TITLE:
Alcohol patterns and their relation to social climate in student residence halls—A multilevel analysis
AUTHORS:
H. Ståhlbrandt, K.O. Johnsson, M. Berglund
KEYWORDS:
Student Residence Hall; Emotional Climate; University Students; Drinking Patterns
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Preventive Medicine,
Vol.2 No.3,
August
7,
2012
ABSTRACT: Background: Studies indicate that the social climate of students’ living situation, plays a role in the drinking habits of those students. Aims: To investigate the social climate of students living in residence halls in Sweden, and how this corresponds to the students’ alcohol habits. Methods: Baseline data from a randomised controlled trial performed at university halls of residence was used. Instruments included a Residence Hall Climate scale (measuring the environmental climate in residence halls), AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), SIP (Short Index of Problems) and self-reported eBAC (estimated Blood Alcohol Level). Multilevel modelling was used to include the possible effects of residence hall and residence hall cluster. Results: Residence halls with high scores for Distance and Expressiveness also had significantly higher alcohol measure scores. Closeness values had no impact on alcohol measurements. Most of the variance of the alcohol outcome measurements was found at individual student level, but significant variance was also found at residence hall level. Conclusions: This study implies that the environment of the residence halls is a factor in the students’ alcohol habits. Changing the social climate might impact the way the students drink.