There Are Worse Things and Others to Blame: Measuring Underage Drinking Disengagement Strategies Among College Students
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-3-2023
School
Psychology
Abstract
Objective
To adapt an existing measure of underage drinking disengagement among adolescents for use with university students and establish convergent validity.
Method
University students who drank or used a substance in the past month (n = 893) from 12 U.S. universities (Mage=19.48, age range 18–25; White = 74.1%; Female = 68.1%) completed an online survey as part of a larger study assessing their attitudes toward underage drinking on campus (adapted measure of disengagement) and alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C).
Results
The EFA indicated that a 2-factor structure fit the data well. The factors were Cognitive Restructuring and Minimizing Agency, which was confirmed with a CFA (χ2(64)=250.11, p<.001; CFI=.93; TLI=.92; RMSEA=.08, 90% CI of RMSEA: .07 to .09; SRMR=.04). Cognitive Restructuring and Minimizing Agency were positively correlated with alcohol consumption, (r=.35, p<.001, and r =.21, p<.001, respectively).
Conclusions
Clinicians can benefit from using students’ responses on this measure to challenge beliefs that young adults hold about the acceptability of alcohol use while underage, as well as challenge beliefs about actions of authority figures and peers that decrease perceived responsibility for underage drinking among university students. Future research can examine under what conditions people disengage and its link to other problematic behaviors involving alcohol.
Publication Title
Addiction Research & Theory
Volume
31
Issue
6
First Page
424
Last Page
430
Recommended Citation
Ford, K.,
Zamboanga, B. L.,
Newins, A. R.,
Madson, M. B.,
Hurlocker, M. C.
(2023). There Are Worse Things and Others to Blame: Measuring Underage Drinking Disengagement Strategies Among College Students. Addiction Research & Theory, 31(6), 424-430.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/21705