Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Rashmi Tiwari, Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University School of Public Health, 580 Harrison Ave, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02118, 617-414-8443, rtiwari@bu.edu

Background: Rates of high-risk, episodic or “binge” drinking are almost equal for male and female college students. School sanctions for violations of alcohol policy are an effective means of intervention. However, it is unclear whether gender differences exist in receipt of school sanctions due to drinking. Determination of a gender gap could indicate needed foci for intervention. Aims: To determine whether male and female college drinkers differ in receipt of school sanctions due to drinking. Methods: Data analysis was conducted on the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS) from survey year 2001. CAS is a cross-sectional mailed survey given at between 120 and 140 4-year universities between 1993 and 2001. Response rate in 2001 was 52%; women comprised 64% of the sample. Initial analysis consisted of chi-squared tests to compare gender to frequency of receipt of individual school sanctions due to drinking. Secondary analysis consisted of logistic regression to assess the relationship between gender and a summary measure consisting of all school sanctions due to drinking. Conclusion: There is strong evidence that females do not receive as many individual school sanctions as males due to drinking. Females almost never experienced mandated community service or alcohol treatment, disciplinary action, or parental notification as a result of their drinking. Males, by contrast, experienced between two to four times the percent of individual sanctions than females. Logistic regression revealed that males are also more likely to receive all school sanctions as a result of their drinking than females.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize gender discrepancies in alcohol intervention and sanction programs at the college level.
• Assess individual student population for gender discrepancies in alcohol sanctions.

Keywords: College Students, Alcohol

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered