Examining the Potential Factors that Influence Alcohol Usage Among Irish College Students

Garrett, Aoíbhe (2017) Examining the Potential Factors that Influence Alcohol Usage Among Irish College Students. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Objective:
Alcohol utilization among college students still remains a serious health problem today. This study looked at potential factors that may be influencing the use of alcohol among Irish college students. Factors assessed were; age, gender, perceived stress, peer pressure, type of personality and alcohol expectancy.

Methodology:
92 participants (23 males and 69 females) completed basic demographic questions (age, gender, nationality) along with a number of questionnaires; The Social Expectancies of Alcohol Scale (SEAS), The Alcohol Consumption Measure (ACM), The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), The Resistance to Peer Influence Scale (RPIS) and The Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI). The data was then evaluated using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, bivariate correlation analysis and hierarchical correlation analysis.

Results:
Significant results were established between genders on levels of alcohol consumption. With regards to age and perceived stress, levels of alcohol consumption appeared to decline in the older students and in those with higher levels of perceived stress. Extroverts were found to be slightly more likely to drink larger quantities of alcohol than introverts. Furthermore, peer pressure was not found to have an effect on levels of alcohol consumption.

Discussion:
Limitations of the study included; the sample size was quite small and there was an uneven distribution of male and female participants. Suggestions for future research in this area should include a larger sample size including an equal sample of both male and female participants. A longitudinal design could also be implemented in the future in order to achieve a more accurate understanding of the underlying reasons behind the large quantities of alcohol consumed by college students within Ireland.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Divisions:	School of Business > BA (Honours) in Psychology
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	08 Nov 2017 10:44
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2017 10:44
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/2769

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