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Article Excerpt
Student drinking has become a hot-button issue for many within higher education. Researchers have sought to understand not only the academic ramifications of alcohol use but also the secondhand sociological effects of alcohol misuse, as well as factors that affect student binge drinking. Despite the breadth of such studies, they are not without limitations. For example, the majority of current student drinking research concerns students within 4-year universities (Davis & Hunnicutt, 1991; Ryan, 1998) as compared with a relatively sparse amount of research involving community college students. Additionally, a substantial portion of research on student drinking focuses on the behavioral consequences of that behavior. Moreover, data analytic approaches to understanding measurement in this area tend to be purely descriptive and do not address more precise factors that make up the larger construct of behavioral consequences of alcohol use.
Consequences of student binge drinking are both serious and broad. Potential immediate consequences of binge drinking include premature death (e.g., from cirrhosis of the liver), suicide, increased risk for HIV infection, antisocial behaviors, and school-related difficulties. Over time, some long-term consequences of sustained and consistent binge drinking could include unmet developmental tasks, chronic unemployment/underemployment, failed interpersonal relationships, and dysfunctional developmental transitions (Kuo et al., 2003; Sullivan & Risler, 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, et al., 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Nelson, & Kuo, 2002).
The extant literature using data obtained from alcohol-related instruments provides empirical evidence of various consequences and problems due to student drinking behaviors. The most commonly reported consequences were hangovers, driving while intoxicated, DUI arrests, performing poorly on a test or major project, skipping class, and becoming sick because of one's drinking behavior (Kuo et al., 2003; Sullivan & Risler, 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, et al., 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Nelson, & Kuo, 2002).
Despite a breadth of research that reports on the negative consequences that individuals who binge drink experience (e.g., Kuo et al., 2003; Sullivan & Risler, 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, et al., 2002; Wechsler, Lee, Nelson, & Kuo, 2002), an understanding of the deeper nature and effects of such consequences remains uncharted. As such, research fails to explore how negative consequences cluster by type or populace subgroups (Weitzman, 2000). Hence, the purpose of the current study was to examine the factor structure of a behavioral consequences scale using data obtained from community college students. Furthermore, the aim of the current study was to capture a small snapshot of these data and not to provide conclusive validity evidence for the constructs being investigated.
METHOD
Participants
The sample for this study consisted of 1,680 students attending seven Illinois community colleges. The median age of the student sample was 25 years (mean age = 28), and the respondents' median grade point average was 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. This sample consisted of data gathered in spring 2004. Table 1 shows additional demographic characteristics of this sample. Of note is the substantial proportion of women in the sample (66.5%), the large proportion (49.2%) of students older than 24 years of age, as well as the relatively large percentage of students working full time or part time (63.8%). These characteristics are typical of students attending community colleges.
Procedure
The Illinois Higher Education Center in conjunction with the Core Institute at Southern Illinois University collected the data used in this study. Classes were randomly selected within each institution and surveys distributed to participants within those classes. Care was taken to select those classes that, when taken collectively, represented the student population.
Instrument
In 2004, in collaboration with the Illinois Higher Education Center, Parkland College, the City Colleges of Chicago, and the Core Institute at Southern Illinois...
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