Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Nicholas Turiano

Committee Member

Amy Gentzler

Committee Member

Cheryl McNeil

Abstract

Heavy alcohol use during college can result in numerous negative outcomes (e.g., accidents, worse academics, risky sexual behaviors, etc.). Understanding the risk-factors associated with elevated alcohol use in college are needed so prevention and/or interventions can be implemented to inhibit such dangerous behavior. Adverse childhood experiences have been identified as one key factor in the initiation and escalation of alcohol use, but there is limited research on samples that are in emerging adulthood. Specifically, the transition to college is a time when many students escalate drinking and can form the basis for longer term drinking patterns. It is not yet clear how adversity impacts this critical transition in terms of alcohol use patterns. Thus, the goal of this study was to identify these alcohol use behaviors among college freshmen already at risk for higher levels of alcohol use. The current study utilized data from the College Student Transition Study at a large Mid-Atlantic university to examine alcohol use trajectories of college freshmen across their first year of university. Seven hundred and sixty-nine participants (Mage = 18.61 years, SD = 0.33, range = 18.09 – 20.11; 50.71% female; 90.25% White), mostly from the Appalachian region, completed an online Qualtrics survey assessing demographic information, their experience of childhood adversity, and average alcohol use, among other variables. Unconditional and conditional latent growth curve models were assessed in Mplus to examine change across four waves of data, and whether the experience of childhood adversity predicted elevated alcohol use at baseline and steeper increases in use over the first year of college. There was significant variability in intercept, slope, and curvature. The typical pattern was an increase in alcohol use during the immediate transition to college, but then there was a significant decline during the end of the spring semester. Results suggested that adversity significantly predicted variability in the quadratic effect (curvature), showing that those with higher adversity experienced a sharper decrease in alcohol use during the spring semester. Findings can be used to inform alcohol use awareness programs for those who have faced higher levels of childhood adversity.

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