Drinking Plans and Drinking Outcomes: Examining Young Adults' Weekend Drinking Behavior

• NCJ Number: 236852
• Journal: Journal of Drug Education Volume: 41 Issue: 3 Dated: 2011 Pages: 253-270
• Author(s): Ryan S. Trim, Ph.D.; John D. Clapp, Ph.D.; Mark B. Reed, Ph.D.; Audrey Shillington, Ph.D.; Dennis Thombs, Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2011
• Length: 18 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 AA01368
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored factors affecting the weekend drinking behaviors of young adults.

Abstract

This study examined relationships among drinking intentions, environments, and outcomes in a random sample of 566 undergraduate college students. Telephone interviews were conducted with respondents before and after a single weekend assessing drinking intentions for the coming weekend related to subsequent drinking behaviors. Latent class analyses found evidence for four distinct drinking environments distinguished by private/public setting and presence of few/many intoxicated people. There was evidence that the drinking environment mediated the relationship between drinking intentions and heavy episodic drinking in this young adult sample. Future research might focus on examining person/environment interactions as they relate to heavy episodic drinking. (Published Abstract)