Alcohol use and television: A look at HBCU students

Alcohol use among college students has been a major topic of discussion and research for more than two decades. Alcohol use is one of the leading causes of unintentional injuries and deaths to undergraduate students. Although students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) tend to use alcohol less than students attending predominately white institutions, it is still a part of Black student life on campus. Recently research has started to focus more on the role of the media in alcohol use among children, adolescents and college students. Alcohol has been found to be the drink of choice, especially during prime-time television viewing hours, where it is shown on TV programs more than any other drink or food. Television often glamorizes drinking, hardly ever showing serious consequences caused by excessive drinking behaviors.

This study uses the survey research method to (1) ascertain how much time Black undergraduate college students attending two HBCU's in the Southeastern US spend watching television; (2) determine if those Black college students who drink spend more time than non-drinkers watching television; and (3) investigate whether or not a relationship exist between television viewing and alcohol use by Black undergraduate college students. A correlation analysis will be conducted to determine if a relationship does exist and the highest level of measurement is ratio. A convenient sample of approximately 300 part-time and full-time students 18 years of age and older who complete self-administered questionnaires will serve as the sample for this study.