanding the complexity of variables related to alcohol use and abuse. Variables that have emerged are family demographics, individual differences, biological factors, efficacy beliefs, expectancies, environment and coping ability.

Broer (1996) placed special emphasis on self-efficacy, alcohol expectancy and problem-solving appraisal as variables in alcohol use. Efficacy beliefs affect coping efforts and the direction a person takes when facing situations (Bandura, 1977, 1982). Self-efficacy is the belief of one's own competence to deal with life situations. Abrams and Niaura (1987) suggested that efficacy beliefs may be related to the development and maintenance of alcohol abuse and dependence, predictions about recovery and prevention of relapse.

The alcohol expectancy model suggests that knowledge about the relationship between alcohol consumption and certain outcomes is important. A person drinks because drinking is anticipated to result in the attainment of a desired outcome (Goldman, Brown, & Christiansen, 1987).

Effective coping responses are necessary requisites for the dealing with life. Heppner and Peterson (1982) suggested that problem-solving appraisal, or the perception of one's problem-solving ability, was an important component of the coping process. Cameron and Michenbaum (1993) noted that effective coping predisposes an adequate repertoire of skills for dealing with life problems, such as alcohol, and the use of such skills may depend initially on self-perceived efficacy as a problem solver.

The primary purpose of this study is to update the findings of Broer (1996) and re-examine the importance of self-efficacy, problem solving appraisal, and alcohol expectancy as predictors for the number of drinks and number of binge episodes in a college sample. Based on the results of Broer (1996) it was hypothesized that each of the variables as well as gender would predict the number of drinks and binge.

Method

Participants

Participants included 79 students (40 males and 39 females, mean age of 19.0 years) from a private coeducational Midwestern university of approximately 4500 students. Students volunteered to take part for fulfillment of an introductory psychology course requirement. The sample consisted of 69% freshmen, 22% sophomores, 5% juniors, 3% seniors and 1% other. No students under the age of 18 participated in the study. Participants included 95% Caucasian, 1% Hispanic, 1% Asian and 3% Other. All students were unmarried, 96% were enrolled full time, and 85% lived in residence halls. Approximate cumulative grade point averages were 71% B, 20% A, 8% C and 1% D.

Measures

The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey: 5th edition (Core: Presley, Harrold, Scouten, Lyerla, & Meilman, 1994) was used to operationalize alcohol use. The Core was designed to assess the nature and extent of alcohol use in college students. The 39-question (long form) was used for this study. Alcohol use was measured by the average number of drinks students had in one week (question 15 on the Core Survey) and the number of binge episodes in the prior two weeks (question 14 on the Core Survey). Binge drinking was defined as the number of times a student had five or more drinks at a sitting within the previous two weeks. No distinction was made for males and females in the amount of drinks constituting a binge. Construct validity was established by item intercorrelations for use and consequence questions. The Core is a self-report survey on alcohol use and consequences of use. Several studies support the validity of using self-reporting measures for surveying alcohol use (Cooper, Sobell, Sobell & Maistro, 1981; Midanik, 1988).