Contextual Factors Influencing U.S. College Students’ Decisions to Drink Responsibly

Figures & data

TABLE 1  Responsible drinking motives across genders

CHORDS motivations scale items
When I drink responsibly, one of my motives is…	Male	Female	p	Cohen's d
1. Because I do not want to get drunk.	3.44	3.60	.095	–
2. Because I have to look out for one of my friends.	3.34	3.45	.209	–
3. Because of my religious convictions.	2.16	2.43	.033	–0.189
4. Because I do not want to do anything out of my character I may later regret.	3.37	3.90	.000	–0.440
5. Because I do not want to spend a lot of money on alcohol.	3.22	3.06	.128	–
6. Because my significant other or parent(s) will be upset with me if I drink too much	2.64	2.50	.187	–
7. Because I have to drive myself home.	3.65	3.75	.338	–
8. Because I do not want someone to take advantage of me.	1.97	3.50	.000	–1.161
9. Because I am afraid of getting in trouble with law enforcement.	3.24	3.46	.066	–
10. Because I do not want to develop a drinking problem.	2.46	2.48	.924	–
11. Because I want to have control over my actions.	3.65	4.07	.000	–0.379
12. Because of my work-related responsibilities.	2.77	2.74	.827	–
13. Because I am the designated driver.	3.44	3.63	.100	–
14. Because I do not want to get nauseous or vomit.	3.33	3.69	.001	–0.282
15. Because I want to be aware of and understand what is going on around me.	3.54	3.89	.000	–0.311
16. Because I have to get up early in the morning for class.	3.17	3.19	.862	–
17. Because a friend and/or family member has a drinking problem.	1.94	2.16	.066	–
18. Because I want to remember what happens.	3.07	3.57	.000	–0.389
19. Because I need to study for a test or complete my school work.	3.26	3.29	.792	–
20. Because I want to keep my blood alcohol concentration (BAC) under 0.08%.	2.16	2.41	.027	–0.196
21. Because I am with people I do not know very well or in a new environment.	2.62	2.98	.001	–0.300

Response Scale: (1) Never a motivator for responsible drinking, (2) Seldom a motivator for responsible drinking, (3) A motivator for responsible drinking some of the time, (4) A motivator for responsible drinking most of the time, or (5) Always a motivator for responsible drinking.

TABLE 2  Responsible drinking barriers across genders

CHORDS barriers scale items
The next time I drink alcohol, I would not be able to drink responsibly if…	Male	Female	p	Cohen's d
1. I felt depressed or stressed out.	2.13	2.32	.071	–
2. I had recently failed an important test in one of my classes.	2.05	2.09	.699	–
3. I had recently broken up with my significant other.	2.36	2.44	.503	–
4. Everyone else was getting drunk.	2.34	2.37	.811	–
5. I had a designated driver.	2.40	2.39	.887	–
6. An attractive person wanted to buy me a drink(s).	2.46	2.08	.001	0.302
7. I was having a bad day.	2.21	2.29	.414	–
8. I was playing a drinking game.	2.97	2.71	.036	0.189
9. I felt like I would be missing out on a good time with my friends.	2.57	2.38	.067	–
10. I was an alcoholic.	2.17	1.92	.089	–
11. I was celebrating my 21st birthday.	3.08	3.11	.886	–
12. I had someone challenge me to a drinking contest.	2.20	1.86	.001	0.294
13. I felt pressured by friends to drink.	2.07	1.89	.053	0.174
14. I was at a party and/or friend's house and planned on staying there that night.	2.86	2.79	.534	–
15. Someone I trust agreed to stay sober to look after me and make sure I was safe.	2.46	2.53	.499	–
16. I had a family member that has a drinking problem.	1.61	1.56	.540	–

Response Scale: (1) Never an obstacle to drinking responsibly, (2) Seldom an obstacle to drinking responsibly, (3) An obstacle to drinking responsibly some of the time, (4) An obstacle to drinking responsibly most of the time, or (5) Always an obstacle to drinking responsibly.

