College student protective strategies and drinking consequences

Abstract

Objective: This study explored the relationships between college student gender, alcohol use, protective strategies and harmful drinking consequences.

Method: A derivation sample (N = 3,851; 54% women) and a replication sample (N = 4,151; 55% women) of undergraduate students completed the Campus Alcohol Survey (CAS) in classroom settings.

Results: Although women drank less than men and were less likely to experience harmful consequences, they were more likely to use protective strategies. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that students who consumed at least six drinks when they partied--especially men-were less likely to experience more common consequences (e.g., poor academic performance, property damage, unconsciousness, riding in a vehicle with others who have been drinking) if they engaged in self-protective strategies. Such strategies also helped students who exceeded the median number of drinks to moderate the effect of drinking on less common consequences (e.g., vehicular accidents, class failure, conflicts with authorities).

Conclusions: These findings add to the growing literature on contextual events that protect students from harm while drinking.