Variation in the Drinking Trajectories of Freshmen College Students
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2005
Keywords
freshmen college students; drinking variations; risk factors
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.73.2.229
Abstract
F. K. Del Boca, J. Darkes, P. E. Greenbaum, and M. S. Goldman (2004) examined temporal variations in drinking during the freshmen college year and the relationship of several risk factors to these variations. Here, using the same data, the authors investigate whether a single growth curve adequately characterizes the variability in individual drinking trajectories. Latent growth mixture modeling identified 5 drinking trajectory classes: light-stable, light-stable plus high holiday, medium-increasing, highdecreasing, and heavy-stable. In multivariate predictor analyses, gender (i.e., more women) and lower alcohol expectancies distinguished the light-stable class from other trajectories; only expectancies differentiated the high-decreasing from the heavy-stable and medium-increasing classes. These findings allow for improved identification of individuals at risk for developing problematic trajectories and for development of interventions tailored to specific drinker classes.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, v. 73, issue 2, p. 229-238
Scholar Commons Citation
Greenbaum, Paul E.; Del Boca, Frances K.; Darkes, Jack; Wang, Chen pin; and Goldman, Mark S., "Variation in the Drinking Trajectories of Freshmen College Students" (2005). Psychology Faculty Publications. 1392.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/1392
