Relationship between alcohol consumption and primary alcohol consequences among first year residents of a residential learning community

Residential learning communities (RLCs) have become increasingly popular on many American university campuses and were designed to improve undergraduate education by bridging formal learning opportunities with on-campus living environments. Recent research suggests students living in these communities report less heavy drinking than students living in traditional residence hall environments. For this study we examined the relationship between alcohol consumption and primary alcohol consequences as a function of RLC status (residential learning community, vs. non-residential learning community) using two waves of data collected from a prospective study of first year college students. A stratified random sample (N = 1,196) of first year students at a large Midwestern university were invited to participate in a web-based survey which asked students about their recent drinking behaviors and primary alcohol-related consequences. A total of 456 (38.1%) students lived in RLCs while 740 (61.9%) lived in non-RLCs. Results of a series of logistic regression analyses from wave 1 showed a significant moderating effect of RLC status on the relationship between the past month drinking and reporting a hangover (p<0.05) or feeling nauseated (p<0.01) from drinking in the past month. For the second wave of data a significant moderating effect of RLC status on the relationship between past month drinking and reporting feeling nauseated (p<0.01) or embarrassed (p<0.05) from drinking. In both waves of data the relationship between past month drinking and reported alcohol-related consequences was stronger for students living in RLCs relative to students living in traditional on-campus residence hall environments.