Underage Alc Consumption and Gpa

INTRODUCTION The topic that I have conducted research on involves underage alcohol consumption and various levels of academic achievement. More specifically, my goal is to conceptualize the increasing amounts of underage alcohol abuse by observing the affects effects that it has on individual’s GPA. Data obtained from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that four out of five college students consume alcohol. Of the students that consume alcohol, approximately fifty percent engage in binge drinking (NIAAA 2012). In consideration of the location where the study was conducted (University of New Hampshire), it seemed appropriate to pursue a topic that would potentially correlate with alcohol consumption. Past studies have attempted to address the issue of alcohol consumption and it’s affects effects on academic achievement, yet none have constricted the independent variable to a specific age rage. Returning back to data gathered from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, information was derived that suggested about seventy percent of minors have had at least one alcoholic beverage by the age of eighteen. In accordance with this finding, it was also recorded that although minors drink less often than adults, they do however tend to binge drink more often during an average drinking episode (NIAAA 2012). The objective of the present study is to better grasp an understanding of underage alcohol consumption and academic achievement. With the focus of the age group being confined to individuals less than twenty one years of age, new findings will be generated. The reduction of underage alcohol consumption is an extremely prevalent topic that many policy implementers and law enforcement agencies are faced with. Hopefully results from this study can establish a causal relationship that will aid professionals in dealing with this dilemma not only at the University of New Hampshire, but at universities across the nation.
LITERATURE REVIEW A plethora of studies have been conducted to observe the many negative effects that come from alcohol consumption. For those that are unaware, alcohol is a powerful depressant that ultimately slows down your thinking and time of reaction (CTC 2013). Also, alcohol consumption can act as a precursor to things such as brain damage, heart disease, liver damage, ulcers and various types of cancer (CTC 2013). Many individuals have been presented with similar facts, but they continue to drink alcohol. At the college level, many of the individuals that are consuming alcohol are under the legal age. Policy makers and law enforcement have been faced with this dilemma for an ongoing period of time. In attempts to control for alcohol consumption, many studies have been conducted to pinpoint the main causes. In a study conducted by Labrie et al. (2010), family history of alcohol abuse and its effects on college student’s alcohol abuse were researched. Findings suggest that family history has a correlation with college student’s personal use making them more prone to abuse (mostly males) (Labrie et al. 2010). With this finding however, minimal policy implications are suggested except for parental monitoring of socialization. In a study conducted by Rasul et al. (2011), the current drinking age is tested. Researchers were curious if a deduction in the current drinking age would have a successful attempt in diminishing heavy episodic drinking periods amongst college students. Findings imply that only in the rare case of high alcohol availability, and low levels of law enforcement, would the reduction of the drinking age have a small positive effect. With the full understanding of the prevalence of alcohol consumption in college in general, the question is posed of the effect that it has on academic performance. There is a brief existence of literature that focuses directly on this topic. In a study conducted by Singleton (2007), he examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and academic performance while controlling for key background factors. When SAT scores and class ranks were controlled, a significant relationship for alcohol consumption and academic performance was observed (Singleton 2007). In a similar study conducted by Singleton and Wolfson (2009), they attempted to observe relationships between alcohol intake, sleep and academic performance. Main findings suggest that the most significant predictor of academic performance was sleep schedule. However, the association that high alcohol intake would result in poor sleep schedule ultimately effecting your academic achievement was established (Singleton and Wolfson 2009). Although past studies have observed alcohol consumption and its effects on academic achievement, none of them control for age. In the present study, the collegiate population that illegally consumes alcohol is examined. Findings will hopefully suggest that illegal alcohol consumption has a negative effect on academic achievement. If so, I will provide some policy implications that will help address and potentially minimize underage alcohol consumption.
HYPOTHESIS
* Null Hypothesis: underage alcohol consumption has no affect effect on individual academic achievement. * Alternative Hypothesis: underage alcohol consumption will have a negative effect on academic achievement.
RESEARCH METHOD To gather the data necessary to study alcohol consumption and its effects on academic achievement, two survey questions were contributed to a general survey composed by the spring 2013 methods of social research class at the University of New Hampshire. Our study was conducted in various classrooms at the University of New Hampshire using the method of convenience sampling. This non-probability sampling method will produce un-representative results. However, considering our limits of time and money, this sampling procedure was deemed the most rational. Professor Rebecca Glauber contacted five sociology professors teaching large discovery courses during the spring semester. These teachers agreed to let students in the methods of social research course field a survey to their students. No compensation was received by the participants. In the middle of April, three to four students in the methods of social research course attended the classes of these professors. During that time, the students stood in front of the class room and read a verbal recruitment statement. Upon completion of the statement, students handed out the surveys to all participants in the classroom. If the students agree to participate, they will anonymously fill out the survey. If at any time an individual felt uncomfortable and wished to remove their consent, that survey was destroyed. After completion, students placed their surveys in a box at the front of the room. Minimal risk is present in our study. On the survey, questions involving illegal substance use were present. This could potentially be considered a criminal liability, but since the survey was completed anonymously that factor is ruled out and the participants were protected. Also, questions involving states of mental health were present which could potentially have negative psychological effects on participants. There is no direct benefit to the participants of the study. However, results of this survey helped individuals in the methods of social research class obtain useful information that helped them draw conclusions that otherwise would not have been possible. In this particular study, no physical harm, and minimal psychological harm to the participants was present. In addition, the assurance of anonymity will help establish the goal of the benefits outweighing the risks. The variables used for this particular study were alcohol consumption and academic achievement. The independent variable, alcohol consumption, was (conceptually) theoretically defined by measuring the amount of alcoholic beverages that are consumed in an average drinking episode. The question used to address this variable was, “During an average drinking episode, about how many alcoholic drinks do you consume?” There were five mutually exclusive and exhaustive answers for participants to select from. (this sounds like it could be plagiarism so maybe change that sentence.) The dependent variable, academic achievement, was conceptually defined by measuring students GPA’s. The question used to address this variable was, “What is your overall grade point average (GPA)?” Once again, there were five mutually exclusive and exhaustive answers for participants to select from.
RESULTS
Section 1

