The Relationship of Social Context and Sensation Seeking to Indices to College Student Alcohol Abuse

Abstract

One hundred fifty three undergraduate male students at the State University of New York College at Brockport completed an anonymous questionnaire assessing the social context of college drinking and the personality trait known as sensation seeking. These measures were used to explain alcohol use intensity, frequency of alcohol impaired driving, and the frequency of riding with an impaired driver. It was found that during the twelve month period prior to the survey, eighty seven percent of the respondents had used alcohol on at least one occasion, sixty eight percent had driven a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, and forty four percent had ridden with an alcohol impaired driver. Results of multiple regression analyses showed that social context factors account for most of the variance in alcohol use intensity, frequency of driving while impaired, and frequency of riding with an impaired driver. The variable of Social Facilitation was significantly related to alcohol use intensity. The variable significantly related to driving under the influence of alcohol and riding with an impaired driver was that of Motor Vehicle. Sensation seeking was of lesser importance in accounting for variance in these three dependent variables. The implications of these findings for campus alcohol abuse intervention programs are discussed.