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Brief report situational determinants of alcohol abuse among caucasian and african-american college students
Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 135–138, 1999 Copyright © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0306-4603/99/$–see front matter
Pergamon
PII S0306-4603(98)00053-7
BRIEF REPORT SITUATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AMONG CAUCASIAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS MIGUEL J. HUMARA and MARTIN F. SHERMAN Loyola College
Abstract — The present study examined gender, race, and binge status differences in alcohol consumption among Caucasian and African-American college students as well as situational differences as qualified by the race of binge drinkers. A confidential questionnaire was voluntarily completed by Caucasians (n 5 102) and African-Americans (n 5 81) at a medium-sized regional university. The data analysis revealed a significant gender effect on alcohol consumption, with men consuming more alcohol than women. There was no significant main effect of race on alcohol consumption. In addition, Caucasian binge drinkers had significantly higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than did binge-drinking African-Americans, and binge-drinking African-Americans had higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than did binge-drinking Caucasians. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd
Alcohol is the most widely used and abused mood-altering substance in the United States. So widespread is this problem, that alcohol abuse and dependence are three times as numerous as all other substance abuse problems combined (Myers et al., 1984). Research with college students shows the magnitude of the binge-drinking problem that has arisen on campus. The results of one study showed that 50% of men and 39% of women college students had engaged in binge-drinking behavior in the 2 weeks prior to the gathering of data (Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). If prevention and treatment programs are to be effective, factors contributing to the development of alcohol disorders need to be examined. The focus of the current study was to examine gender, race, and binge-status differences in alcohol consumption as well as situational differences between Caucasians and African-Americans. Based upon a review of the current literature, three major hypotheses were examined. First, men would report consuming more alcohol than would women. Second, Caucasians would report consuming more alcohol than would African-Americans. Finally, an interaction effect was expected between race and problem situations (Intrapersonal: unpleasant emotions, physical discomfort, pleasant emotions, testing personal control and urges or temptations to drink vs. Interpersonal: conflict with others, social pressure to drink and pleasant times with others) among binge drinkers, such that Caucasian college student bingers would have higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than would African-American bingers, and African-American bingers would have higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than would Caucasian bingers. This prediction was based on Cooper, Russell, Skinner, and Windle’s (1992) results that suggested Caucasian individuals may be more likely to drink as a result of Portions of this research were presented at the Eastern Psychological Association Convention, Washington, DC, April 1997. Requests for reprints should be sent to Martin F. Sherman, Department of Psychology, Loyola College, 4501 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210-2699; E-mail: [email protected] 135
136
M. J. HUMARA and M. F. SHERMAN
problems in interpersonal situations than in intrapersonal situations, whereas AfricanAmerican individuals may be more likely to drink as a result of problems in intrapersonal than in interpersonal situations. M E T H O D
Participants All participants were recruited from introductory psychology classes at a mid-sized, mid-Atlantic state university. Of the 225 survey packages that were distributed, 183 were returned. Mean age of the students was 21.02 years (SD 5 2.03). Alcohol consumption was measured in terms of Standard Drink Equivalents (Polich, Armor, & Braiker, 1981). In addition, this study used the definition of binge-drinking behavior by Wechsler et al. (1995). Materials Participants received packets containing the following: Demographic form, the Annis (1984) Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS), which assesses the frequency of heavy drinking in intrapersonal and interpersonal situations. Sobell, Sobell, Klajner, Pavan, and Basian’s (1986) Time-Line Follow-Back Procedure was used to determine the amount of alcohol consumed by participants, as well as to determine the presence of binge-drinking behaviors during the 2 weeks prior to filling out the survey. Procedure Participants were recruited at regularly scheduled meetings of introductory psychology classes, and they mailed their completed forms back to the investigator. R E S U L T S
