Binge Drinking Among College Students in Relation to Depression, Experienced Homelessness, and Parental/Guardian Relationships
Faculty Sponsor
Matthew Ringenberg
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Social Work
Presentation Type
Article
Symposium Date
Spring 5-3-2019
Abstract
Binge or heavy drinking among students is prevalent at many American universities. Researchers have placed the most common reasons why college students engage in binge drinking into three categories: drinking to induce positive mood, to be more outgoing, and to avoid negative emotions. Many studies have found that college students engage in binge drinking typically to enhance their mood, but there have been mixed results about which factors are most strongly correlated to heavy drinking behavior. This study explores the effects of binge drinking in college students as it relates to experienced homelessness, depression, and parental/guardian relationships. We administered our survey to Valparaiso University undergraduate students both online and in-person using questions from the Student Alcohol Questionnaire (SAQ), the Parent Adult Child Relationship Questionnaire (PACQ), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). We analyzed our data using SPSS and used a Correlation to compare each independent variable to binge drinking. We hypothesized that students who have a history of depression, have experienced homelessness, and/or have a negative relationship with one or both of their parents/guardians, will report engaging in binge drinking at higher rates than their peers. There has been a gap in the research that explores the effects of experienced homeless and negative parental/guardian relationships on heavy drinking in college students, and our study will help to identify the relationship between these variables and binge drinking.
Recommended Citation
Trajceski, Daniela; Leonard, Samyra; Arce, Denise; and O'Connor, Meredith, "Binge Drinking Among College Students in Relation to Depression, Experienced Homelessness, and Parental/Guardian Relationships" (2019). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 802.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/802
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Daniela Trajceski is a 4th year Social Work and Political Science double major. After graduation, she will be attending graduate school to obtain her Masters in Social Work. She is interested in this research topic because there is much advocacy work to be done regarding binge drinking and mental health.
Samyra Leonard is a senior Social Work and Sociology double major. After graduation, she will be attending the University of Chicago's SSA master's program. She is interested in this research topic because she has worked with many clients who have experienced homelessness, as well as struggled with drug abuse and mental illness.
Denise Arce is a fourth year Social Work and Psychology major. After graduation, she hopes to work for a non-profit serving children and youth. She is interested in this research topic because the social issue can be seen across several other populations. This can be helpful to her to be able to understand the underlying relationships of binge drinking when working with individuals.
Meredith O’Connor is a fourth year Social Work major who will be going a fifth year here at Valparaiso. After graduation she will be going to get her masters in Social Work. She is interested in this research topic because she personally has history with binge drinking and mental health and is interested to learn about what other factors can contribute to this problem that is expanding in colleges today.