Is heavy drinking really associated with attrition from college? The alcohol-attrition paradox.

Abstract

Student attrition at colleges across the United States poses a significant problem for students and families, higher educational institutions, and the nation's workforce competing in the global economy. Heavy drinking is a highly plausible contributor to the problem. However, there is little evidence that it is a reliable predictor of attrition. Notably, few studies take into account indicators of collegiate engagement that are associated with both heavy drinking and persistence in college. Event-history analysis was used to estimate the effect of heavy drinking on attrition among 3,290 undergraduates at a large midwestern university during a 4-year period, and student attendance at a number of college events was included as covariates. Results showed that heavy drinking did not predict attrition bivariately or after controlling for precollege predictors of academic success. However, after controlling for event attendance (an important indicator of collegiate engagement), heavy drinking was found to predict attrition. These findings underscore the importance of the college context in showing that heavy drinking does in fact predict attrition and in considering future intervention efforts to decrease attrition and also heavy drinking. Keywords college attrition; heavy drinking; suppression; event-history College attrition is prevalent and is also quite problematic, both for individuals who attempt college and subsequently leave without a degree and for society overall. For example, 19.5% of the U.S. population (25 years and older) attempted college but did not obtain a degree (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006a). These individuals earn far less than do college graduates ($31,936 as opposed to $45,221; U.S. Census Bureau, 2006b) yet would still be responsible for any loans made toward failed college attempts (Horn, Berger, & Carroll, 2004). Thus, attrition is financially disadvantageous for individuals (Horn et al., 2004). The disadvantages of attrition extend to the nation and to society-at-large, which subsidizes education for the purpose of promoting degree attainment (Cunningham & Carroll, 2005) and subsequent economic growth and national progress.Thus, identifying risk factors for attrition is important for developing interventions to decrease attrition rates. Heavy drinking is one such possible risk factor. First, it is highly prevalent in college-age youths (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Schulenberg, 2005 ) and thus is a public health concern in its own right. It is also associated with deficits in long-term neurocognitive functioning, which could affect academic performance and later vocational success (Zeigler et al., 2005). Thus, it is not surprising that a nationally representative sample of college administrators reported believing that alcohol (specifically) was involved in 21% of all cases of student attrition (Gadaleto & Anderson, 1986). Furthermore, a nationally representative sample of students rated alcohol use as one of the top 10 impediments to students' academic performance (American College ...

Revisiting the rationale for social normative interventions in student drinking in a UK population

“…There was no reason to assume that participants were not typical of this population. Indeed, as research suggests that excessive alcohol consumption is a predictor of non-engagement with studies (Martinez, Sher & Wood, 2008), one might speculate that the heaviest drinkers were not present in the recruitment lectures, and that consumption means reported here could be underestimates.…”

Alcohol Use and Related Problems Among College Students and Their Noncollege Peers: The Competing Roles of Personality and Peer Influence

“…After 3 years, 82% of the incoming class of 2004 at the university remained enrolled, with 4% having graduated and 14% having dropped out (Offi ce of Information Management and Analysis, 2010). This represents relatively low undergraduate attrition relative to other public universities (Martinez et al, 2008). Of the 810 students randomized to the Year 4-only condition in 2004, 421 provided consent and completed at least part of the Year 4 survey.…”

Drug Use Patterns and Continuous Enrollment in College:Results From a Longitudinal Study

“…Results of several cross-sectional studies demonstrated a signifi cant association between excessive alcohol consumption and lower college grade point average (GPA; Gliksman et al, 1997;MusgraveMarquart et al, 1997;Pascarella et al, 2007;Singleton, 2007), but other studies failed to replicate this fi nding (McCabe, 2002;Paschall and Freisthler, 2003). A few studies have highlighted the importance of examining intermediary variables in this relationship, including the amount of time spent studying (Wolaver, 2002), missed classes, late assignments (McCabe, 2002), and the degree of student engagement in college activities (Martinez et al, 2008).…”

“…A growing body of literature focuses on possible academic consequences. Although informative, many of these studies have signifi cant limitations, such as cross-sectional designs (Gliksman et al, 1997;Musgrave-Marquart et al, 1997;Pascarella et al, 2007;Paschall and Freisthler, 2003;Singleton, 2007) and a focus on heavy alcohol consumption without accounting for illicit drug use (Martinez et al, 2008). Results of several cross-sectional studies demonstrated a signifi cant association between excessive alcohol consumption and lower college grade point average (GPA; Gliksman et al, 1997;MusgraveMarquart et al, 1997;Pascarella et al, 2007;Singleton, 2007), but other studies failed to replicate this fi nding (McCabe, 2002;Paschall and Freisthler, 2003).…”