Postsecondary education and heavy drinking by young adults: the moderating effect of race.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
This study examined racial differences in the relationship between postsecondary education (PSE) and heavy drinking among young adults who participated in the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

METHOD:
In-home survey data collected from 6,374 18-25 year olds were analyzed to examine black-white differences in the relationship between PSE and past-month heavy drinking (five or more consecutive alcoholic beverages). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the interactive effect of PSE and race on heavy drinking, and the degree to which selected psychosocial risk and protective factors help to explain the differential association between PSE and heavy drinking.

RESULTS:
The prevalence of past-month heavy drinking was significantly higher among whites with at least some PSE than whites without any PSE (41% vs 30%/6), whereas no differences in past-month heavy drinking were observed among blacks who did and did not have at least some PSE (15% vs 16%). This differential relationship persisted when early initiation of alcohol use and demographic characteristics were adjusted for. The effect of PSE on heavy drinking among whites was substantially reduced by controlling for perceived drinking among friends, friends' social support and subjects' propensity for risk taking or sensation seeking. PSE was inversely, although not significantly, associated with heavy drinking among blacks, after adjusting for early alcohol use and demographic characteristics. This inverse relationship was no longer present after controlling for psychosocial factors (e.g., religiosity, perceived harm of heavy drinking) that were associated with PSE and heavy drinking among blacks.

CONCLUSIONS:
The apparent effect of college attendance on heavy drinking among young adults is driven by the fact that the majority of young adults who attend college are white. College attendance does not appear to increase the likelihood of heavy drinking among black young adults. Additional research with longitudinal data is needed to better understand how the college environment affects alcohol use among whites, and whether blacks who attend predominantly white colleges are more likely to drink heavily than those who attend traditionally black colleges.

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Author information

Author/s: Paschall, Mallie J (MJ); Flewelling, Robert L (RL);

Affiliation: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514-3307, USA. paschall(-atsign-)pire.org

Grants: R01 AA 10428 (Agency:NIAAA NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of studies on alcohol (J Stud Alcohol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Jul; vol 63 (issue 4) : pp 447-55

Dates: Created 2002/08/05; Completed 2003/01/24; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12160103, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
African Americans - education; psychology; statistics & numerical data
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; psychology
Confidence Intervals
European Continental Ancestry Group - education; psychology; statistics & numerical data

Female
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Odds Ratio
Universities - statistics & numerical data

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