TABLE 3  Responsible drinking motives as a function of binge drinking

CHORDS motivations scale items
When I drink responsibly, one of my motives is…	Non-binge drinker	Binge drinker	p**	Cohen's d
1. Because I do not want to get drunk.	3.91	3.04	.001	0.837
2. Because I have to look out for one of my friends.	3.49	3.29	.016	0.212
3. Because of my religious convictions.	2.66	1.83	.001	0.613
4. Because I do not want to do anything out of my character I may later regret.	4.01	3.22	.001	0.678
5. Because I do not want to spend a lot of money on alcohol.	3.28	2.95	.002	0.281
6. Because my significant other or parent(s) will be upset with me if I drink too much	2.73	2.35	.001	0.303
7. Because I have to drive myself home.	3.79	3.61	.092	–
8. Because I do not want someone to take advantage of me.	3.11	2.43	.001	0.456
9. Because I am afraid of getting in trouble with law enforcement.	3.45	3.25	.094	–
10. Because I do not want to develop a drinking problem.	2.72	2.16	.001	0.387
11. Because I want to have control over my actions.	4.23	3.43	.001	0.771
12. Because of my work-related responsibilities.	2.82	2.67	.186	–
13. Because I am the designated driver.	3.59	3.52	.549	–
14. Because I do not want to get nauseous or vomit.	3.75	3.25	.001	0.397
15. Because I want to be aware of and understand what is going on around me.	4.06	3.31	.001	0.723
16. Because I have to get up early in the morning for class.	3.15	3.22	.468	–
17. Because a friend and/or family member has a drinking problem.	2.21	1.85	.002	0.274
18. Because I want to remember what happens.	3.60	3.01	.001	0.469
19. Because I need to study for a test or complete my school work.	3.12	3.49	.001	-0.305
20. Because I want to keep my blood alcohol concentration (BAC) under 0.08%.	2.64	1.86	.001	0.631
21. Because I am with people I do not know very well or in a new environment.	2.95	2.64	.003	0.261

*Respondent binge drinking status determined by self-reporting consuming “five or more drinking at a sitting” within the last two weeks one or more times.

**In order to account for unequal variance, statistical significance based upon Brown–Forsythe's robust test of equality of means.

TABLE 4  Responsible drinking barriers as a function of binge drinking

CHORDS barriers scale items
The next time I drink alcohol, I would not be able to drink responsibly if…	Non-binge drinker	Binge drinker	p**	Cohen's d
1. I felt depressed or stressed out.	2.09	2.41	.002	–0.283
2. I had recently failed an important test in one of my classes.	1.87	2.34	.001	–0.423
3. I had recently broken up with my significant other.	2.13	2.77	.001	–0.493
4. Everyone else was getting drunk.	2.08	2.72	.001	–0.567
5. I had a designated driver.	2.03	2.89	.001	–0.683
6. An attractive person wanted to buy me a drink(s).	1.95	2.68	.001	–0.590
7. I was having a bad day.	2.02	2.56	.001	–0.504
8. I was playing a drinking game.	2.42	3.39	.001	–0.751
9. I felt like I would be missing out on a good time with my friends.	2.17	2.85	.001	–0.607
10. I was an alcoholic.	1.97	2.13	.282	–
11. I was celebrating my 21st birthday.	2.64	3.69	.001	–0.703
12. I had someone challenge me to a drinking contest.	1.71	2.43	.001	–0.629
13. I felt pressured by friends to drink.	1.88	2.10	.023	–
14. I was at a party and/or friend's house and planned on staying there that night.	2.50	3.25	.001	–0.623
15. Someone I trust agreed to stay sober to look after me and make sure I was safe.	2.21	2.88	.001	–0.545
16. I had a family member that has a drinking problem.	1.53	1.64	.260	–

*Respondent binge drinking status determined by self-reporting consuming “five or more drinking at a sitting” within the last two weeks one or more times.

**In order to account for unequal variance, statistical significance based upon Brown–Forsythe's robust test of equality of means.

TABLE 5  Logistic regression predicting binge drinking status

	95% C.I. for odds ratio
	Odds ratio	Lower	Upper	B	S.E.	Wald	df	Sig.
Motivations scale composite	0.396	0.269	0.583	–0.926	0.197	22.044	1	0.0001
Barriers scale composite	2.548	1.903	3.413	0.935	0.149	39.382	1	0.0001
Age	0.944	0.896	0.994	–0.058	0.026	4.840	1	0.028
Sex	0.673	0.429	1.055	–0.397	0.230	2.976	1	0.085
Race
White non-Hispanic	1.454	0.633	3.343	0.374	0.425	0.777	1	0.378
Hispanic or Latino	3.423	1.189	9.854	1.230	0.540	5.201	1	0.023
Constant	4.050	–	–	1.399	1.031	1.842	1	0.175