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Objective: The authors examined drinking and driving after drinking before and after turning 21. Participants: Participants were drawn from first time college students who were taking part in a 4-year longitudinal study of alcohol use and behavioral risks. Methods: Web-based longitudinal surveys collected data on drinking and driving after drinking from August 2004 through November 2007 (n = 1,817). A subset of participants (n = 224) also monitored their daily behavior during the month they turned 21 (January through May, 2007). Results: Typical frequency and quantity of alcohol use increased from ages 18 to 21 years, whereas quantity decreased between 21 and 23 years of age. Driving after drinking showed a 72% relative increase (6% absolute increase) in the 2 weeks after turning 21. Conclusions: Reaching the legal drinking age is associated with decreases in the amount of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion, but an increase in driving after drinking. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

The transition from high school to college is an important developmental milestone that holds the potential for personal growth and behavioral change. A cohort of 2,245 students was recruited during the summer before they matriculated into college and completed Internet-based surveys about their participation in a variety of behavioral risks during the last 3 months of high school and throughout the 1st year of college. Alcohol use, marijuana use, and sex with multiple partners increased during the transition from high school to college, whereas driving after drinking, aggression, and property crimes decreased. Those from rural high schools and those who elected to live in private dormitories in college were at highest risk for heavy drinking and driving after drinking. (Contains 2 tables, 4 figures, and 1 footnote.)

The Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI; H. R. White & E. W. Labouvie, 1989) is a frequently used measure of alcohol-related consequences in adolescents and college students, but psychometric evaluations of the RAPI are limited and it has not been validated with college students. This study used item response theory (IRT) to examine the RAPI on students (N = 895; 65% female, 35% male) assessed in both high school and college. A series of 2-parameter IRT models were computed, examining differential item functioning utility is proposed, with scores of 8 or greater implying greater need for treatment.

The Lifestyle Management Class (LMC) was evaluated as a universal and targeted alcohol prevention program among voluntary and mandated college students. The relative efficacy of peer- and professional-led group interventions was also tested in this randomized, controlled design. LMC participants showed decreases in driving after drinking relative to control participants. Changes in heavy drinking varied as a function of treatment condition, readiness to change, and gender, with a trend toward larger decreases among voluntary LMC participants high in readiness to change and a comparable though nonsignificant advantage for male LMC participants in the mandated sample. The LMC was comparably effective for mandated and voluntary students, with no clear advantage for peer-or professional-led groups.

The college environment appears to encourage heavy drinking. Consequently, correlates of student drinking were assessed at college entrance. First-semester freshmen (N = 520, 54 percent women) completed self-report measures of social affiliation and self/peer drinking for high school and college. Analyses indicated that: 1) increased drinking at college entrance mirrored perceived increases by peers, 2) perceptions of peer drinking were robustly overestimated with women displaying the larger overestimation bias; and 3) social affiliation was associated with men's drinking and moderated its relation to perceived peer drinking at college entrance. These results advance understanding of the manner in which heavy drinking patterns emerge as men and women enter college, and campus programs that consider these factors may better promote health and reduce the harms associated with heavy drinking among college students. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

