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Rethinking Drinking: A Paradigm Shift for Estimating Social and Behavioral Harm

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Date Issued:
2016
Abstract/Description:
This study challenges old saws about negative consequences attributed to alcohol use. Previous research findings associate negative social and behavioral consequences with alcohol consumption, as if college students only do regrettable things when they are drunk. Typical research related to negative consequences and alcohol use relies on retrospective self-reporting. Investigators often frame negative consequences as outcomes of problematic drinking or, as more commonly labeled, "binge drinking." In the nomenclature of prevention, binge drinking is not a direct measure of alcohol use resulting in intoxication; it is a hypothetical tipping point, predicting an increased likelihood of the incidence of negative consequences at some (often unspecified) point in the path between (")sober(") and (")drunk(").It is obvious that social and behavioral distress and misbehavior are not limited to drinking. Students miss class, express regrets, say or do embarrassing things, and get injured while sober as well as while drinking. Contemporary measures of alcohol-related negative consequences do not typically control for the prevalence of negative consequences when respondents are sober as well as when they are drinking. Thus it is unclear if the association between drinking and negative consequences is exclusively attributable to alcohol consumption, as is frequently assumed. Self-reported alcohol-related negative consequences might reflect a priori attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and be unrelated to drinking. The prevalence of social complications unassociated with drinking merits investigation. A better understanding of the overall prevalence of negative consequences is needed to test the notion that drinking, binge drinking in particular, leads to numerous negative consequences presently reported in the alcohol studies literature.
Title: Rethinking Drinking: A Paradigm Shift for Estimating Social and Behavioral Harm.
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Name(s): Hall, Thomas, Author
Wright, James, Committee Chair
Gay, David, Committee Member
Cook, Ida, Committee Member
Dunn, Michael, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2016
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: This study challenges old saws about negative consequences attributed to alcohol use. Previous research findings associate negative social and behavioral consequences with alcohol consumption, as if college students only do regrettable things when they are drunk. Typical research related to negative consequences and alcohol use relies on retrospective self-reporting. Investigators often frame negative consequences as outcomes of problematic drinking or, as more commonly labeled, "binge drinking." In the nomenclature of prevention, binge drinking is not a direct measure of alcohol use resulting in intoxication; it is a hypothetical tipping point, predicting an increased likelihood of the incidence of negative consequences at some (often unspecified) point in the path between (")sober(") and (")drunk(").It is obvious that social and behavioral distress and misbehavior are not limited to drinking. Students miss class, express regrets, say or do embarrassing things, and get injured while sober as well as while drinking. Contemporary measures of alcohol-related negative consequences do not typically control for the prevalence of negative consequences when respondents are sober as well as when they are drinking. Thus it is unclear if the association between drinking and negative consequences is exclusively attributable to alcohol consumption, as is frequently assumed. Self-reported alcohol-related negative consequences might reflect a priori attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and be unrelated to drinking. The prevalence of social complications unassociated with drinking merits investigation. A better understanding of the overall prevalence of negative consequences is needed to test the notion that drinking, binge drinking in particular, leads to numerous negative consequences presently reported in the alcohol studies literature.
Identifier: CFE0006112 (IID), ucf:51196 (fedora)
Note(s): 2016-05-01
Ph.D.
Sciences, Sociology
Doctoral
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Binge Drinking -- Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test -- Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences -- Non-Alcohol Related Negative Consequences -- College Student Alcohol Use
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006112
Restrictions on Access: public 2016-05-15
Host Institution: UCF

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