Personality, Living Arrangements, and Alcohol Use by First Year University Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction of personality, living arrangements, and alcohol consumption amongst first year University students. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and the Ontario Life Styles Survey were administered to 94 Laurentian University Students. The subjects resided in one of three living arrangements; on campus, off campus, or with their parents. There was a significant difference between gender on the total weekly consumption scores and on risk for alcohol addiction. Male students living off campus and in residence showed greater risk for alcohol addiction than did students living with their parents. Those students who were at risk for alcohol addiction showed higher mean scores on clinical scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory including psychopathic deviance and mania. A significance was also noted in self-esteem and living arrangements with the students living off campus having higher self-esteem than those students living with parents or in residence.

Lifestyle Practice among Malaysian University Students

“…In this study, living status is significantly influence the practice of drinking alcohol among university students. Similar study showed that students living in on-campus residences, such as fraternities, sororities, or residence halls, tend to drink more, more often engage in ''binge drinking,'' and report more alcohol-related negative consequences than those living with their parents (Martin and Hoffman, 1993;Montgomery and Hammerlie, 1993;Valliant and Scanlan, 1996). Wechsler et al (2002) presented data from multiple Harvard School of Public Health College alcohol studies including over 53,000 participants and 140 colleges that provided compelling evidence for the impact of living environment on problem drinking.…”

“…As many as 84.2% of college students reported a heavy drinking within the previous 90 days (Vik et al, 2000) and 44% reported binge drinking in the previous 2 weeks (Wechsler et al, 1994;. Similar studies found that male students tend to drink alcohol more frequently and in larger quantities than female students (Valliant and Scanlan, 1996;Clements, 1999;O'Malley and Johnston, 2002;Read, et al, 2002). Additionally, male students are more likely to engage in binge drinking (Wechsler et al, 1994;1998), risky drinking (Hill and Chow, 2002) and to meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder (Clements, 1999;Hill and Chow, 2002) than female students.…”

They Drink How Much and Where? Normative Perceptions by Drinking Contexts and Their Association to College Students'Alcohol Consumption

“…Several variables have been examined as to why context infl uences alcohol consumption. Factors such as ethnicity (Nyaronga et al, 2009), gender (Herd and Grube, 1993), lack of supervision (Wells et al, 2005), and living arrangement (Gfroerer et al, 1997;Valliant and Scanlan, 1996;Ward and Gryczynski, 2009) are associated with different contexts of heavier drinking in college. A number of contexts have been examined in relation to alcohol consumption and negative consequences, including home, non-fraternity/sorority parties, fraternity/sorority parties, bars, and sporting events.…”

The gendered landscape of UK higher education: do men feel disadvantaged?

“…Such findings may indicate that patterns of stereotyping of disengaged male students, and conscientious female students, exist within the student body (HEPI 2009). They provide little support, however, for the possibility that that men's reportedly higher levels of socialising, and lower levels of study-oriented behaviour (Valliant & Scanlan 1996;HEA 2011) can be related to a sense of gender-linked disadvantage on their part, consequent upon their minority status within HE. They are more consistent with research claiming that women's study-oriented behaviour may be related to their anxieties about social status in society in general and in the future workforce in particular (Smith 2004).…”

“…Moreover, there is evidence that those men who do access HE are more likely to 8 be disengaged from their courses, have lower rates of attendance, are less proactive in their relationships with tutors, access academic and support services less often, and report greater levels of socialising as a factor associated with such disengagement (ECU 2011;Gammie et al 2003;HEA 2011;Valliant & Scanlan 1996). We do not know, however, if these identified lower levels of engagement can be partially accounted for by a growing sense of disadvantage felt by men in the context of their minority status, and women's higher attainment levels.…”