Date of Award
Fall 2023
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
Educational Leadership and Policies
First Advisor
Christian Anderson
Abstract
Alcohol use among fraternity affiliated men presents a concerning trend with harmful consequences (DeSimone, 2009; Hingson et al., 2017; McCreary et al., 2021; Nuwer, 2001; Patrick et al., 2022; Ranker & Lipson, 2022). The availability theory of alcohol-related problems suggests alcohol use could be influenced based on the availability and proximity of alcohol outlets in the environment (Dimova, 2023; Kypri et al., 2008; Scribner et al., 2008; Single, 1984; Weitzmann et al., 2003). However, no existing studies of fraternity-affiliated students have examined the relationship of binge drinking and access to alcohol through alcohol outlet availability or proximity. This study examined the relationship between binge drinking and alcohol outlet availability/proximity with college-aged men affiliated with Interfraternity Council (IFC) chapters at Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools. Measures for availability and proximity impacts were conducted through a Spearman’s rank correlation analysis (N = 5,000; n = 14) and a negative binomial regression (N = 1,252). The results indicated a weak inverse relationship between campus mean binge drinking rates and the availability of all types of alcohol outlets within a 2-mile radius of the campuses. However, none of the results were statistically significant. The relationship between individual binge drinking and the proximity to all types of alcohol outlets indicated that if a fraternity affiliated man were to increase his distance from an alcohol outlet by 1 unit or 1 meter, he would decrease his binge drinking behaviors by a factor of 0.99 (1%). When stratified by prior high school drinking, only individuals who indicated drinking alcohol in high school 4–5 times a week saw a statistically significant relationship, by a factor of 0.99, between their binge drinking rate and their proximity to off-premise alcohol outlets. This study presented mixed findings but established that a harmful relationship exists between binge drinking and the proximity to alcohol outlets for fraternity men in the SEC.
Rights
© 2024, Jarod Alan Holt
Recommended Citation
Holt, J. A.(2023). Broken Bottles: Understanding The Relationship Between Alcohol Outlet Availability And The Proximity To Alcohol Outlets With Binge Drinking Behaviors In College Fraternity Men At Southeastern Public Universities. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/7585