Sexual Experience and Risky Alcohol Consumption among Incoming First-Year College Females

• NCJ Number: 233478
• Journal: Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse Volume: 20 Issue: 1 Dated: January - March 2011 Pages: 15-33
• Author(s): Joseph W. LaBrie; Shannon R. Kenney; Savannah Migliuri; Andrew Lac
• Date Published: January 2011
• Length: 19 pages
• Grant Number(s): U18 AA15451-01
• 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 compared the rate of alcohol consumption to level of sexual experience in a sample of first-year college females.

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between sexual experience and various drinking measures in 550 incoming first-year college females. During this transition period, sexually experienced participants reported stronger alcohol expectancies and endorsed higher drinking motives, and drank more frequently and in greater quantities than sexually inexperienced participants. Sexual status was also a significant predictor of alcohol-related nonsexual consequences, over and above amount consumed. Furthermore, controlling for drinking, sexual status moderated the relationship between coping motives and consequences. Among women who endorsed strong coping motives for drinking, sexual experience was linked to greater nonsexual alcohol-related consequences. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. Tables, figure, and references (Published Abstract)