“Does Heavy Drinking Affect Academic Performance in College?” Anna Steck “Does Heavy Drinking Affect Academic Performance in College?” Mallie J. Paschall and Bridget Freisthler Journal of Studies on Alcohol Volume 64, Issue 4, July 2003, p515(5)

Is heavy alcohol abuse associated with academic performance?

Design

Dependent Variables -Theoretical Construct: Academic Performance -Operational Definition: Accumulative Grade Point Average

Dependent Variables Continued… -5 levels of Student GPA 1.77-2.49 (n=23) 2.50-2.99 (n=80) 3.00-3.24 (n=118) 3.25-3.49 (n=96) 3.50-4.63 (n=148)

Independent Variables 1.Theoretical Construct: High School Academic Performance Operational Definition: High School GPA 2.Theoretical Construct: Heavy Alcohol Use Score on questionnaire 3.Theoretical Construct: Alcohol Related Academic Problems: Operational Definition: Score on questionnaire 4.Theoretical Construct: Drinking Opportunities

Sample -Followed a random sample of students from their last year of high school through junior year in college -All students attended University of California-Berkeley -Of the 730 students who participated in the beginning of the study, 465 fully completed the study

Data Collection 3 surveys were mailed to the students 1. Summer before entering college 2. Fall of sophomore year 3. Fall of junior year -Participating students had to complete and return the survey -Students received a $20 compensation -Each participant was given a unique identification number

Measures -Academic Performance Self-reported GPA (not official records) -Heavy Alcohol Use Asked how often in the prior 2 weeks they had five or more consecutive drinks -six responses ranging from “none” to “10 or more”

Measures Continued… -Alcohol Related Academic Problems Asked how often since the beginning of the school year they had experienced drinking problems from a list of 29 -Problems included: missing a class, falling behind in schoolwork, performing poorly on a test -9 possible responses ranged from “never” to “10 or more times” *This set of items was treated as a scale (Cronbach’s alpha=0.91) and mean response score was computed for each student

Measures Continued… -Drinking Opportunities Students’ level of alcohol involvement Asked how often since the beginning of the school year they had purchased alcohol at a bar, had been offered a drink, and how often they drank with friends -9 possible responses ranged from “never” to “10 or more” *This set of items was treated as a scale (Cronbach’s alpha=0.91) and mean response score was computed for each student

Data Analysis -ANOVA was conducted to examine the relationship College GPA Total Sample 1.77-2.49 2.5-2.99 3-3.24 3.25-3.49 3.5-4.63 (N=465) (n=23) (n=80) (n=118) (n=96) (n=148) Variable -High School GPA 4.03 (0.32) 3.95 3.95 3.99 4.08 4.09 -Heavy Alcohol Use 1.41 (1.01) 1.35 1.41 1.44 1.44 1.37 -Alcohol-related Academic Problems 3.60 (1.89) 1.42 1.62 1.66 1.72 1.55 -Drinking Opportunities 1.87 (0.97) 1.59 1.80 1.96 2.06 1.75 *College GPA mean (SD) = 3.25 (0.45)

Results -High school GPA was positively associated with college GPA -Heavy alcohol abuse, alcohol-related problems and drinking opportunities were not associated with GPA -Highest mean value for alcohol-related academic problems (34.95) was observed for students at the 2nd highest GPA level (3.25-3.49) -Lowest mean value for alcohol-related academic problems (31.56) was observed for the students at the lowest college GPA level (1.77-2.49)

Discussion -This study suggests that alcohol use DOES NOT have an important effect on academic performance in college

Weak Points in this Experiment -Size of the GPA groups were greatly different -UC-Berkely sample does not represent a typical college student population -Heavy alcohol use and alcohol-related problems may be strongly associated with academic performance among students who are not high achievers in high school -Definition of alcoholic drink