A 2 (African-American, Caucasian) 3 2 (men, women) 3 2 (binge, nonbinge) analysis of variance was conducted on alcohol consumption. In addition, a 2 (AfricanAmerican, Caucasian) 3 2 (men, women) 3 2 (binge, nonbinge) 3 (2) (intrapersonal, interpersonal) factorial repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess the hypothesis that there would be an interaction between race and problem situations among binge drinkers. The criterion variables were scores on the intrapersonal and interpersonal problem behaviors subscales. In reference to the first hypothesis, a significant main effect was found for gender, F(1, 175) 5 25.22, p , .001, h2 5 .09, such that men (M 5 14.02, SD 5 14.70, n 5 81) reported consuming a significantly greater amount of alcohol than did women (M 5 7.27, SD 5 8.83, n 5 102). No support was found for the hypothesis that Caucasians would consume more alcohol than African-Americans, F(1, 175) 5 .01, p 5 .927, h2 5 .01). However, several additional significant findings were found. Binge drinkers (M 5 14.59, SD 5 13.94, n 5 84) were found to have reported consuming more alcohol than did nonbinge drinkers (M 5 6.72, SD 5 9.25, n 5 99), F(1, 175) 5 32.32, p , .001, h2 5 .12. The analysis also showed several two-way interactions [gender by race, and gender by binge], which were all found to be qualified by a significant three-way interaction among gender, race, and binge status. The brevity of this article prevents presentation of this complex interaction. There was a significant interaction among race, binge status, and type of situation, F(1, 175) 5 11.28, p 5 .001, h2 5 .06. A priori t-tests were performed on the predicted
Situational determinants of alcohol abuse
137
interaction for binge drinkers. In support of the prediction, binge-drinking Caucasian college students had higher interpersonal problem behavior scores (M 5 33.16, SD 5 13.86) than did binge-drinking African-American college students (M 5 28.09, SD 5 14.66; t(175) 5 4.51, p , .05), and binge-drinking African-American college students had higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores (M 5 31.25, SD 5 10.92) than did binge-drinking Caucasian college students (M 5 24.76, SD 5 13.49; t(175) 5 11.99, p , .05). In addition, a post hoc analysis utilizing Duncan’s multiple-range test indicated that Caucasian college students had higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than intrapersonal problem behavior scores, whereas African-American college students had higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than interpersonal problem behavior scores. This interaction between race and type of situation did not occur for nonbinge drinkers. Duncan’s multiple-range post hoc testing indicated that for both non-binge-drinking Caucasian and African-American college students, their interpersonal problem behavior scores were higher than their intrapersonal problem behavior scores. The analysis also indicated a repeated measures effect for the problem situations variable, F(1, 175) 5 28.64, p 5 .000, h2 5 .11, such that the interpersonal problem behavior subscale (M 5 22.02, SD 5 16.48) had a significantly higher mean than did the intrapersonal problem behavior subscale (M 5 17.47, SD 5 14.09). A number of nonpredicted interactions were also found in this analysis, but they will not be presented here given the brevity of this article. D I S C U S S I O N
This study presented evidence that supported the hypothesis that college men would report consuming a greater amount of alcohol than would college women. This result lends further support to the findings of O’Hare (1990) and Wechsler et al. (1995). There was no statistical support for the hypothesis that Caucasians would report consuming more alcohol than would African-Americans, although race was involved in a number of interactions. The data in this study yielded evidence in support of the hypothesis that bingedrinking Caucasians would report higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than would binge-drinking African-Americans, and that binge-drinking African-Americans would report higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than would binge-drinking Caucasians. As suggested by Fordham and Ogbu (1986), this finding may be the result of African-Americans not wanting to “act White.” That is to say, if binge drinking by Caucasians is perceived to occur in interpersonal situations, then African-Americans would avoid binge drinking in interpersonal situations in an effort not to behave like their Caucasian peers. The data analysis revealed a significant main effect for the problem situation variable, such that participants reported significantly higher mean interpersonal problem behavior scores than mean intrapersonal problem behavior scores. In other words, problem situations arose from external stimuli (interpersonal) more often than from internal stimuli (intrapersonal). This is similar to the results reported by Connors, Maistro, and Watson (1989), whose research indicated that interpersonal problem situations were more likely to result in drinking behaviors than were intrapersonal problem situations. The results of the current study reinforce the importance of including various attribute and demographic variables when studying predictors of alcohol use/abuse
