The article examines and analyzes the problem of drinking among undergraduates and assesses reasons and factors of drinking behavior. The effect of alcohol varies by social position and achievements of students. Female students who drink face a lower risk of death than male students, but an increased risk of breast cancer. Individual factors have a great impact on decision to use alcohol regularly. The purpose of writing this study is to analyze the factors and reasons of alcohol consumption among students and singles out situational factors of drinking behavior. Also, the purpose of the study is to prevent mortality and premature deaths. Because students have a lower risk of cardiovascular death and an increased risk of alcohol- related illness, their overall mortality and illness increases with drinking. A strong association between academic achievements and alcohol use has been noted, prompting examination of the prevalence of regular alcohol consumption dilemma in both alcoholic and general population. The article tries to extend the knowledge on the problem and singles out the main factors and reasons of drinking behavior. The article will help educators to bring social change and understand behavior o students and their needs.
Main Idea of the article is that undergraduates drink for different reasons caused by their financial and emotional states. Also, they are influenced by environment and settings in campus, friends and relations with people. The author singles out two types of reasons: individual and situational reasons to drink. Among the study’s most important conclusions are multi-sectional and prospective relations between individual differences and situations, as well as significant personal relations between alcohol use and dependence. “We contended that, since motives for drinking are key variables in predicting alcohol use per se, they may similarly be powerful explanatory variables of situational drinking and may thus partially explain why individuals drink moderately on one occasion and heavily on another” (Kairouz et al 602.). Following, Cox and Klinger (1988), the authors suppose that alcohol consumption is influenced by individual differences of students and their insensitive motivation. Following such researchers as Cox and Klinger (1988), “alcohol use is Demers et al., 2002; Harford, 1978, 1983; Knibbe et al., 1993) the authors assume that situations factors play a definite role in alcohol consumption among undereducated.
The research is based on a contextual model of behavior analysis. A mal survey method was used to collect the data. The survey was conducted by the Canadian Campus in 1998. This research design was seen as the best one calculate a so-called prevalence rate, which is the number of students suffering from the illness at the time of the survey. This poses some problems, as prevalence relates to incidence in a rather complex design, involving factors such as duration of alcohol consumption and frequency. The researchers used two-stage sampling. The variable was “alcohol intake per occasion” (Kairouz, S et al 602). Independent variables were situational factors such as different occasions and reasons for alcohol consumption. Statistical analysis was based on conventional regression analysis. Prevalence rates were analyzed by the same methods as occurrence, but care was needed in the interpretation of such data. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of possible situational and individual factors on the development of alcohol consumption patterns. Researchers classify students in a prospective study according to whether they show a particular attribute (individual or situational factor), and whether they develop this habit unconsciously. Confounding variables were controlled for in the statistical analysis of the results of a study. “Models in this study employed iterative generalized least squares (IGLS) estimation provided by MlwiN software” (Kairouz, S et al 603). A mainly important consideration is that of study only measured variables were controlled for. The effects of possible confounding variables which were omitted as part of the study cannot be controlled.
Results – it was found that men are influenced by social and situational behavior patterns and opinion more than female students. Women prefer to drink in order to relax. Students who met criteria for either alcohol abuse or dependence exhibited 1.9 times greater risk for alcoholism in the study. Researchers admit that alcohol consumption and affective disorders vary a good deal by psychological problems, with higher occurrence rates among students diagnosed with depression as compared to those with normal psychological characteristics. “Reasons for drinking and the drinking setting together influence consumption. Previous studies revealed that motives for drinking and contexts merge into mixed categories that are likely to predict drinking behavior” (Kairouz, S et al 606).
Evaluation
The age and sex structures of students were a source of complexity. The previous studies used an observational design, and found an association between light drinking and reduced risk because of unmeasured confounding variables. It is dangerous to extrapolate from findings and advise present students to start drinking. The authors state that alcohol consumption raise are important questions about whether and how drinking affects students, and about how educators can assess and weigh those benefits against the health risks of alcohol. The researchers deceloped effective research design which met the needs of the study questions and helped to test the hypothesis.
The importance of the study is that in a study, examined relations between academic problems, alcohol involvement, deviance, educational investment, campus environment, and academic ability: Thus, it would be important to investigate self-effacing prospective associations between alcohol involvement and academic failure. Thus, this results were not observed when analyses controlled for, among other things, a history of alcohol consumption problems and intellectual ability. It is crucial to support current results by further research on relations between alcohol involvement throughout the college years and educational and occupational achievement. Important, albeit modest, prospective relations remained between undergraduate years’ alcohol abuse and educational achievement after controlling for the effects of education levels, and individual differences linked with gender, history of alcoholism, and academic achievement and skill. While less consistent prospective relations were observed between alcohol consumption and adult occupational attainment, important, associations between years’ alcohol dependence and occupational achievement were observed in both bivariate and multivariate analyses. The article is based on objective and accurate data collection methods which helped to tests the hypothesis and reach the desired outcomes. The arguments are well supported and explained by theoretical materials and application of statistical analysis techniques. The most important data and facts highlighted by this article are that there is a close ling between individual and satiation reasons in alcohol consumption and abuse among young people. Many young people drink because of social norms and behavior patterns established in their campus and a need to relax and reduce stress and pressure.
Works Cited
Kairouz, S. et al. For All These Reasons, I Do… Drink: A Multilevel Analysis of Contextual Reasons for Drinking among Canadian Undergraduates* Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 2002, pp. 600-608.