Student Attitudes Towards Drinking Behaviors

The literature is relatively inconclusive regarding predictors of alcohol use; while some studies have demonstrated an association between high levels of social interaction and increased alcohol use, others have shown that a lack of social support is linked to drinking heavily. The current study was conducted with students at the University of New Hampshire; participants’ attitudes towards alcohol were assessed along with many psychosocial factors. Low levels of conscientiousness, parent and high school influence, frequently attending parties, and friend influence were most highly predictive of positive attitudes towards alcohol; multiple regression of these factors accounted for 30.1% of the variance. Alternatively, negative attitudes towards alcohol were most highly predicted by high levels of conscientiousness and infrequently attending parties. Positive and negative attitudes were not highly correlated with one another; therefore, some students had both highly positive and highly negative attitudes toward alcohol. This group, with conflicting attitudes toward alcohol use, is of particular interest.