The personal vs social motivations for using alcohol were assessed for 109 undergraduates attending a midwestern technical university. Analysis indicated that alcohol was consumed more for social than for personal reasons and that men used alcohol more than women for the social reasons of meeting new people and meeting members of the opposite sex and for the personal reason of feeling better about themselves. Use was also associated with being a member of a fraternity or sorority and the total number of campus organizations in which students were involved. These results suggest that alcohol education programs should take into account the motivations on a particular campus for alcohol use.

This study investigated conflictual independence from parents (defined as a relationship free of anger and resentment), adjustment, and alcohol use among college students at a midwestern technical university (N = 109). Results showed that adjustment, as measured by the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (1989), was associated with having achieved conflictual independence from one's parents as measured by Hoffman's (1984) Psychological Separation Inventory. Additionally, greater alcohol use was associated with having achieved less conflictual independence from parents; the most frequent and strongest relationships occurred with respect to the mother‐student relationship. The results suggested that the parent‐student relationship has an impact on late adolescent development and that it also may play a role in alcohol use by college students.

The personal vs social motivations for using alcohol were assessed for 109 undergraduates attending a midwestern technical university. Analysis indicated that alcohol was consumed more for social than for personal reasons and that men used alcohol more than women for the social reasons of meeting new people and meeting members of the opposite sex and for the personal reason of feeling better about themselves. Use was also associated with being a member of a fraternity or sorority and the total number of campus organizations in which students were involved. These results suggest that alcohol education programs should take into account the motivations on a particular campus for alcohol use.