ERIC Number: ED208732
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1979
Pages: 12
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Drinking Attitudes and Behavior of Incoming Freshmen.
Johnson, Deborah H.; Sedlacek, William E.
An anonymous questionnaire on demographic characteristics, alcohol usage and drinking attitudes, and college-related attitudes was administered to 466 incoming freshmen (236 males, 230 females) at the University of Maryland, College Park. Fifty-five percent of all freshmen reported having taken their first drink with friends by age 15; 10 percent reported that they did not drink. Males reported higher frequency of use of both beer and whiskey than did females, while females drank dinner wine more often than males. In comparison with females, males tended to have been drunk more often, to have driven more often after having at least three drinks, and were more likely to say that most of their friends drink. Males drank most frequently in public places such as cars, ballgames, or concerts, while females drank most often in restaurants or lounges. Males and females also differed on several drinking attitude questions. Males more often thought alcohol safer than marihuana, barbituates, amphetamines, opiates, and psychedelics than did females. Males more often thought their parents preferred them to use alcohol rather than marihuana than did females. It is concluded that there are different patterns of drinking behavior and attitudes for different groups of students and for different types of alcohol, and that these differences are important in understanding alcohol use among students. (Author/LB)
Descriptors: Alcoholic Beverages, College Freshmen, Comparative Analysis, Drinking, Drug Use, Females, Higher Education, Institutional Research, Males, Sex Differences, State Universities, Student Attitudes, Student Behavior
University of Maryland, Office of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Counseling Center, College Park, MD 20742 ($1.50).
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Maryland Univ., College Park. Counseling Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A