Detecting alcohol misuse among underage drinkers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Many of the negative consequences of underage drinking have been attributed to intoxication as a result of binge drinking, a growing concern at colleges and universities nationwide. Research has consistently demonstrated that the prevalence rates of binge drinking and underage drinking at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are substantially lower than the rates generally reported at non-HBCUs. Without question, bingeing is an important marker of alcohol misuse, yet little attention has been paid to other indicators of problematic use among underage drinkers at these schools. Consequently, we examined the relationship between three drinking indices and alcohol use in 947 students; ages 18-20, from five HBCUs. Using a random (50-50) split cross-validation sampling design we found that forty-eight percent were underage drinkers and over a third (34%) had consumed alcohol at least once in the past 30 days. Overall, 87.8% of the students were classified not at risk, 13.9% low-moderate risk (hazardous use), and 1.3% high risk (harmful use). A discriminant function analysis correctly identified the risk statuses of 83.9% of the development sample and 84.5% of the cross validation sample. Frequency of past month drinking and the number of drinks consumed on a typical drinking day in the past month, and frequency of binge drinking in the past month, were significant predictors of risk status, even after controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, and SES. Findings support using the recommended 30-day time window when screening for alcohol misuse among youth under 21.