THE EFFECT OF AGE ON THE DRINKING HABITS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH

LOW SELF-ESTEEM

Lisa Miller

LITERATURE REVIEW 70 percent of young adults in the United States

consumed alcohol in the year prior to the 2001-2002 NESARC survey (Chen, Dufour, & Hsiao-ye, 2004)

Alcohol consumption has been linked to both an individual’s age and his or her level of self-esteem.

Younger students (18-21) drink more than older students (21+) As students age number of times they drink doesn’t change,

but amount of alcohol consumed decreases Older students don’t have “thrill” of drinking Brains mature as students; self-regulation increases

LITERATURE REVIEW

People with high self-esteem drink more after having positive experiences, those with low self-esteem drink more after negative experiences Life change events: can be stressful, negative

experiences Younger students + more life change events=lower

self-esteem than older students

Self-esteem increases gradually through middle/high school into college years

HYPOTHESES

Younger college students (e.g. freshmen and sophomores) with low self-esteem will consume more alcohol than older students (e.g. juniors and seniors) with low self-esteem.

College students with lower self-esteem will consume more alcohol than students with high self-esteem.

METHOD

Participants

Ten male (N=4) and female (N=6) undergraduate students enrolled at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Ranged between the ages of 19 and 25 years.

Represented the freshman (N=2), sophomore (N=3), junior (N=3), and senior (N=2) classes of Minnesota State and represented a wide variety of majors.

METHOD

MaterialsQuestionnaires Modified version of the Rosenberg Self-

Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) Cronbach’s alpha of 0.592

Modified version of the Student Alcohol Questionnaire (Engs, 1975) Cronbach’s alpha of 0.704

METHODProcedure

All participants completed an Informed Consent form and received a debriefing form at the end of the study

Students asked to complete both surveys and provide basic demographic data

Each participant received an identification number so information would remain anonymous

RESULTS

Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 18. The Alpha level was set at p < 0.05 for the linear regression.

Linear Regression Alcohol consumption level of college students was regressed

by participants’ year in school and level of self-esteem. The mean score on the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was gathered for analysis (M=3.94; SD=0.425). The mean score on the Student Alcohol Questionnaire was also utilized in analyzing data for significance (M=4.283; SD=0.319).

The results of the linear regression were not significant.

RESULTS

Table 1

Results of a Linear Regression Predicting the Effects of Age and Self-esteem on College Drinking Habits

Variable Beta p_________

Average Self-esteem score 0.065 0.860

Year in School -0.429 0.265

_____________________________________________

DISCUSSION

Results were not significant No relationship was found between age, self-esteem,

or alcohol consumption

Implications of Research Small sample size Sample was not diverse (esp. age) All students had similar levels of self-esteem

Future Research Conduct a similar study with a larger sample size and

more time and resources

REFERENCES

Chen, C. M., Dufour, M. C., & Hsiao-ye, Y. (2004). ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AMONG YOUNG ADULTS AGES 18-24 IN THE UNITED STATES: RESULTS FROM THE 2001-2002 NESARC SURVEY. Alcohol Research and Health, 269-280.

DeHart, T., Tennen, H., Armeli, S., Todd, M., & Mohr, C. (2009). A diary study of implicit self-esteem, interpersonal interactions and alcohol consumption in college students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 720-730.

Fromme, K., Wetherill, R. R., & Neal, D. J. (2010). Turning 21 and the Associated Changes in Drinking and Driving After Drinking Among College Students. Journal of American College Health, 21-27.

Gross, W. C. (1993). Gender and age differences in college students' alcohol consumption. Psychological Reports, 211-216.

Jih, C.-S., Sirgo, V. I., & Thomure, J. C. (1995). Alcohol consumption, locus of control, and self-esteem of high school and college students. Psychological Reports, 851-857.

Luhtanen, R. K., & Crocker, J. (2005). Alcohol Use in College Students: Effects of Level of Self-Esteem, Narcissism, and Contingencies of Self-Worth. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 99-103.

Marron, J. A., & Kayson, W. A. (1984). Effects of living status, gender, and year in college on college students' self-esteem and life-change experiences. Psychological Reports, 811-814.

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2001). Age and birth cohort differences in self-esteem: A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 321-344.