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among college students. Clearly, individuals involved in prevention and treatment strategies need to be aware of the differences that exist between men and women, between Caucasians and African-Americans, between binge and nonbinge drinkers, and the complex interplay among these variables. R E F E R E N C E S Annis, H. M. (1984). Inventory of drinking situations. Toronto, Ontario: Addiction Research Foundation. Connors, G. J., Maistro, S. A., & Watson, D. W. (1989). Initial drinking experiences among African-American and Caucasian men and women student drinkers. The International Journal of the Addictions, 24, 1173–1182. Cooper, M. L., Russell, M., Skinner, J. B., & Windle, M. (1992). Development of a three-dimensional measure of drinking motives. Psychological Assessment, 4, 123–132. Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. U. (1986). African-American students school success: Coping with the “burden of acting Caucasian.” Urban Review, 18, 176–206. Myers, J. K., Weissman, M. M., Tischler, G. I., Leaf, P. J., Orvaschel, H., Anthony, J. C., Burke, J. D., Kramer, M., & Stoltzman, T. J. (1984). Six-month prevalence of psychiatric disorder in three communities. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 959–967. O’Hare, T. M. (1990). Drinking in college: Consumption patterns, problems, gender differences and legal drinking age. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 51, 536–541. Polich, J. M., Armor, D. J., & Braiker, H. B. (1981). The course of alcoholism: Four years after treatment. New York: Wiley. Sobell, M. B., Sobell, L. C., Klajner, F., Pavan, D., & Basian, E. (1986). The reliability of a time-line method for assessing normal drinker college students’ recent drinking history: Utility for alcohol research. Addictive Behaviors, 11, 149–161. Wechsler, H., Dowdall, G., Davenport, A., & Castillo, S. (1995). Correlates of college student binge drinking. American Journal of Public Health, 85, 921–926.
Pergamon
PII S0306-4603(98)00053-7
BRIEF REPORT SITUATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AMONG CAUCASIAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS MIGUEL J. HUMARA and MARTIN F. SHERMAN Loyola College
Abstract — The present study examined gender, race, and binge status differences in alcohol consumption among Caucasian and African-American college students as well as situational differences as qualified by the race of binge drinkers. A confidential questionnaire was voluntarily completed by Caucasians (n 5 102) and African-Americans (n 5 81) at a medium-sized regional university. The data analysis revealed a significant gender effect on alcohol consumption, with men consuming more alcohol than women. There was no significant main effect of race on alcohol consumption. In addition, Caucasian binge drinkers had significantly higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than did binge-drinking African-Americans, and binge-drinking African-Americans had higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than did binge-drinking Caucasians. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd
Alcohol is the most widely used and abused mood-altering substance in the United States. So widespread is this problem, that alcohol abuse and dependence are three times as numerous as all other substance abuse problems combined (Myers et al., 1984). Research with college students shows the magnitude of the binge-drinking problem that has arisen on campus. The results of one study showed that 50% of men and 39% of women college students had engaged in binge-drinking behavior in the 2 weeks prior to the gathering of data (Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995). If prevention and treatment programs are to be effective, factors contributing to the development of alcohol disorders need to be examined. The focus of the current study was to examine gender, race, and binge-status differences in alcohol consumption as well as situational differences between Caucasians and African-Americans. Based upon a review of the current literature, three major hypotheses were examined. First, men would report consuming more alcohol than would women. Second, Caucasians would report consuming more