Objective: The beginning of college is a period in which increased alcohol use often coincides with greater involvement in romantic relationships. Existing literature yields inconsistent findings regarding the influence of relationship types on drinking behavior, perhaps because these studies have not accounted for recent changes in the way college students engage in dating/sexual relationships. Methods: The present study sought to address this issue using a longitudinal study design by examining the effects of both relationship type and sexual activity on heavy episodic drinking (HED) among 1,847 college students over the course of the first 3 semesters of college. Results: Results indicated that the effects of relationship type depended on whether an individual was sexually active. Nondating but sexually active students reported rates of HED comparable to students who defined themselves as casual daters. Conversely, nondating students who were not sexually active reported drinking behavior similar to those involved in exclusive relationships. Further, transitions between low‐ and high‐risk relationship/sexual activity types were associated with corresponding changes in HED. Transitioning into a high‐risk relationship was associated with significant increases in levels of HED, whereas transitioning into a low‐risk relationship was associated with significant decreases in HED. Conclusions: Together, results indicate that engaging in nonexclusive dating or casual sexual relationships may play an important role in the development of problematic patterns of alcohol use during the early college years. These findings have potentially important implications both for future research and for prevention and intervention efforts targeting high‐risk college drinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The concurrent use of alcohol and tobacco has a multiplicative effect on both social and physical consequences. While it is known that alcohol and tobacco use are strongly correlated in emerging adulthood, there is significant individual variability in use. However, little research has examined how patterns of concurrent use are related over time. Objectives: The current study explores these longitudinal conjoint trajectories, as well as the associated sociodemographic factors. Methods: We used sequential latent class growth analysis to explore the co-occurring longitudinal patterns of recent alcohol and tobacco use across emerging adulthood (10 data collection periods, 2004-2009) with a diverse sample of 2,244 college students (60% female; 54% White). Results: Twenty distinct patterns of conjoint alcohol and tobacco use were found. There was more variation in tobacco use trajectories among alcohol users than variation in alcohol trajectories among tobacco users. Using multinomial logistic regression models we determined the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on classification into each conjoint pattern versus the normative trajectory (Abstaining tobacco/Low alcohol). Male gender, White race, fraternity/sorority affiliation, and higher family income were significantly associated with riskier conjoint trajectory patterns. Conclusions/Importance: Findings highlight the diversity of alcohol and tobacco use behaviors across emerging adulthood. The low variation in alcohol use among tobacco users indicates that tobacco use is a significant risk factor for heavier drinking. A better understanding of the covarying use of these two ubiquitous substances may provide new avenues for preventing and reducing the use of both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Early onset drinking is associated with later heavy drinking and related consequences. Early drinking onset and binge drinking are also independently associated with blackouts, which are periods of amnesia for events during a drinking episode. The objective of this study was to examine how early onset drinking relates to changes in the frequency of experiencing blackouts across 3 years controlling for year-specific binge drinking. Methods Participants ( N = 1,145; 67.9% female) from a 6-year, longitudinal study are included in these analyses. Measures of self-reported age at drinking onset included ages at first drink, first high, and first drunk, which were used to create a latent early onset drinking factor. Frequency of binge drinking and blackouts were assessed annually during Years 4 to 6. Results Overall, 69.2% of participants reported experiencing blackouts. After controlling for year-specific binge drinking, a growth curve model indicated that early onset drinkers reported more frequent blackouts at Year 4. There were, however, no significant effects of acceleration or deceleration in the frequency of blackouts across the 3 years. Early onset drinkers continued to experience more frequent blackouts compared with those who initiated alcohol use later, despite decreases in binge drinking over time. Conclusions Early onset drinkers reported more frequent blackouts across all 3 years, indicating that early alcohol initiation predisposes those individuals to continue to experience more frequent blackouts, despite a decrease in their binge drinking. This may be due to various factors, such as altered hippocampal development and functioning resulting from early alcohol exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Almost one-third of college students report recent cigarette use, primarily as "social smoking," and often in conjunction with alcohol use. While city-wide indoor smoking bans effectively reduce the number of social opportunities to smoke (eg, bars and music clubs), little is known about how these bans may impact the smoking behaviors of college students. Furthermore, nothing is known about how indoor smoking bans may impact students' drinking behaviors. The current study aims to determine the impact of a city-wide comprehensive indoor smoking ban on smoking and alcohol behaviors among a longitudinal sample of emerging adults.Methods: Data are from a 6-year longitudinal study (10 waves of data collection) that began the summer before college enrollment. Participants (N = 2244; 60% female) reported on their past 3-month smoking and drinking behaviors using Internet-based surveys at each wave. Piecewise linear growth modeling was used to determine how a city-wide comprehensive indoor smoking ban (implemented in the Fall of 2005 between Waves 4 and 5) impacted smoking frequency, cigarette quantity, drinking frequency, and number of binge drinking episodes.Results: Smoking and alcohol use increased from the summer before college through the semester before implementation of the city-wide smoking ban. While smoking frequency (P < .001) and cigarette quantity (P < .05) declined after the ban, drinking frequency increased (P < .001) and the number of binge drinking episodes remained stable.Conclusions: Current findings suggest that comprehensive indoor smoking bans can influence the smoking behaviors of emerging adults, whereas trajectories of drinking are relatively unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Heavy drinking is common during transitions from high school to college. Optimal programs for diminishing risks for high alcohol consumption often tailor the approach to the specific needs of students. This study describes the results of an Internet-based prevention protocol that tailors the information to the risk associated with a pre-existing phenotype, the Low level of Response (Low LR) to alcohol. Methods Using stratified random assignment, 454 freshmen with Low and High LR values were assigned to 2 education groups (LR-based where all examples were given the context of the Low LR model of heavy drinking or a State Of The Art (SOTA) Group where the same lessons were taught but without an emphasis on LR) or a no-intervention Control Group. Individuals in the 2 education groups viewed 50-minute online videos once per week for 4 weeks. Changes in drinking patterns were assessed at Baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks using a 2 (LR status) by 3 (education group) by 3 (time points) analysis of variance, with additional tests for ethnicity and sex. Results Low LR participants tended to decrease their usual ( p < 0.06) and maximum ( p < 0.05) drinks per occasion most prominently when assigned to the LR-based protocol, while those with High LRs improved more in the SOTA Group. The most robust differences were seen when controlling for ethnicity. The effect sizes were small to medium. Conclusions These results support the advantages of carrying out prevention via the Internet and in tailoring the approach to a pre-existing phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study related to the impact of alcohol drinking on driving of college students. It informs that cohort analysis of 1,833 students was performed during the study. The participants were randomized in three conditions including a longitudinal condition, two assessments in academic year for three years and one survey in four year. The study found that most of the deaths arise from alcohol-related traffic accidents.

