Collegiate Employment and Problem Drinking: Harmful and Protective Factors (AREA)

描述(申请人提供)：尽管人们普遍认识到大学校园存在饮酒问题和随之而来的健康问题，但人们对导致和防止过度饮酒的环境因素知之甚少。本项目的目标是对大学生饮酒相关的就业相关因素进行探索性研究。目前还没有研究在大学生样本中检验工作和酒精之间的联系，尽管研究一直表明，就业可以预测青少年饮酒，而与工作相关的压力与成年人饮酒增加有关。随着学生就业率和酗酒比率的上升，对工作和饮酒之间的联系缺乏了解，构成了大学生饮酒研究中的一个重大缺口。该项目的总体目标将通过三个具体目标来实现：1)确定促进和防止大学生过度饮酒的具体工作需求和工作资源；2)确定将工作与饮酒联系起来的认知和情感过程；3)确定缓和工作和饮酒之间联系的个人和环境因素。具体目标将通过对北爱荷华大学就业大学生的随机抽样进行纵向研究来实现，北爱荷华大学位于饮酒率相对较高的地理位置。参与者将在互联网上回答最初的调查和连续21次的结束调查。使用分层线性模型的分析将映射出高要求和足智多谋的工作特征与各种饮酒结果之间的人内关系。尽管这项研究在本质上必然是探索性的，但它对可能影响学生饮酒的政策和项目，如勤工俭学资助，有着独特的影响。该项目还将通过确定以前未研究过的导致饮酒的就业变量，促进对与学生饮酒有关的环境因素的理解。最后，与地区计划目标一致，该项目将为本科生研究人员提供初步培训经验，并作为未来资助活动的基础，加强该机构的研究基础设施。酗酒是大学校园里最重要的健康问题之一。这个项目的目标是了解大学生就业是如何促进和防止学生饮酒的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Despite widespread recognition of problem drinking and concomitant health problems on college campuses, there is little understanding of environmental factors that contribute to and protect against excessive alcohol consumption. The goal of this project is to conduct an exploratory study of employment-related factors associated with college student drinking. There are presently no studies examining links between work and alcohol in a college student sample despite research consistently showing that employment is predictive of alcohol use by adolescents and that work-related stress is associated with increased alcohol consumption by adults. As both student employment and binge drinking rates have risen, poor understanding of the work-alcohol connection constitutes a significant gap in research on college student drinking. The overall goal of this project will be accomplished through three specific aims that will: 1) Identify the specific job demands and job resources that promote and protect against excessive alcohol consumption by college students; 2) Determine the cognitive and emotional processes linking work to alcohol use; and 3) Identify person and environmental factors that moderate the association between work and alcohol use. The specific aims will be achieved through a longitudinal study of a random sample of employed college students at the University of Northern Iowa, a geographic location with relatively high rates of problem drinking. Participants will respond to an initial survey as well as 21 consecutive end-of-day surveys on the internet. Analyses using hierarchical linear models will map the within-person relations between demanding and resourceful job characteristics and a variety of alcohol outcomes. Although the study is necessarily exploratory in nature, it has unique implications for policies and programs, such as work-study financial aid, that may impact student drinking. The project will also advance understanding of environmental factors related to student drinking by identifying previously unstudied employment variables contributing to alcohol use. Finally, consistent with AREA program objectives, the project will provide an initial training experience for undergraduate researchers and serve as a foundation for future grant activity, strengthening the research infrastructure of the institution. Alcohol abuse is one of the most significant health concerns on college campuses. This goal of this project is to understand how college student employment both contributes to and protects against student drinking.