Date of Award

Fall 2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Health Promotion, Education and Behavior

Director of Thesis

Aimee Hourigan

First Reader

Aïda Rogers

Second Reader

Aïda Rogers

Abstract

In 2019, 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), but only 10% received treatment (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA], 2022). Parental drinking problems can directly affect children, or “Adult Children of Alcoholics.” Of the few studies targeting ACoAs, results show that ACoAs not only have higher risks of mental illness, but they also have lower GPAs and social health (Schroeder & Kelley, 2008). Thus, this study assessed the extent to which perceptions of the college drinking environment are related to higher depression rates in ACoAs, certain drinking motivations, and reluctance to use recovery campus resources. An online self-assessment survey, including the CAST and PHQ-9 screenings, was conducted to undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Findings from this study should be applied to current university resources to provide better support and future studies to create evidence-based interventions to minimize negative outcomes that ACoAs may experience in schools with reputations of heavy alcohol use.

First Page

1

Last Page

61

Rights

© 2023, Kelly Buchan

Share

COinS