Off-Campus Residence as a Risk Factor for Heavy Drinking Among College Students

ABSTRACT

Background: College student alcohol use is a public health problem. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine associations between residence and drinking behaviors among college students. We hypothesized that living off-campus independently or with peers would be associated with riskier drinking than living on-campus, and living with parents would be associated with less risky drinking than living on-campus. Methods: We analyzed data from two separate studies conducted at two four-year universities in the Northeast. Study 1 examined data from 1286 students (57% female) attending a private university. In Study 2, analyses were replicated and extended with 2408 students (67% female) from a public university. We conducted regression analyses that controlled for age, race, gender, and class year to determine the unique association of residence on typical and peak drinking, frequency of heavy drinking, and alcohol-related consequences. Results: In both samples, students living off-campus without parents reported more frequent alcohol consumption, larger drinking quantities, more frequent heavy drinking, and a greater number of alcohol-related consequences than students living on-campus (ps <.001). In Study 2, students living off-campus with their parents exhibited significantly fewer risky drinking behaviors than those living on-campus (ps <.001). Conclusions: Living off-campus – either independently or with peers – is a risk factor for heavy drinking and consequences. This group exhibits more risky drinking behaviors and alcohol-related consequences than students living on-campus, independent of age and class year. Therefore, students moving off-campus may be appropriate targets for alcohol misuse prevention programs.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol use
• consequences
• residence
• college students
• risky drinking

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Brown University for providing data from their National College Health Improvement Project survey. We would also like to acknowledge the University of Rhode Island Office of Substance Abuse Prevention Services and the Dean of Students Office for the use of their campus survey data.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

This research was supported by grant number K01AA022938 (PI: Jennifer Merrill) and training grant number T32-AA007459 (PI: Peter Monti) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health. NIH had no role in the study design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Notes

1 Per the university website, about 70–80% of 4th year students and 10% of 3rd year students live off-campus depending on the numbers of students and housing available.

2 Those who reported transgender sexual identity (n = 3), class year above 4th year (n = 18), living off-campus with their parents (n = 11), or “other” residence (n = 2).

3 Per the university website, about 45% of students live on-campus and 54% of students are commuters (off-campus/Greek/parents).

4 Those indicating transgender (n = 11), residence of “other” (n = 49), class year above 4th year (n = 23), and those outside the ages of 18 to 24 years (n = 88).

5 We reran analyses on the full sample, coding drinking variables as 0 for non-drinkers, and significance of findings did not change.

6 Study 1 school enrollment data for 2011 indicates 45% of the student body was White; this sample is 71% White (https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/institutional-research/factbook/enrollment). Study 2 school enrollment data for 2014 indicates 70% of the student body was White; this sample is 82% White (http://web.uri.edu/ir/files/fer-spring14.pdf).

7 For males, campus data is 46%, sample data is 33%.