High-Risk Drinking Among Young Adults: The Influence of Race and College Enrollment

Abstract

This secondary data analysis of the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse examines the influence of individual, interpersonal, and contextual social risk and protective factors on high risk drinking, focusing on the influence of minority status and college enrollment among 5,895 young adults. Hierarchical regression predicted 39.4% of the variance in high-risk drinking. Being male, increased risk-taking behavior, being older, and higher numbers of friends getting drunk all positively influenced high-risk drinking, and disapproval of daily drinking reduced high-risk drinking. Interaction effects showed all significant variables to be more influential for Whites than Blacks, including college attendance.

Keywords:

• College
• drinking
• minority
• young adults