alcohol than would African-Americans. Finally, an interaction effect was expected between race and problem situations (Intrapersonal: unpleasant emotions, physical discomfort, pleasant emotions, testing personal control and urges or temptations to drink vs. Interpersonal: conflict with others, social pressure to drink and pleasant times with others) among binge drinkers, such that Caucasian college student bingers would have higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than would African-American bingers, and African-American bingers would have higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than would Caucasian bingers. This prediction was based on Cooper, Russell, Skinner, and Windle’s (1992) results that suggested Caucasian individuals may be more likely to drink as a result of Portions of this research were presented at the Eastern Psychological Association Convention, Washington, DC, April 1997. Requests for reprints should be sent to Martin F. Sherman, Department of Psychology, Loyola College, 4501 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210-2699; E-mail: [email protected] 135
136
M. J. HUMARA and M. F. SHERMAN
problems in interpersonal situations than in intrapersonal situations, whereas AfricanAmerican individuals may be more likely to drink as a result of problems in intrapersonal than in interpersonal situations. M E T H O D
Participants All participants were recruited from introductory psychology classes at a mid-sized, mid-Atlantic state university. Of the 225 survey packages that were distributed, 183 were returned. Mean age of the students was 21.02 years (SD 5 2.03). Alcohol consumption was measured in terms of Standard Drink Equivalents (Polich, Armor, & Braiker, 1981). In addition, this study used the definition of binge-drinking behavior by Wechsler et al. (1995). Materials Participants received packets containing the following: Demographic form, the Annis (1984) Inventory of Drinking Situations (IDS), which assesses the frequency of heavy drinking in intrapersonal and interpersonal situations. Sobell, Sobell, Klajner, Pavan, and Basian’s (1986) Time-Line Follow-Back Procedure was used to determine the amount of alcohol consumed by participants, as well as to determine the presence of binge-drinking behaviors during the 2 weeks prior to filling out the survey. Procedure Participants were recruited at regularly scheduled meetings of introductory psychology classes, and they mailed their completed forms back to the investigator. R E S U L T S
A 2 (African-American, Caucasian) 3 2 (men, women) 3 2 (binge, nonbinge) analysis of variance was conducted on alcohol consumption. In addition, a 2 (AfricanAmerican, Caucasian) 3 2 (men, women) 3 2 (binge, nonbinge) 3 (2) (intrapersonal, interpersonal) factorial repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess the hypothesis that there would be an interaction between race and problem situations among binge drinkers. The criterion variables were scores on the intrapersonal and interpersonal problem behaviors subscales. In reference to the first hypothesis, a significant main effect was found for gender, F(1, 175) 5 25.22, p , .001, h2 5 .09, such that men (M 5 14.02, SD 5 14.70, n 5 81) reported consuming a significantly greater amount of alcohol than did women (M 5 7.27, SD 5 8.83, n 5 102). No support was found for the hypothesis that Caucasians would consume more alcohol than African-Americans, F(1, 175) 5 .01, p 5 .927, h2 5 .01). However, several additional significant findings were found. Binge drinkers (M 5 14.59, SD 5 13.94, n 5 84) were found to have reported consuming more alcohol than did nonbinge drinkers (M 5 6.72, SD 5 9.25, n 5 99), F(1, 175) 5 32.32, p , .001, h2 5 .12. The analysis also showed several two-way interactions [gender by race, and gender by binge], which were all found to be qualified by a significant three-way interaction among gender, race, and binge status. The brevity of this article prevents presentation of this complex interaction. There was a significant interaction among race, binge status, and type of situation, F(1, 175) 5 11.28, p 5 .001, h2 5 .06. A priori t-tests were performed on the predicted
Situational determinants of alcohol abuse
137
