Alcohol consumption and protective behavioral strategies as predictors of school performance among college students

College students who drink excessively often experience poor school performance, psychosocial problems, antisocial behaviors, injuries, overdoses, high-risk sexual behaviors, and other risk factors, such as alcohol-impaired driving. A concept that may be effective in alleviating both alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences are protective behavioral strategies, such as alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between alcohol consumption, protective behavioral strategies and school performance among a sample of college students (N=406) who drank alcohol in the past 30 days.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that alcohol consumption amount was negatively correlated with school performance, where protective drinking behaviors were positively correlated with school performance. Specifically, the less alcohol consumed and the more protective drinking behaviors a participant engaged in, the better his/her school performance. The two-factor measurement model predicting school performance included drinking amount and protective drinking behaviors as latent variables and allowed the uniquenesses among two drinking amount indicators to correlate (hours spent drinking at last outing and number of drinks consumed). Based on the combinatory rules for standardized root mean square residual and comparative fit index, this model represented a good fit to the data (÷2=36.05, df=17, p<.004, RMSEA=0.05, SRMR=0.03, CFI=0.98). Thus, supporting the usefulness of SEM in predicting the academic performance of college students based on their drinking behavior. Universities with an interest in reducing alcohol-related consequences, such as poor school performance, should implement and promote interventions and/or campaigns that focus on increasing the awareness of protective drinking strategies.