Age and Gender | | Age | | Gender | 18 | 19-20 | 21-22 | 23-24 | 24+ | Total | Females | 5 | 44 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 69 | Males | 33 | 76 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 129 | Total | 38 | 120 | 37 | 1 | 2 | 198 |

Above is a table displaying participant’s gender and age. A total of 198 (129 males and 69 females) responded with a majority falling into the age category of 19-20 (120). The second highest age category of respondents was 18 (33 males and 5 females) followed closely by the age category of 21-22 (19 males and 18 females). In the age category of 24+, there was only one male and one female. Section 2

Frequency Chart of GPA | GPA | Frequency | % | Less Than 2.5 | 13 | 6.5 | 2.5-2.99 | 52 | 26 | 3.0-3.29 | 57 | 28.5 | 3.3-3.69 | 53 | 26.5 | 3.7-4.0 | 25 | 12.5 | Total | 200 | 100 | Frequency Chart of Alcohol Consumption | # of Times Intoxicated in Past Month | Frequency | % | 0/ I don’t drink | 34 | 17.09 | 1--4 | 78 | 39.2 | 5--8 | 45 | 22.61 | 9--12 | 25 | 12.56 | More than 12 | 17 | 8.54 | Total | 199 | 100 |

The table above to the left is a frequency distribution chart of my dependent variable, GPA. The majority of respondents had GPA’s of 3.0-3.29 (57). Very few of the respondents had a GPA that was lower than 2.5 (13). Also, a respectable number of students had a GPA of 3.7-4.0 (25). Overall, 200 individuals participated for this portion of the survey. The table above to the left right is a frequency distribution chart of my independent variable, alcohol consumption. The majority of respondents drank to the point of intoxication 1-4 times (78). Very few of the respondents drank to the point of intoxication more than 12 times (17). Also, 34 individuals responded that they had not drunk to the point of intoxication at all in the past month. Overall, 199 individuals participated for this portion of the survey. Section 3 Alcohol Consumptions affects effects on GPA (Under 21) | | # of Times Intoxicated in Past Month | | GPA | 0-8 | 9+ | Total | Less Than 3.3 | 72 | 20 | 92 | % | 56.69 | 71.43 | 59.35 | 3.3-4.0 | 55 | 8 | 63 | % | 43.31 | 28.57 | 40.65 | Total | 127 | 28 | 155 | % | 100 | 100 | 100 |

Pearson chi2 (1) = 2.0469 Pr = .151

The table above is a cross tabulation that incorporates not only my dependent and independent variables (academic performance and alcohol consumption), but it also controls for age (under 21 years old). For this section, a total of 155 respondents were present. The chi-square test statistic was 2.0469 with the alpha level of .151. The main finding of the study was that 71.43 percent of students that were intoxicated 9 + times in the past month had a GPA less than 3.3 where as whereas only 56.69 percent of the students that were intoxicated 0-8 times had a GPA less than 3.3. Although the findings were not statistically significant at the .10 alpha level, results still display a correlation that increased amounts of alcohol consumption for individuals under the legal age has a negative effect on their academic performance. Considering that the alpha level is .151, I would have to accept my null hypothesis.