The article presents an event-level study concerning the association of objective and subjective intoxication with driving after drinking in college students. It mentions that a sample of 1,350 college students reported on their subjective intoxication, alcohol consumption, and whether they drove after drinking. It notes that daily estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) was more strongly associated with driving after drinking during lower subjective intoxication.

Background New approaches are needed to bolster the modest effects of campus drinking prevention programs. However, more definitive research on new paradigms is very expensive, and in the current economic climate, progress can be made by evaluating smaller pilot studies. This study describes one such approach. Methods A sample of 18-year-old or older, healthy, drinking freshmen at our university was assigned to 2 groups stratified to be similar on demography, drinking histories, and their level of response ( LR) to alcohol. In the spring quarter of the school year, the 32 subjects in each of 2 groups viewed four 45-minute Internet-based videotapes as part of 4 prevention sessions. All 8 modules were based on the same techniques and general content, but the 4 videos for the first group were structured around the validated model of how a low LR affects heavy drinking (the low level of response-based [ LRB] Group), with partial mediation by heavier drinking peers, positive alcohol expectancies, and drinking to cope with stress. Videos for the state-of-the-art ( SOTA) comparison group did not place the similar prevention messages into the low LR framework. Changes in drinking were evaluated at 3 times: before Module 1, before Module 4, and 1 month after Module 4. Results Usual and maximum drinks per occasion decreased over time for both high and low LR subjects in both LRB and SOTA groups. As predicted, the low LR students showed greater decreases in the LRB Group, while high LR students showed greater decreases in the more generic SOTA Group. Conclusions The results support the hypothesis that tailoring prevention efforts to address specific predisposing factors, such as a low LR, may be associated with beneficial effects on drinking quantity. We hope that these data will encourage additional efforts to validate the low LR-based prevention paradigm and test other interventions that are targeted toward predisposing phenotypes such as impulsivity and negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Contextual memory, or memory for source details, is an important aspect of episodic memory and has been implicated in alcohol-induced fragmentary blackouts ( FBs). Little is known, however, about how neural functioning during contextual memory processes may differ between individuals with and without a history of FB. This study examined whether neural activation during a contextual memory task differed by history of FB and acute alcohol consumption. Methods Twenty-four matched individuals with ( FB+; n = 12) and without ( FB−; n = 12) a history of FBs were recruited from a longitudinal study of alcohol use and behavioral risks and completed a laboratory beverage challenge followed by 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI) sessions under no alcohol and alcohol (breath alcohol concentration = 0.08%) conditions. Task performance and brain hemodynamic activity during a block design contextual memory task were examined across 48 fMRI sessions. Results Groups demonstrated no differences in performance on the contextual memory task, yet exhibited different brain response patterns after alcohol intoxication. A significant FB group by beverage interaction emerged in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex with FB− individuals showing greater blood oxygenation level-dependent response after alcohol exposure ( p < 0.05). Conclusions Alcohol had differential effects on neural activity for FB+ and FB− individuals during recollection of contextual information, perhaps suggesting a neurobiological mechanism associated with alcohol-induced FB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even among those at risk for problematic alcohol use, there is variability in developmental trajectories of drinking and related problems. This prospective study examined the role of person-environment interactions in increased drinking during the transition to college. The authors followed a sample of recent high school graduates to test whether protective environmental factors could delay increases in drinking among those high in trait-level risk factors. Participants completed web-based surveys. A sample of 1784 students in the incoming class of 2004 at a large public United States university completed high school and first-semester-of-college assessments. Participants completed self-report measures of alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, perceived awareness and caring from parents and other adults, sensation seeking and impulsivity. In the transition to college, high sensation seekers from more protective high school parental environments increased their alcohol use and problems more than did other students. Increases in alcohol problems were also high among more impulsive students from less protective environments. Whereas high sensation seekers drank equivalently in college regardless of high school-perceived awareness and caring, those who had greater high school-perceived awareness and caring did not experience as many alcohol-related problems in college. Differences in drinking trajectories may be a function of person-environment interactions. Risk associated with high sensation seeking may be masked among adolescents in protective environments, but its emergence in the college transition predicts increases in alcohol use and related problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in subjective alcohol intoxication, as measured by laboratory-based alcohol challenge, have been identified as a phenotypic risk factor for alcohol use disorders. Further, recent evidence indicates that subjective alcohol response is also associated with event-level physiological consequences among college students, including blackouts and hangovers. The current investigation tested predictors of and outcomes associated with subjective intoxication in the natural drinking environment. In a preliminary laboratory alcohol-challenge study ( n = 53), we developed a brief measure of subjective alcohol intoxication for use in event-level research. Participating students in the principal study ( n = 1,867; 63% women; 54% Caucasian) completed 30 days of Web-based self-monitoring in each of the 4 college years. In the principal study, generalized estimating equation analyses revealed that both lighter drinking and a family history of alcohol problems predicted greater subjective intoxication after accounting for estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC). Moreover, greater subjective intoxication during a given drinking episode was associated with negative alcohol-related consequences, illicit drug use, and unsafe sex, and at higher eBACs, was associated with aggression, sex, and property crime. Students who on average experienced greater subjective intoxication were also more likely to experience negative consequences and engage in illicit drug use, sex, unsafe sex, and aggression. These findings suggest that both within-person variability and between-person individual differences in subjective intoxication may be risk factors for adverse drinking outcomes at the event level. Intervention efforts aimed at reducing problems associated with collegiate drinking may benefit from consideration both of who experiences greater subjective intoxication and of the situations in which they are more likely to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which reveals that high dispositional self-regulation leads to decreased levels of risky drinking and sexual behavior in adolescence and the early years of college. It notes that the main effects of self-regulation and interactions among self-regulation and established risk factors on risky drinking and sexual behavior were tested. It emphasizes that high self-regulation predicted heavy episodic drinking, alcoholic-related problems and unprotected sex.

