Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health logoLink to Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
. 2005 Apr;59(4):303–309. doi: 10.1136/jech.2004.024711

Risk modifying effect of social capital on measures of heavy alcohol consumption, alcohol abuse, harms, and secondhand effects: national survey findings

E Weitzman 1, Y Chen 1
PMCID: PMC1733052  PMID: 15767384

Abstract

Study objective: To examine associations between social capital and individual risk for alcohol abuse and harms and identify protective effect mechanisms.

Design: Multilevel multivariate analysis with individual level data from a national panel survey of drinking and a contextual measure of social capital reflecting college mean aggregate reports of student volunteerism. Outcomes include heavy episodic (binge) drinking, frequent drinking, frequent drunkenness, diagnosable alcohol abuse, intentional drunkenness, acquisition of binge drinking, harms, secondhand effects from others' drinking.

Setting: United States, 119 four year colleges.

Participants: Representative samples of youth ages 18–24 surveyed in 1997 and 1999 using an anonymous mailed questionnaire (total n = 27 687).

Main results: Students from colleges with higher levels of social capital reported reduced risks for binge drinking (adjusted OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.69, p = 0.002), frequent drunkenness (adjusted OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.98, p = 0.04), acquisition of binge drinking in college (adjusted OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.95, p = 0.03), and alcohol abuse (adjusted OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.91, p = 0.02) in multilevel multivariate analyses that controlled for individual volunteering, the measure on which social capital was based. Higher levels of social capital protected against multiple drinking related harms (adjusted OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.90, p = 0.02) and secondhand drinking effects (adjusted OR, 0.30, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.58, p = 0.0003). Significant cross level interactions exist between fraternity/sorority membership and social capital for measures of risky drinking. Harm reduction primarily reflects consumption modification.

