Study Notes on Social Support, Depression, and Drinking Behaviors Among College Students

Introduction to the Effects of Social Support, Depression, and Stress on Drinking Behaviors

• Researchers: Perry M. Pauley & Colin Hesse

• Focus: Investigate the relationships between social support and college students’ stress, depression, and alcohol use.

• Study Design: 54 students completed questionnaires for extra course credit.

Key Findings

• Correlation Results: Stress and depression were positively correlated. Conversely, social support was negatively correlated with both stress and depression.

• Alcohol Consumption:

  • Depression, but not stress, correlated with increased drinking behavior.

  • Social support was negatively correlated with alcohol consumption overall.

  • Depression moderated this relationship:

  • Higher depression: Negative correlation between support and alcohol consumption.

  • Lower depression: Positive correlation between support and alcohol consumption.

• Theories Supported: Findings partially confirm theories of alcohol use distinguishing between self-medicating drinkers and social, sensation-seeking drinkers.

Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption among College Students

• Monitoring the Future Study (2008):

  • 83% of college students surveyed have consumed alcohol.

  • 71% reported having been drunk at least once.

  • 41% engaged in binge drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting).

  • 13% reported extreme binge drinking (10 or more drinks in one sitting).

  • Daily drinking rate remained low (4.3%).

• Problematic Drinking Behaviors:

  • 50% reported drinking to the point of illness.

  • 40% regretted actions due to drinking.

  • 30% missed classes due to excessive drinking.

  • Inverse relationship between alcohol consumed and GPA.

Motivation for Drinking

• Divergent Pathways in Drinking:

  • Social Drinkers:

  • View alcohol as part of celebration.

  • Drink to enhance positives (happy moods, celebrations).

  • Not categorized as abusers despite high intake.

  • Steady, Heavy Drinkers:

  • Drink driven by emotional distress (tension, stress, etc.).

  • Correlated with higher reported problems.

  • Use alcohol as a coping mechanism for stressors.

Social Norms and Alcohol Consumption on College Campuses

• Social Benefits: Over half of students view alcohol as essential for social life, especially among athletes and Greek system members.

• Coping Mechanism: 14% of students viewed alcohol consumption as a right for college stress relief.

Stressors Faced by College Students

• Categories of stressors:

  • Intrapersonal (daily routine changes, responsibilities).

  • Interpersonal (social activities, roommate conflicts).

  • Academic stressors.

  • Environmental stressors (technology issues, breaks).

• Negative social interactions are significant stressors, correlating with physical symptoms.

Social Support Defined

• Definition: Social support includes verbal and nonverbal behaviors that influence self-perception, situations, and relationships.

• Affection Exchange Theory (AET): focuses on supportive communication as a specific subset of affectionate communication.

  • Supportive interactions convey deep affection through assistance rather than direct affection.

  • Associated with psychological/physical health benefits.

Stress Buffering Model and Health Outcomes

• Cohen's Stress Buffering Model: Supportive communication helps individuals manage stress effectively.

• Health Benefits Associated with Social Support:

  • Improved immune function and coping in health crises.(Cohen et al. 2003)

  • Increased longevity (Robles & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2003).

  • Inversely correlated relationship between emotional support and depression.

Alcohol Consumption and Social Support

• Investigated operationally through participant responses on a multipronged questionnaire, measuring stress, depression, social support, and drinking behavior.

Methodology Overview

• Stress Measurement: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) - 14 items [Cronbach's alpha = .61], average score 3.64 (Men: 3.35, Women: 3.90).

• Depression Measurement: Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) - 11 items [Cronbach's alpha = .84], average score 2.80.

• Social Support Measurement: Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) - 30 items [Cronbach's alpha = .95], average score 5.83.

• Alcohol Consumption Measurement: Reported drinks consumed per week (mean: 6.57).

Findings & Conclusions

• Supported hypotheses on the relationships among stress, social support, depression, and drinking behaviors, notably:

  • H1: Inverse relationship between social support and both stress/depression confirmed (r with stress: -0.422, p = .001; with depression: -0.581, p < .001).

  • H2: Positive correlation between stress and depression confirmed (r = 0.392, p < .002).

  • H3: Depression positively correlated with drinking behavior (r = 0.232, p = 0.047); stress not strongly correlated with drinking (r = -0.104).

  • H4: Inverse correlation between social support and alcohol consumption confirmed (r = -0.289, p = 0.022).

• Examined interactions between depression and social support on alcohol consumption yielded significant results indicating that higher depression levels correlate with lower alcohol consumption in the presence of social support.

Discussion and Implications

• Findings align with principles from affection exchange theory, and emphasize the importance of supportive communication on physical and mental health.

• The study's results highlight the complex interaction between social support, depression, and drinking behaviors, offering grounds for further research into the nuances of college drinking behavior.

1. Research Questions: The authors aim to investigate the relationships between social support and college students’ stress, depression, and alcohol use.

2. Theoretical Framework: The theory guiding the research is the Affection Exchange Theory (AET). The main components of AET focus on supportive communication as a specific subset of affectionate communication. Supportive interactions convey deep affection through assistance rather than direct affection, leading to psychological and physical health benefits.

3. Research Type: This research is quantitative in nature, as it involves statistical analysis of questionnaire data.

4. Participants: The study included 54 college students who completed questionnaires for extra course credit.

5. Data Collection Instruments: The instruments used for data collection include:

   • Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

   • Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II)

   • Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL)

6. Form of Data Collected: The data collected consisted of questionnaire responses, including numerical scores from various scales measuring stress, depression, social support, and reported alcohol consumption.

7. Data Analysis Methods: The analysis involved correlation analysis to examine relationships among the variables, confirming hypotheses on the associations between social support, stress, depression, and drinking behaviors.

8. Results of Analysis: The analysis confirmed several hypotheses:

   • An inverse relationship between social support and stress/depression

   • A positive correlation between stress and depression

   • A positive correlation between depression and drinking behavior

   • An inverse correlation between social support and alcohol consumption.

9. Conclusions Drawn: The authors concluded that social support negatively correlates with alcohol consumption, and depression influences the relationship between social support and alcohol consumption behavior. Individuals with higher depression showed a lower alcohol intake with social support.

10. Limitations: The study's limitations may include its small sample size and the reliance on self-reported data, which could introduce biases.

11. Practical Utility: This research has practical utility in understanding how social support can be leveraged to address stress and depression among college students, potentially informing interventions aimed at reducing problematic drinking behaviors.