The article presents a longitudinal study that investigates the impact of academic and social motives and behaviors on alcohol use and the problems during the initial transition from senior year in high school through the end of second year college. It notes that the study involved 1,447 first-time college students. It was found out that there were much positive relations between social motives and behavior and alcohol use than between social motives/behaviors and alcohol-related problems.

Objective: Individual differences in subjective response to alcohol and the occurrence of blackouts and hangover are associated with the development of alcohol-use disorders. As such, subjective responses to alcohol, blackouts, and hangover may share a biological vulnerability to excessive alcohol consumption. The purpose of the current study was to examine subjective responses to alcohol as predictors of estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC), blackouts, and hangover for a single heavy drinking event. Method: Data were collected on 150(50% female) college students at a large, public university who reported consuming alcohol during their 21st birthday celebration. Using semi-structured interviews and self-report measures, subjective responses to alcohol (at midpoint of a 21st birthday celebration) were examined as predictors of final estimated BAC, blackouts, and hangover. Results: Stimulant effects reported for the midpoint of the drinking event predicted final estimated BAC. Both stimulant and sedative alcohol effects directly predicted blackouts during the drinking event and the occurrence of a hangover. Neither stimulant nor sedative effects were mediated by final estimated BAC. Conclusions: Retrospective reports of subjective responses to alcohol were associated with the level of intoxication, blackouts, and hangover during a heavy drinking event. Findings therefore suggest the utility of incorporating subjective responses to alcohol into event-specific interventions that are designed to reduce or prevent heavy episodic drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived awareness and caring, or beliefs about how much parents and peers know and care about students' behavior, was assessed in relation to students' drinking patterns. Prior to and at the end of the first semester at college, participants completed Web-based surveys assessing alcohol use, family and social motives, and perceived awareness and caring from parents and peers. Family motives moderated the effect of perceived parental awareness and caring on the quantity of high school alcohol use, whereas social motives moderated the effect of perceived peer awareness and caring on frequency and quantity of college drinking. Longitudinally, college alcohol use was predicted by perceived awareness and caring from parents. Perceived awareness and caring may affect alcohol use whereby parents exert influence during high school but peers are more influential in college. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined the global- and event-level associations between alcohol intoxication and 10 behavioral risks during the 1st year of college. Participants (n = 1113; 62% female; 54% Caucasian) completed 30 days of Web-based self-monitoring that assessed alcohol consumption and involvement in 10 behavioral risks. Generalized estimating equations analyses were used to determine which behaviors covaried with event-level versus global indices of intoxication as well as the moderating effects of gender on the intoxication-behavior associations. Alcohol use was globally related to 8 of the 10 behavioral risks; more important, 5 of the 10 behaviors specifically covaried with daily alcohol intoxication. The differential pattern of associations observed can inform clinical work by identifying groups of students who may most benefit from various intervention approaches and content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College alcohol use and abuse is a serious problem, in part because many college students do not view their drinking as problematic. Consequently, a harm reduction approach is especially appealing for the prevention of alcohol use and associated negative consequences among this population. By taking steps to reduce the harmful effects of drinking, without requiring abstinence, harm reduction holds the potential to reach many young adults who would not otherwise utilize traditional intervention efforts. The Lifestyle Management Class (LMC) was developed as a holistic approach that embraces the tenants of harm reduction. The LMC is delivered in two, 2-h group sessions that include didactic presentations, personal exercises, individualized feedback, and facilitated discussion. The basic philosophy, content, and processes of the LMC are presented in this article. A recent intervention outcome study is also summarized in