Abstract
Alcohol use has increased among college women in the past decade, and although event-specific high-risk drinking is common
among college students, few studies have focused on Spring Break-specific high-risk drinking and other risk behaviors among
female college drinkers. As such, we compared substance use (e.g., alcohol and marijuana use) and engagement in other risk
behaviors (e.g., riding with an impaired driver) in the 30 days prior (T1) and during Spring Break (T2) in a sample of 86 female college drinkers (mean age = 19.9, SD = 1.3, 18–23 years). Participants were recruited on a public
beach during their Spring Break vacation and were administered a survey that included the TWEAK, a brief screener to identify
alcohol use disorder (AUD) risk. Initial results indicated that heavy alcohol use, riding with an alcohol-impaired driver,
and marijuana use were high during T1 and increased significantly during T2. The TWEAK results indicated that 78% of respondents were at high AUD risk, yet only 25% felt the need to reduce their alcohol
consumption. OLS regression results indicated significant relationships between changes in engagement in risk behaviors at
T2 as compared to T1 across a number of sample characteristics and TWEAK indicators (e.g., age at first drink; age at first sex). Implications
for prevention programming targeting female college drinkers are discussed.
among college students, few studies have focused on Spring Break-specific high-risk drinking and other risk behaviors among
female college drinkers. As such, we compared substance use (e.g., alcohol and marijuana use) and engagement in other risk
behaviors (e.g., riding with an impaired driver) in the 30 days prior (T1) and during Spring Break (T2) in a sample of 86 female college drinkers (mean age = 19.9, SD = 1.3, 18–23 years). Participants were recruited on a public
beach during their Spring Break vacation and were administered a survey that included the TWEAK, a brief screener to identify
alcohol use disorder (AUD) risk. Initial results indicated that heavy alcohol use, riding with an alcohol-impaired driver,
and marijuana use were high during T1 and increased significantly during T2. The TWEAK results indicated that 78% of respondents were at high AUD risk, yet only 25% felt the need to reduce their alcohol
consumption. OLS regression results indicated significant relationships between changes in engagement in risk behaviors at
T2 as compared to T1 across a number of sample characteristics and TWEAK indicators (e.g., age at first drink; age at first sex). Implications
for prevention programming targeting female college drinkers are discussed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-10
- DOI 10.1007/s13178-011-0071-0
- Authors
- Kathleen Ragsdale, Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University, PO Box 5287, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
- Jeremy R. Porter, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), 201 Whitehead Hall, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11220, USA
- Byron L. Zamboanga, Department of Psychology, Smith College, 44 College Lane, Bass Hall, Northampton, MA 01063, USA
- Janet S. St. Lawrence, Division of Arts and Sciences, Mississippi State University, 1000 Highway 19 North, Meridian, MS 39307, USA
- Rebecca Read-Wahidi, Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, 19 ten Hoor Hall, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
- Allyn White, Department of Management, Marketing, and Administrative Communication, Eastern Kentucky University, 521 Lancaster Avenue, BTC 011, Richmond, KY 40475, USA
- Journal Sexuality Research and Social Policy
- Online ISSN 1553-6610
- Print ISSN 1868-9884