Differential Gender Reactions To Independence From Ones Parents And Its Effect On Alcohol Consumption Among College Students

Title	Differential Gender Reactions To Independence From Ones Parents And Its Effect On Alcohol Consumption Among College Students
Author	Grossman, Elyse
Advisors	Miller, Nancy A.
Program	Public Policy
UMBC Department	Public Policy
Document Type	thesis
Sponsors	University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Keywords	Health Sciences, Public Health (0573); Health Sciences, General (0566); gender differences; binge drinking; independence; college students; alcohol; policy
Date Issued	2008-11-02; *
Abstract	Alcohol abuse is becoming more prevalent on college campuses. Although college and university administrators have begun implementing new alcohol prevention and treatment programs, these programs do not adjust for their participants' gender, thus neglecting a potentially major influence of drinking behaviors. This study examined whether independence -the physical, psychological and emotional separation from one's parents and the ramifications of that separation - affected college alcohol consumption differently for women than men. First- and second-year students at a state university (n=177) completed online surveys assessing their patterns of drinking, and their levels of college and high school independence. The study found that women's likelihood of binge drinking during college decreased among women who communicated regularly with their parents during high school but increased among women whose parents provided strict governance and discipline during high school. These findings suggest that parents may be serving as emotional anchors for their daughters, thus enabling these women to turn to their parents for support during stressful times in college instead of turning to alcohol. Moreover, increased binge drinking in college may be an act of rebellion against their parents' discipline in high school as well as a reaction to the freedom provided to students in college and the major adjustment which is thus required of them. Men's weekly alcohol consumption in college was affected by the enforcement (or lack thereof) of specific rules in high school. University administrators could acknowledge and target these gender differences thus creating better alcohol treatment programs, prevention strategies and campus policies.
Identifier	1274
Format	application:pdf
Language	en
Collection	UMBC Theses and Dissertations
Rights Statement	This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu.

Add tags for Differential Gender Reactions To Independence From Ones Parents And Its Effect On Alcohol Consumption Among College Students

View as list | View as tag cloud | report abuse

Post a Comment for Differential Gender Reactions To Independence From Ones Parents And Its Effect On Alcohol Consumption Among College Students

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home Differential Gender Reactions To Independence From Ones Parents And Its Effect On Alcohol...

Differential Gender Reactions To Independence From Ones Parents And Its Effect On Alcohol Consumption Among College Students

Description

Tags

Comments