Conclusions: Social capital exerts strong protective effects on alcohol abuse and harm in college including among high risk students.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (92.8 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aneshensel C. S., Sucoff C. A. The neighborhood context of adolescent mental health. J Health Soc Behav. 1996 Dec;37(4):293–310. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cattell V. Poor people, poor places, and poor health: the mediating role of social networks and social capital. Soc Sci Med. 2001 May;52(10):1501–1516. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00259-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Donald Maria, Dower Jo. Risk and protective factors for depressive symptomatology among a community sample of adolescents and young adults. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2002 Dec;26(6):555–562. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-842x.2002.tb00366.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Douglas K. A., Collins J. L., Warren C., Kann L., Gold R., Clayton S., Ross J. G., Kolbe L. J. Results from the 1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Survey. J Am Coll Health. 1997 Sep;46(2):55–66. doi: 10.1080/07448489709595589. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Earls F., Carlson M. The social ecology of child health and well-being. Annu Rev Public Health. 2001;22:143–166. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.22.1.143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hagerty B. M., Williams R. A., Coyne J. C., Early M. R. Sense of belonging and indicators of social and psychological functioning. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 1996 Aug;10(4):235–244. doi: 10.1016/s0883-9417(96)80029-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hawkins J. D., Catalano R. F., Miller J. Y. Risk and protective factors for alcohol and other drug problems in adolescence and early adulthood: implications for substance abuse prevention. Psychol Bull. 1992 Jul;112(1):64–105. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.64. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hingson Ralph W., Heeren Timothy, Zakocs Ronda C., Kopstein Andrea, Wechsler Henry. Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24. J Stud Alcohol. 2002 Mar;63(2):136–144. doi: 10.15288/jsa.2002.63.136. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Holder H. D., Gruenewald P. J., Ponicki W. R., Treno A. J., Grube J. W., Saltz R. F., Voas R. B., Reynolds R., Davis J., Sanchez L. Effect of community-based interventions on high-risk drinking and alcohol-related injuries. JAMA. 2000 Nov 8;284(18):2341–2347. doi: 10.1001/jama.284.18.2341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kawachi I., Berkman L. F. Social ties and mental health. J Urban Health. 2001 Sep;78(3):458–467. doi: 10.1093/jurban/78.3.458. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kawachi I., Kennedy B. P., Lochner K., Prothrow-Stith D. Social capital, income inequality, and mortality. Am J Public Health. 1997 Sep;87(9):1491–1498. doi: 10.2105/ajph.87.9.1491. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kuo Meichun, Wechsler Henry, Greenberg Patty, Lee Hang. The marketing of alcohol to college students: the role of low prices and special promotions. Am J Prev Med. 2003 Oct;25(3):204–211. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(03)00200-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lochner K., Kawachi I., Kennedy B. P. Social capital: a guide to its measurement. Health Place. 1999 Dec;5(4):259–270. doi: 10.1016/s1353-8292(99)00016-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lonczak H. S., Huang B., Catalano R. F., Hawkins J. D., Hill K. G., Abbott R. D., Ryan J. A., Kosterman R. The social predictors of adolescent alcohol misuse: a test of the social development model. J Stud Alcohol. 2001 Mar;62(2):179–189. doi: 10.15288/jsa.2001.62.179. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Midanik L. T. Validity of self-reported alcohol use: a literature review and assessment. Br J Addict. 1988 Sep;83(9):1019–1030. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1988.tb00526.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Nelson Toben F., Wechsler Henry. School spirits: alcohol and collegiate sports fans. Addict Behav. 2003 Jan-Feb;28(1):1–11. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4603(01)00296-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sampson R. J., Raudenbush S. W., Earls F. Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science. 1997 Aug 15;277(5328):918–924. doi: 10.1126/science.277.5328.918. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wagenaar Alexander C., Toomey Traci L. Effects of minimum drinking age laws: review and analyses of the literature from 1960 to 2000. J Stud Alcohol Suppl. 2002 Mar;(14):206–225. doi: 10.15288/jsas.2002.s14.206. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wechsler H., Davenport A., Dowdall G., Moeykens B., Castillo S. Health and behavioral consequences of binge drinking in college. A national survey of students at 140 campuses. JAMA. 1994 Dec 7;272(21):1672–1677. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wechsler H., Dowdall G. W., Davenport A., Castillo S. Correlates of college student binge drinking. Am J Public Health. 1995 Jul;85(7):921–926. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.7.921. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wechsler H., Dowdall G. W., Davenport A., Rimm E. B. A gender-specific measure of binge drinking among college students. Am J Public Health. 1995 Jul;85(7):982–985. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.7.982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wechsler H., Lee J. E., Kuo M., Lee H. College binge drinking in the 1990s: a continuing problem. Results of the Harvard School of Public Health 1999 College Alcohol Study. J Am Coll Health. 2000 Mar;48(5):199–210. doi: 10.1080/07448480009599305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wechsler H., Moeykens B., Davenport A., Castillo S., Hansen J. The adverse impact of heavy episodic drinkers on other college students. J Stud Alcohol. 1995 Nov;56(6):628–634. doi: 10.15288/jsa.1995.56.628. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wechsler Henry, Kuo Meichun. Watering down the drinks: The moderating effect of college demographics on alcohol use of high-risk groups. Am J Public Health. 2003 Nov;93(11):1929–1933. doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.11.1929. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Wechsler Henry, Lee Jae Eun, Hall John, Wagenaar Alexander C., Lee Hang. Secondhand effects of student alcohol use reported by neighbors of colleges: the role of alcohol outlets. Soc Sci Med. 2002 Aug;55(3):425–435. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00259-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Weitzman E. R., Kawachi I. Giving means receiving: the protective effect of social capital on binge drinking on college campuses. Am J Public Health. 2000 Dec;90(12):1936–1939. doi: 10.2105/ajph.90.12.1936. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Weitzman E. R., Wechsler H. Alcohol use, abuse, and related problems among children of problem drinkers: findings from a national survey of college alcohol use. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2000 Mar;188(3):148–154. doi: 10.1097/00005053-200003000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Weitzman Elissa R., Folkman Alison, Folkman M. P. H. Kerry Lemieux, Wechsler Henry. The relationship of alcohol outlet density to heavy and frequent drinking and drinking-related problems among college students at eight universities. Health Place. 2003 Mar;9(1):1–6. doi: 10.1016/s1353-8292(02)00014-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Weitzman Elissa R., Nelson Toben F., Lee Hang, Wechsler Henry. Reducing drinking and related harms in college: evaluation of the "A Matter of Degree" program. Am J Prev Med. 2004 Oct;27(3):187–196. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2004.06.008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Weitzman Elissa R., Nelson Toben F., Wechsler Henry. Taking up binge drinking in college: the influences of person, social group, and environment. J Adolesc Health. 2003 Jan;32(1):26–35. doi: 10.1016/s1054-139x(02)00457-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Wolf S. Predictors of myocardial infarction over a span of 30 years in Roseto, Pennsylvania. Integr Physiol Behav Sci. 1992 Jul-Sep;27(3):246–257. doi: 10.1007/BF02690896. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES