College High Risk Drinkers: Who Matures Out? And Who Persists as Adults?

• NCJ Number: 223015
• Journal: Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: April 2008 Pages: 19-46
• Author(s): Corbin M. Campbell; Ada Demb
• Date Published: April 2008
• Length: 28 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using data on self-reported college and current drinking habits and personal characteristics for 4,428 college graduates from the classes of 1983-1993 at one large university, this exploratory study compared the characteristics of high-risk college drinkers who significantly reduced their drinking after college and those who persisted in heavy drinking after graduating from college.

Abstract

The proportion of respondents who reported behaviors scored as high-risk drinking during college was 46 percent as determined by their responses on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), which considers multiple factors related to alcohol use, including frequency of drinking, quantity of alcohol consumption, loss of control, withdrawal symptoms, and consequences of use. Of the high-risk drinkers during college, 78.9 percent had "matured out" of high-risk drinking, as reflected in a current mean AUDIT score of 3.3. Of the high-risk drinkers in college, 21.1 percent were classified in the current drinking behaviors as "adult persistent," reflected in a mean current AUDIT score of 11.6. Students who "matured out" in their drinking habits after college had a different college drinking trajectory than those who became "adult persistent" in their drinking after college. The "matured-out" respondents were more likely to decrease their drinking by the end of college; whereas, the "adult-persistent" respondents were more likely to keep their drinking constant and frequent throughout their college years. Also, respondents who reported that they drank to feel self-confident or to deal with personal problems were more likely to be "adult-persistent" high-risk drinkers after college. Further, those who had no family history of high-risk drinking were significantly more likely to "mature out" of high-risk drinking than those who did have a family history of alcoholism. Men were apparently less likely to "mature out" than women. 1 figure, 4 tables, and 43 references