which the LMC was found to be effective as both a targeted and universal intervention approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent models of alcohol use in youth and young adulthood have incorporated personality change and maturation as causal factors underlying variability in developmental changes in heavy drinking. Whereas these models assume that personality affects alcohol use, the current prospective study tested the converse relation. That is, we tested whether, after accounting for the effect of traits on drinking, collegiate heavy drinking in turn predicted individual differences in change in alcohol-related aspects of personality. We also examined whether affiliation with heavy-drinking peers better accounted for this relation. Following a cohort of recent high school graduates (N = 1,434) through the college years, we found evidence for transactional relations between heavy drinking and changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking. Both traits predicted increases in heavy drinking, but more important, heavy drinking predicted increases in sensation seeking and impulsivity. In final models, social influences did not underlie the effect of heavy drinking on increases in sensation seeking and impulsivity. The results of this investigation suggest that collegiate heavy drinking may negatively and pervasively impact a wide range of behaviors because of its effect on personality change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Discrimination is a risk factor for health-risk behaviors, including alcohol abuse. Far less is known about the mechanisms through which discrimination leads to alcohol-related problems, particularly during high-risk developmental periods such as young adulthood. Methods: The present study tested a mediation model using prospective data from a large, diverse sample of 1539 college students. This model hypothesized that discrimination would be associated with established cognitive (positive alcohol expectancies) and affective (negative affect and coping motives) risk factors for alcohol-related problems, which would account for the prospective association between discrimination and alcohol problems. Results: Structural equation modeling indicated that discrimination was associated cross-sectionally with negative affect and more coping motives for drinking, but not with greater alcohol expectancies. Coping motives mediated the prospective relationship between discrimination and alcohol-related problems. Additionally, results indicated significant indirect effects from discrimination to alcohol-related problems through negative affect and coping motives. These associations were evident for multiple groups confronting status-based discrimination, including women, racial/ethnic minorities, and lesbian/gay/bisexual individuals. Conclusions: This study identified potential affective mechanisms linking discrimination to alcohol-related problems. Results suggest several avenues for prevention and intervention efforts with individuals from socially disadvantaged groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Broad social motives (not specific to alcohol use) have been established as an important predictor of alcohol use and problems among college students, but we have little understanding of the mechanisms through which such motives operate. Thus, the current study examined broad social motives prior to college entry as a predictor of college drinking/problems and sought to identify potential mechanisms through which they are associated with increased risk. Participants comprised a sample of 2245 incoming college students (59.9% women) transitioning from high school through the college years. The first web-based survey was completed during the summer prior to matriculation with participants reporting on their behavior during the spring of high school senior year. Additional surveys were administered each academic semester through the fall of the fourth year. High school social motives were examined as a predictor of changes in alcohol use/problems from high school through the senior year, with changes in descriptive norms, personal drinking values, and alcohol expectancies from high school to sophomore year examined as possible mediators of these relations. Descriptive norms, personal drinking values, and alcohol expectancies were robust mediators of broad social motives for both alcohol use and problems. Although there were a few differences by race/ethnicity in the alcohol use model, the mechanisms through which broad social motives operated were largely invariant across groups. These findings shed light on important mechanisms that can be targeted in prevention programs, particularly those that target groups who are likely to be high in broad social motives (e.g., fraternity/sorority members). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]