The Effect that Binge Drinking has on Social Support in College Students Thea Vance Hanover College

Introduction Social Support Intimacy & Binge Drinking Nezlek (1993) Binge Drinking and General Social Support

Hypothesis Moderate binge drinkers will report more social support than low or high binge drinkers.

Method 26 Participants 9 males, 17 females Age M= Greek affiliated, 12 non-affiliated

Multi-Dimensional Social Support 6 Single-Item Measures (Winefield, et. al) Attentiveness social support How often do your friends really listen to you when you talk about concerns? Empathetic social support How often do you feel that your friends are really trying to understand your problems? Distraction social support How often do your friends try to take your mind off your problems by telling jokes or chattering about things? Attachment social support How often do your friends make you feel loved? Instrumental social support How often do they help you in practical ways? Direct information How often do they answer you questions or give you advice about problem solving?

General Perceived Social Support General Perceived Social Support (Procidano, Heller) 9 item scale E.g., I have a deep sharing relationship with a number of friends.

Binge Drinking Male or woman who consumes 5-6 alcoholic beverages in three hours Low (n = 4) 1 binge drinking episode per week Moderate (n= 5) Female/Male with two binge drinking episodes per week. High (n = 5) Female/Male with three binge drinking episode per week.

Results Descriptives: General Soc. Supp. (1-9) M=6.23 SD=2.49 Attentiveness (1-5)M=3.50 SD=.58 Empathetic M=3.27 SD=.74 Distraction M=2.65 SD=.76 Attachment M=3.20 SD=.76 Instrumental M=2.73 SD=.92 Direct Info. M=3.00 SD=.75

Results One way ANOVAs with binge drinking as predictor and each of 7 social support as outcome variables No significant findings Created new variable: Do binge (high, moderate, low; n = 14) Don’t binge (n = 12)

Exploratory Analyses Several 2-Way ANOVAs Sex x Binge Greek x Binge No significant results

Chi Square Chi-Square (  2 = 3.17, p <.10) Proportionally, men are more likely to binge than women MenWomen Binge 77 No Binge 210

Exploratory Regression Analysis Outcome variable - total # of drinks consumed in an average week. M = 8.19, SD = 8.03 Predictor variables are the 7 social support variables General, Attentiveness, empathy, distraction, attachment, instrumental help, direct information

Social Support & Total # Drinks More general social support = more drinks (Beta =.46, t= 1.89, p<.08). Surprisingly, Less attention from friends = more drinks (Beta = -.56, t= -2.01, p<.07)

General Discussion Low power Small campus Social support may not be derived from alcohol consumption Close-knit friendships based on major, dorm living, clubs, affiliation Students at tough school are studying rather than binging

Future Research Is there a split in underclassmen and upperclassmen found in social support and binge drinking? How much social support do Freshman receive their first year and is that correlated with binge drinking?