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ERIC Number: ED560413
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 138
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-3033-6758-8
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Effects of Sleep Problems and Depression on Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences among College Students
Wattenmaker McGann, Amanda
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University
Previous literature provides an overview of the multiple relationships between alcohol use, protective behavioral strategies (PBS), alcohol-related negative consequences, depression, and sleep problems among college students, as well as differences by individual level characteristics, such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between alcohol use measured by estimated Blood Alcohol Content (eBAC), PBS, depression, and sleep problems, as they explain the variance of alcohol-related negative consequences using the spring 2009 national aggregate data set of the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). This dataset was comprised of a random sample of undergraduate and graduate students from 117 U.S. colleges and universities (n=53,850). Reliability analyses, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for model specification and evaluation. Model fit indices for the current study indicate that the model and the data in this study are a good fit, demonstrated by RMSEA= 0.044, 90% CI (0.044, 0.044) and SRMR= 0.066. Findings suggest that an additive effect of eBAC, PBS, depression, sleep problems, and certain demographics explain 39% of the variance in alcohol-related negative consequences and greatly impact the amount of harm that college students may experience as a result of their alcohol use. Results from the current study may assist clinicians and health educators who want to improve the probability that they will be able help reduce negative consequences among college students when they drink alcohol. These staff may engage students in a conversation about risk reduction (e.g. one on one consults, campus-wide media campaign) and also provide support for conducting brief screenings about alcohol so that clinicians may be more effective in helping students to reduce alcohol-related negative consequences. The results from this study may also assist researchers in finding more relationships that account for some of the unexplained variance in this study. Interpreting these predictive relationships are important to the way that students are screened for alcohol problems on college campuses, as well as decisions that college students make about alcohol in the greater context of healthy lifestyle decisions. Future research could include repeating the analysis with each race/ethnicity separated out instead of as a dichotomous variable (white/non-white), conducting a similar analysis with each negative consequence instead of as a scale, developing a more complete sleep problems scale within the ACHA-NCHA with improved reliability, and a further investigation into the positive correlation between sleep problems and depression in order to explore other variables that mediate the relationship between depression and sleep problems among college students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A