adolescent alcohol use and academic achievement nelson r. hamblin, jr. eastern michigan university
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Adolescent Alcohol Use and Academic Achievement
Nelson R. Hamblin, Jr.
Eastern Michigan University
Background and Research Problem
Recent trends in adolescent alcohol use and attitudes are moving in directions favorable to society considering the
association between alcohol use and negative consequences.
Still, level of alcohol use, binge drinking and acceptance attitudes remain high among adolescents.
2012, Monitoring The Future
A clear relation between academic performance (at the secondary level)
and drinking has not been fully studied.
Balsa Giuliano, and French, 2009
No statistically significant finding, yet extrapolation
of the findings would indicate a possible link.
Cox, Zhang, Johnson, and Bender, 2007
Again, no statistically significant finding, but the researchers did
state that binge drinkers had lower grades.
And at the collegiate level…
Wolaver, 2007
“The direct effect of drinking on GPA is
uniformly negative”
Paul, 2008
The result that drinking has no influence on their
GPA is surprising”
Therefore, the relation between drinking and academics remains open to further study because…
1. Researchers looking at the secondary level continue to suspect an elusive relation.
2. Researchers looking at the post-secondary level are inconsistent in their collective findings.
Research Question
Does alcohol use impact the academic achievement of high school adolescents?
• A path analysis model was employed.
• Analysis of the model relied on multiple regressions.
• Factors found to be associated with alcohol use and abuse by other researchers were included.
• Controlling for these alcohol related variables led to a clear answer to the study question.
To answer this question…
By including alcohol related variables, a second research question emerges:
What factors impact alcohol use or abuse?
Secondary Research Question
Conceptual Framework:Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1971).
Individuals will make behavior choices based on expected outcomes.
Individuals will respond to their environment by
copying behaviors even when no obvious reward or
punishment is expected.
• Study was open to all students• Encouraged through class visits• School-wide video announcements• Consent form required for all students• Parental consent required for all students
Recruitment
Response Rate 10.6%
The School
• Secondary, grades 9-12• One of three district high schools• High standardized test scores• High post-secondary placement• Wealthy area within Oakland County, MI
Sample PopulationStudents 178 1679Gender (Female) 61% 51%
Gender/Class
Sample PopulationFreshmen 31% 30%Sophomores 16% 23%Juniors 24% 22%Seniors 29% 25%
• Mean Sample Age: 16.0 years• Population: The student body of the study school
Sample PopulationCaucasian 89% 92%Hispanic 3% 2%African America 2% 4%Asian 2% 2%Arab 1% N/AChaldean 1% N/AMultiracial 2%Other 1%
Ethnicity
OaklandCounty
State ofMichigan
Caucasian 73% 76%Black 14% 14%Asian 6% 3%Hispanic 4% 5%Multiracial 2% 2%
Religious Preference SampleChristian ( non-Catholic) 38%Catholic 30%None 20%Jewish 6%Other 4%Buddhism 1%Hindu 0%Islam 0%
Religious Preference of Sample
Behaviors of the SampleAcademics and Drinking
Academic Indicator SampleCumulative High School GPA
3.286, (Range .330-4.33)
GPA during term prior to Survey
3.220 (Range .000-4.141)
ACT Score (when available)
23.25 (14-35)
Mean classes missed during term prior to survey: 25.43. Six classes meet each day on the typical student schedule.
Drinking Behaviors Sample MeanAge at first drink 14.21 yearsDrinking days over the last month
1.71 days
Most drinks taken on one occasion over last two weeks
2.58 drinks
Number of occasions where 5+ drinks were taken at once over last two weeks
1.42 occasions
Drinking Attitudes
• When asked if drinking was ok for people their own age, the mean answer fell between, “Once per week, but not more” and “once per month but not more”, but closer to the latter (3.63).
• When asked if consuming 5+ drinks in one occasion was ok for people their own age, the mean answer fell between, “Once a month is ok” and “Drinking like this is never ok”, but closer to the former (3.22).
Additionally, students were asked about cigarette and marijuana use.
Sample MeanUse of cigarettes over last month
13%
Use of marijuana over last month
25%
Although the review of the literature suggested that these variables may be significant, they were not in this particular study.
Initial Path Analysis(after a review of the literature and
development of a theoretical framework)
Secondary Initial Path AnalysisVariables were removed that were unlikely to be present
in the study sample, too difficult to obtain, or deemed likely to be rejected by the study district.
After the study sample was surveyed…
Exploratory factor analysis was performed with the use of a rotated component matrix.
19 Variables were identified:• 12 Manifest• 7 Latent
Level IManifest Variables
FemaleSophomoreJuniorSeniorParent Education LevelDivorce of ParentsAge of First Drink
Level ILatent Variables
Parental ExpectationsHome Drinking Environment
Level IIManifest Variables
Athletic HoursWork HoursDrinking FriendsPerceived PopularityGrade Importance
Level IILatent Variables
Pro Social BehaviorReligious ActivityBullied
Level III, Latent Variable
Drinking (Behaviors and Attitudes)
Level IV, Latent Variable
Academic Achievement
Explanations of Latent Variables
Path Analysis and Linear Regressions(19 Study Variables)
Numbers represent: Regression Coefficient, Significance
As the path analysis indicates, no significant relation between drinking and academic performance was found in this study.
However, variables closely related to alcohol use and attitudes were identified.
