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Objective. This study examines attendance and alcohol use
at parties and bars among college students by gender, residence, year in school, and legal drinking age.
Method. The study participants were respondents in the 1997 and 1999 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS). The combined sample of 12,830 students (61% women), who reported use of alcohol in the past 30 days prior to interview, provided information on attendance and alcohol use at parties (dormitory, fraternity, off-campus) and off-campus bars. Logistic regression analyses examined the influence of gender, residence, year in school, and legal drinking age related to attendance, drinking/non-drinking, and heavy drinking (5+ drinks) at each select setting.
Results. Consistent with the literature, fraternity/sorority parties were occasions of heavy drinking (49%) among drinkers in these settings, yet they drew upon smaller proportions of students (36%) when compared to off-campus parties (75%) and off-campus bars (68%). Off-campus parties (45%) and bars (37%) were also occasions for heavy drinking among drinkers in these settings. College residence was shown to relate to differential exposure to drinking settings, but residence had less impact on the decision to drink and the level of heavy drinking. Attendance at parties decreased with year in school and attendance at off-campus bars increased. While heavy drinking at off-campus bars decreased with year in school, slightly higher proportions of under-age students (41%) compared to students of legal drinking age (35%) exhibited heavy drinking at off-campus bars.
Conclusion. The identification of high risk settings and their correlates serve to understand better the development of heavy drinking on college campuses. Off-campus parties, when compared to campus parties and bars may pose greater difficulties related to successful intervention.
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