interaction for binge drinkers. In support of the prediction, binge-drinking Caucasian college students had higher interpersonal problem behavior scores (M 5 33.16, SD 5 13.86) than did binge-drinking African-American college students (M 5 28.09, SD 5 14.66; t(175) 5 4.51, p , .05), and binge-drinking African-American college students had higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores (M 5 31.25, SD 5 10.92) than did binge-drinking Caucasian college students (M 5 24.76, SD 5 13.49; t(175) 5 11.99, p , .05). In addition, a post hoc analysis utilizing Duncan’s multiple-range test indicated that Caucasian college students had higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than intrapersonal problem behavior scores, whereas African-American college students had higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than interpersonal problem behavior scores. This interaction between race and type of situation did not occur for nonbinge drinkers. Duncan’s multiple-range post hoc testing indicated that for both non-binge-drinking Caucasian and African-American college students, their interpersonal problem behavior scores were higher than their intrapersonal problem behavior scores. The analysis also indicated a repeated measures effect for the problem situations variable, F(1, 175) 5 28.64, p 5 .000, h2 5 .11, such that the interpersonal problem behavior subscale (M 5 22.02, SD 5 16.48) had a significantly higher mean than did the intrapersonal problem behavior subscale (M 5 17.47, SD 5 14.09). A number of nonpredicted interactions were also found in this analysis, but they will not be presented here given the brevity of this article. D I S C U S S I O N
This study presented evidence that supported the hypothesis that college men would report consuming a greater amount of alcohol than would college women. This result lends further support to the findings of O’Hare (1990) and Wechsler et al. (1995). There was no statistical support for the hypothesis that Caucasians would report consuming more alcohol than would African-Americans, although race was involved in a number of interactions. The data in this study yielded evidence in support of the hypothesis that bingedrinking Caucasians would report higher interpersonal problem behavior scores than would binge-drinking African-Americans, and that binge-drinking African-Americans would report higher intrapersonal problem behavior scores than would binge-drinking Caucasians. As suggested by Fordham and Ogbu (1986), this finding may be the result of African-Americans not wanting to “act White.” That is to say, if binge drinking by Caucasians is perceived to occur in interpersonal situations, then African-Americans would avoid binge drinking in interpersonal situations in an effort not to behave like their Caucasian peers. The data analysis revealed a significant main effect for the problem situation variable, such that participants reported significantly higher mean interpersonal problem behavior scores than mean intrapersonal problem behavior scores. In other words, problem situations arose from external stimuli (interpersonal) more often than from internal stimuli (intrapersonal). This is similar to the results reported by Connors, Maistro, and Watson (1989), whose research indicated that interpersonal problem situations were more likely to result in drinking behaviors than were intrapersonal problem situations. The results of the current study reinforce the importance of including various attribute and demographic variables when studying predictors of alcohol use/abuse
138
M. J. HUMARA and M. F. SHERMAN
among college students. Clearly, individuals involved in prevention and treatment strategies need to be aware of the differences that exist between men and women, between Caucasians and African-Americans, between binge and nonbinge drinkers, and the complex interplay among these variables. R E F E R E N C E S Annis, H. M. (1984). Inventory of drinking situations. Toronto, Ontario: Addiction Research Foundation. Connors, G. J., Maistro, S. A., & Watson, D. W. (1989). Initial drinking experiences among African-American and Caucasian men and women student drinkers. The International Journal of the Addictions, 24, 1173–1182. Cooper, M. L., Russell, M., Skinner, J. B., & Windle, M. (1992). Development of a three-dimensional measure of drinking motives. Psychological Assessment, 4, 123–132. Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. U. (1986). African-American students school success: Coping with the “burden of acting Caucasian.” Urban Review, 18, 176–206. Myers, J. K., Weissman, M. M., Tischler, G. I., Leaf, P. J., Orvaschel, H., Anthony, J. C., Burke, J. D., Kramer, M., & Stoltzman, T. J. (1984). Six-month prevalence of psychiatric disorder in three communities. Archives of General Psychiatry, 41, 959–967. O’Hare, T. M. (1990). Drinking in college: Consumption patterns, problems, gender differences and legal drinking age. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 51, 536–541. Polich, J. M., Armor, D. J., & Braiker, H. B. (1981). The course of alcoholism: Four years after treatment. New York: Wiley. Sobell, M. B., Sobell, L. C., Klajner, F., Pavan, D., & Basian, E. (1986). The reliability of a time-line method for assessing normal drinker college students’ recent drinking history: Utility for alcohol research. Addictive Behaviors, 11, 149–161. Wechsler, H., Dowdall, G., Davenport, A., & Castillo, S. (1995). Correlates of college student binge drinking. American Journal of Public Health, 85, 921–926.