Primary Study Question:
Secondary Study Questions:
Study Question Results
Path Analysis and Linear RegressionsDrinking Behaviors and Attitudes
First Order Variables Leading to Drinking
• First Drink (manifest)
• Drinking Friends (manifest)
• Gender (manifest)
T. Eitle D. Eitle (2007)African Americans begin drinking later, but experience more severe alcohol related consequences when they do initiate drinking at a younger age.
Swahn, Bossarte, West, & Topalli (2009) There is a correlation between gang membership and early alcohol use. This correlation is strongest for those who initiate use prior to age 13.
Kim-Godwin, Clements, Bullers, Maume, & Demski (2007) There is a correlation between early alcohol use (prior to age 11) and drinking just prior to having sex as adolescents.
Drinking: First Drink
Mayeux, Sandstrom, and Cillessen (2008)Perceived popularity in under classmen (10th grade) was a precursor to higher levels of alcohol use and sexual activity as upperclassmen. Perceived popularity of males remained constant, females perception changed with age.
Dawkins, Williams, and Guilbault (2011 )Athletics was found to be a risk factor for alcohol use for Whites, but a protective factor for Blacks.
Fredricks and Eccles (2006)Lower alcohol use was associated with athletic participation.
Drinking: Drinking Friends
Mrug, Borch, & Cillessen (2010)Other sex friendships predicted lower levels of drinking for 12th grade boys, but girls were more likely to initiate smoking if they had other sex friendships. No relation was found for students 11th grade and younger.
Steinman, Ferketich, & Sahr (2008) Religious activity led to higher levels of alcohol use for whites, but lower for blacks.
Paxton, Valois, and Drane (2006)
No relation between Black males or females using alcohol and their family structure.
For White females living with both parents is protective, but living with mother and stepfather led to more drinking.
For White males, living with father and stepmother was associated with ever trying drinking for white males.
Drinking Friends: Gender
Path Analysis and Linear RegressionsAcademic Achievement
First Order Variables Leading to Academic Achievement
• Parent Education (manifest)
• Grade Importance (manifest)
• Bullied (latent)
Barry, B. Chaney, and J. Chaney (2011)Higher parental education level for mother or father correlates to higher educational aspirations of the child.
Fredricks and Eccles (2006) Parental education level is a positive predictor of child’s school grades and child’s educational expectations.
T. Eitle D. Eitle (2007)Whites reported the lowest level of school commitment followed by Hispanics, and Blacks had the highest level.
Academic Achievement: Parent Education AND Grade Importance
Rusby, Forrester, and Metzler (2005) Verbal and physical abuse in middle grades predicted alcohol use in high school.
Ramisetty-Mikler, Goebert, Nishimura, and Caetano (2006)Early initiation of drinking and binge drinking were both factors found to be related to higher levels of dating violence.
Academic Achievement: Bullied
Implications for Research
Link between drinking and academic performance is weak at best and non-existent in the study population.
Further research into drinking among adolescents should be focused on other variables found to be related to drinking.
In this study, gender, drinking friends, and age of first drink were found to have a significant relation to drinking and drinking behaviors.
Future research concerning adolescent drinking may be better directed at social consequences.
Groups not present in large enough numbers in the current study include racial minorities, and LGBT identification and issues were not considered.
Because these variables are related to social relationships, they are worthy of further study.
Implications for Practice
Educational stakeholders need to be careful not to make assumptions about the causes drinking and of poor academic performance.
We need to be careful not to assume that the lack of academic difficulties means that alcohol is not a possible problem in an individual student’s experience.
Gender, age of first drink, and friendships are indicators of alcohol use and attitudes that professionals should be concerned with.
Implications for Theory
A strong relation between alcohol use and academics seems logical. This introduces bias into theory.
The relation between social variables and alcohol use should be examined as social variables may be used to better predict poor behaviors in adolescents.
Social variables related to the family and individual expectations as well as peer relations are more important when it comes to academics and drinking than we might assume.
Implications for Theory: New Latent Variables
While ultimately irrelevant to the current study, the “Home Drink” latent variable addresses a topic that may be under-studied in alcohol related questions.
As in the latent variable, “Bullied” in this study, future researchers should consider on-line harassment as part of bullying. In my own case, this manifest component would have been missed had it not been for a pilot study.
Five of the latent variables used in this study addressed subjects that the researcher and experts in the field may have expected. Two, however, were surprising to the researcher.
Implication for Theory: Bandura
Social Learning Theory suggests that behaviors are a result of expectations or mimicking observed behavior.
In this study, three (all manifest) variables were found to influence adolescent drinking behavior and attitudes.
Two of those variables, gender, and age of first drink, seem to indicate that there is room in Social Learning Theory for…
Gender roles: social and/or genetic
Developmentally specific behaviors and their lasting impacts.
Personal Growth of the ResearcherAppreciation of following statistical results when creating research models.
Appreciation of how much time and energy is necessary in order to answer questions that may seem simple to non-academics.
The importance of using well grounded research in practice so that bias can be minimized.
Doctoral students should heed the advice of the faculty and refrain from major life changes during the dissertation process. This can not be stressed enough.
Family, especially parents, spouses, and children are more important than any research.
Therefore, when research is conducted at the expense of time and energy better spent on one’s family, it is comforting to know that the research may be used to improve the lives of others.
Parents, spouses, and children are partners in the dissertation process and no amount of recognition will compensate them for the support they give to a doctoral candidate.
My changing personal view of the research process:
Research can be both time-consuming, and expensive.
Meaningful (carefully done) research is of great value not only to the field of study but inherently due to the above costs.
Putting these ideas together, I have come to view any piece of research in terms of the costly process that was undertaken in order to obtain the results.
Thank you for your consideration of and attention to
my study.
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