Social context of drinking and alcohol problems among college students.

OBJECTIVE To examine how social contexts of drinking are related to alcohol use disorders, other alcohol-related problems, and depression among college students. METHODS Logistic regression models controlling for drinking frequency measured the association between social context and problems, among 728 current drinkers. RESULTS Drinking for social facilitation was associated with drinking and driving and housing violations. Drinking in the context of motor vehicles was associated with alcohol abuse/ dependence. Drinking in a context of emotional pain was associated with clinical depression. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-free programming that fulfills needs for conviviality and addresses early signs of depression might reduce alcohol problems among college students.

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