College Students' Alcohol Consumption, Perceived Stress, Metacognition, and Mind Wandering

Abstract

College student typically experience being on their own for the first time as they enter adulthood, as well as beginning to experiment with drugs, specifically alcohol. The current study investigates the relationship between levels of alcohol consumption, perceived stress, metacognitive awareness, and mind-wandering in college students. These relationships have been demonstrated in previous studies but have not been studied simultaneously. Participants were recruited from Principles of Psychology and filled out a self-report survey that included 6 scales asking about their alcohol usage, metacognitive awareness, and mind wandering. The results indicated that there was a positive relationship between metacognitive awareness and alcohol usage, alcohol use and mind-wandering, as well as replicate the findings from a previous study, indicating a positive relationship between perceived stress, metacognitive awareness, and mind wandering.