Self-Esteem and Alcohol Consumption: A Study of College Drinking Behavior in a Naturalistic Setting Kent E. Glindemann, E. Scott Geller, and Jason N. Fortney Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education Volume 45 (1) 1999 p. 60-71 Shannon Taylor

Hypothesis Students with lower levels of self-esteem will become significantly more intoxicated than students with high self-esteem.

Theory Students with low self esteem are likely to drink more: To enhance positive feelings of self worth In an effort to gain peer acceptance To cope with anxiety, stress, or tension

Theoretical Construct I Blood Alcohol Concentration Corresponding Operational Definition: BAC Data-Master II breathalyzer

Theoretical Construct II Self Esteem The extent to which our self-evaluations are favorable or unfavorable Corresponding Operational Definition: A self-esteem inventory 12 items Rated on a 5 point Likert scale

Independent Variable I Self esteem level High or low

Independent Variable II Gender Male or female

Dependent Variable Blood Alcohol Concentration level

Subjects 29 men & 15 women Volunteers from a university in Southwestern Virginia Fraternity and Sorority members

Study Subjects given a self-esteem assessment Two weeks later, their blood alcohol level was taken after subjects attended a party

Results Mean BAC = .095 Mean self esteem score = 3.88 (Range .00-.226) Mean self esteem score = 3.88 Range 2.25-5.0 Mean score for high = 4.32 Mean score for low = 3.48 They used a 2x2 Anova

Main Effect Self esteem Low self-esteem participants reached significantly higher levers of intoxication than those in the high self-esteem group. (Main effect for gender not significant)

Discussion This was one of the first studies to measure Blood Alcohol Concentration as opposed to using a self-report measure of alcohol consumption. This is one of the only studies that did not find differences among males and females

Potential Confounds Drinking environment (Big party vs. small get together) Drinking intentions before party

Things to change… Larger sample More diversity in sample Setting of party