140
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Articles

There are worse things and others to blame: measuring underage drinking disengagement strategies among college students

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 424-430 | Received 30 Jul 2022, Accepted 31 Mar 2023, Published online: 03 May 2023
 

Abstract

Objective

To adapt an existing measure of underage drinking disengagement among adolescents for use with university students and establish convergent validity.

Method

University students who drank or used a substance in the past month (n = 893) from 12 U.S. universities (Mage=19.48, age range 18–25; White = 74.1%; Female = 68.1%) completed an online survey as part of a larger study assessing their attitudes toward underage drinking on campus (adapted measure of disengagement) and alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C).

Results

The EFA indicated that a 2-factor structure fit the data well. The factors were Cognitive Restructuring and Minimizing Agency, which was confirmed with a CFA (χ2(64)=250.11, p<.001; CFI=.93; TLI=.92; RMSEA=.08, 90% CI of RMSEA: .07 to .09; SRMR=.04). Cognitive Restructuring and Minimizing Agency were positively correlated with alcohol consumption, (r=.35, p<.001, and r =.21, p<.001, respectively).

Conclusions

Clinicians can benefit from using students’ responses on this measure to challenge beliefs that young adults hold about the acceptability of alcohol use while underage, as well as challenge beliefs about actions of authority figures and peers that decrease perceived responsibility for underage drinking among university students. Future research can examine under what conditions people disengage and its link to other problematic behaviors involving alcohol.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential competing interests was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.