The Effects of Social Support, Depression, and Stress on Drinking Behaviors in a College Student Sample

Abstract

Social support research contends that supportive interactions provide a buffer wherein individuals are protected from increased risk due to negative affect. The present study investigated the relationships between social support and college students' stress, depression, and alcohol use. A total of 54 students completed questionnaires in exchange for extra course credit. Results demonstrated that stress and depression were correlated with one another and that social support was negatively correlated with each of these outcomes. Depression, but not stress, was correlated with increased drinking behavior. Overall, social support was negatively correlated with alcohol consumption; however, depression moderated the effect of social support such that support and alcohol consumption were negatively correlated for participants with higher depression whereas support and alcohol consumption were positively correlated for individuals with lower depression. These findings partially confirm existing theories of alcohol use that hypothesize differences between self-medicating drinkers and social, sensation-seeking drinkers.

Keywords:

• Alcohol Use
• College Students
• Depression
• Social Support

Notes

∗p < .05.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Perry M. Pauley

Perry M. Pauley (MA, University of Arizona, 2004) is a Doctoral Student in the Hugh Downs Schools of Human Communication at Arizona State University.

Colin Hesse

Colin Hesse (PhD, Arizona State University, 2009) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Missouri.