Alcohol Consumptions affects effects on GPA (21 +) | | # of Times Intoxicated in Past Month | | GPA | 0-8 | 9+ | Total | Less Than 3.3 | 18 | 8 | 26 | % | 69.23 | 57.14 | 65 | 3.3-4.0 | 8 | 6 | 14 | % | 69.23 | 42.86 | 35 | Total | 26 | 14 | 40 | % | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Pearson chi2 (1) = .5845 Pr = .455

The table above is a cross tabulation that is similar to the prior table, except it controls for age by only including individuals that are 21 and older. For this section, a total of 40 respondents were present. The chi-square test statistic was .5845 with the alpha level of .455. The main findings suggest that there is no relationship between GPA and academic achievement for individuals 21 and older. Therefore, I would have to accept my null hypothesis once again.

CONCLUSTION
(spaces should be here cause it looks nicer ☺)

Overall, none of my findings were statistically significant at the .01 alpha level. However, when controlling for age, it was observed that frequent alcohol consumption for individuals under 21 years old had a negative effect on GPA. When observing this same relationship for individuals 21 and over, no correlation was found. Therefore, I can conclude that alcohol consumption only has a negative effect on GPA for individuals that are under 21 years of age. With my findings, it’s clear that the population of individuals less than 21 years of age should be targeted for treatment. It is important to let individuals know that alcohol consumption can have a negative effect on arguably the most important aspect of college, academic achievement. Hopefully this information can help policy makers address the issue and potentially fix the relationship of alcohol consumption and academic performance. My findings could have been improved in a few ways. First, I would have liked a larger, more diverse sample. There was a disproportionate amount of individuals over 21 (40). If there were more individuals in this category(,) the study would have been more proportional possibly yielding new results. Also, I would have tried to diminish the social desirability factor. Some individuals did not participate in the study which could have also altered my findings. For future research, I would suggest that my study (was) be replicated with a larger(,) more proportional sample size. Also, gender should be included to see if there is a significant difference among males and females.

REFERENCES

Caron Treatment Centers. 2013. “Alcohol” Retrieved April 30, 2013 (http://www.caron.org/alco hol.html?gclid=CMjtgtPB87YCFUOe4Aod3g4AHA) LaBrie, Joseph W., Savannah Migliuri, Shannon R. Kenney and Andrew Lac. 2010. “Family history of alcohol abuse associated with problematic drinking among college students.”
Addictive Behaviors 35: 721-725
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2012. “College Drinking.” Retrieved April
25, 2013 (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking)
Rasul, Jawaid W., Robert G Rommel, Geoffrey M Jacquez, Ben G Fitzpatrick, Azmy S Ackleh,
Neal Simonsen and Richard A Scribner. 2011. “Heavy Episodic Drinking on College
Campuses: Does Changing the Legal Drinking Age Make a Difference?*” Journal of
Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 71(1): 15-23
Singleton, Royce A. 2007. “Collegiate Alcohol Consumption and Academic Performance.”
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 68(4):548-555
Singleton, Royce A., and Amy R. Wolfson. 2009. “Alcohol Consumption, Sleep and Academic
Performance among College Students.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
70(3):355-363

References: Caron Treatment Centers. 2013. “Alcohol” Retrieved April 30, 2013 (http://www.caron.org/alco hol.html?gclid=CMjtgtPB87YCFUOe4Aod3g4AHA) LaBrie, Joseph W., Savannah Migliuri, Shannon R. Kenney and Andrew Lac. 2010. “Family history of alcohol abuse associated with problematic drinking among college students.” 25, 2013 (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking) Rasul, Jawaid W., Robert G Rommel, Geoffrey M Jacquez, Ben G Fitzpatrick, Azmy S Ackleh, Neal Simonsen and Richard A Scribner. 2011. “Heavy Episodic Drinking on College Campuses: Does Changing the Legal Drinking Age Make a Difference?*” Journal of