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. 2019 Nov:98:106046.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.106046. Epub 2019 Jul 6.

Who cares if college and drinking are synonymous? Identification with typical students moderates the relationship between college life alcohol salience and drinking outcomes

Joanne Angosta  1 , Mai-Ly N Steers  2 , Kieran Steers  3 , Jordanna Lembo Riggs  4 , Clayton Neighbors  4
Affiliations

Who cares if college and drinking are synonymous? Identification with typical students moderates the relationship between college life alcohol salience and drinking outcomes

Joanne Angosta et al. Addict Behav. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

There is considerable research demonstrating that college life alcohol salience is associated with alcohol use among undergraduates. However, the strength of this association may depend on whether students self-identify with other students on their campus; self-identification with other students may indicate how influential other students are on an individuals' drinking. As such, the current research investigated whether identification with the "typical student" moderated the relationship between college life alcohol salience beliefs and alcohol-related outcomes. Five-hundred and eleven undergraduates reported their alcohol use, how closely they identified with other students, as well as their college life alcohol salience beliefs. Poisson moderated regression models and negative binomial moderation regression models were employed. Results indicated that self-identification with other students was a significant moderator of the association between college life alcohol salience beliefs and frequency of drinking as well as peak number of drinks, but not drinks per week or alcohol-related problems. Findings suggest that it may be important to shift students' perceptions surrounding drinking as being an important part of the college experience, particularly for those who identify with their peers.

Keywords: Alcohol; College students; Drinking; Identity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Poisson moderation analysis revealed that IOS was a moderator of the association between CLASS and drinking frequency per week.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Negative binomial moderation analysis revealed that IOS was a moderator of the association between CLASS and peak drinks.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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