The differential impact of relational health on alcohol consumption and consequences in first year college women

Gender Informed or Gender Ignored? Opportunities for Gender Transformative Approaches in Brief Alcohol Interventions on College Campuses

Brief alcohol interventions are an effective strategy for reducing harmful and risky alcohol use and misuse. Many effective brief alcohol interventions include information and advice about an individual’s alcohol use, changing their use, and assistance in developing strategies and goals to help reduce their use. Emerging research suggests that brief interventions can also be expanded to address multiple health outcomes; recognizing that the flexible nature of these approaches can be helpful in tailoring information to specific population groups. This scoping review synthesizes evidence on the inclusion of sex and gender in brief alcohol interventions on college campuses, highlighting available evidence on gender responsiveness in these interventions. Furthermore, this scoping review offers strategies on how brief alcohol interventions can be gender transformative, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions as harm reduction and prevention strategies, and in promoting gender equity.

Disordered eating behaviors in young adult Mexican American women: prevalence and associations with health risks

Recent research has shown that disordered eating behaviors are as prevalent in heterogenous samples of Latinas living in the U.S. as in non-Hispanic white women, yet less is known about the prevalence in women of Mexican origin. The primary purpose of this study is to report the prevalence and associations among DE behaviors and health risk of alcohol, tobacco use and obesity in a sample of N = 472 young adult college enrolled Mexican American (MA) women living in the United States. This report focuses on baseline data from a 12-month repeated measures longitudinal study. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was used to capture the prevalence of disordered eating and health risk behaviors in the context of everyday activities. Disordered eating behaviors including purging, binge eating, fasting and exercise were reported by approximately 15% of the sample. Food/calorie restricting, was the most prevalent behavior reported by 48% of the sample and along with binge eating was a positive predictor of BMI. Fasting was the only disordered eating behavior associated with tobacco use. These findings suggest that subclinical levels of DE behaviors are prevalent in a community sample of women of Mexican origin and are associated with health risks of tobacco use and higher BMI. Early identification of DE behaviors and community-based interventions targeting MA women may help reduce disparities associated with overweight and obesity in this population.

Relational health as a mediator between betrayal trauma and borderline personality disorder

A frequently studied hypothesized cause of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is experiencing interpersonal trauma. A recent study by L. A. Kaehler and J. J. Freyd (2009 ) found a connection between betrayal trauma and BPD characteristics, with higher betrayal traumas associated with greater BPD characteristics. The present study seeks to expand upon that study by investigating relational health as a potential mediator for the association between betrayal trauma and BPD. A sample of 165 college students completed measures of betrayal trauma life events, relational health, and BPD traits. Mediation analyses showed significant partial mediation for total relational health (bootstrap coefficient = .0168) and its community subscale (bootstrap coefficient = .0204); however, significant mediating effects for the mentor and friend subscales were not found. Given the significant finding for only the community subscale, which may be driving the total relational health effect seen, the results suggest that connection with a valued community may be an important protective factor for BPD after one experiences betrayal trauma.

Sexual Experience and Risky Alcohol Consumption among Incoming First-Year College Females

This study examines the relationship between sexual experience and various drinking measures in 550 incoming first-year college females. During this transition period, sexually experienced participants reported stronger alcohol expectancies and endorsed higher drinking motives, and drank more frequently and in greater quantities than sexually inexperienced participants. Sexual status was also a significant predictor of alcohol-related nonsexual consequences, over and above amount consumed. Furthermore, controlling for drinking, sexual status moderated the relationship between coping motives and consequences. Among women who endorsed strong coping motives for drinking, sexual experience was linked to greater nonsexual alcohol-related consequences. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

The use of protective behavioral strategies is related to reduced risk in heavy drinking college students with poorer mental and physical health

The present study examined the moderating role of health status (physical, mental, and social health) and the relationships between protective behavioral strategies utilized to reduce high-risk drinking (e.g., avoiding drinking games, setting consumption limits, or having a designated driver) and alcohol use and negative consequences in a sample of heavy drinking college students (N = 1,820). In this high risk sample, multiple regression analyses showed that stronger social health was related to increased drinking, while poorer physical, mental, and social health were related to increased alcohol negative consequences. Further, moderation effects revealed that increasing the use of protective behaviors was associated with significantly less drinking in those with stronger social health, as well as significantly lower numbers of negative consequences among participants with poorer physical and mental health. Implications for college counselors and medical personnel are discussed.

Predictors of alcohol problems in college women: the role of depressive symptoms, disordered eating, and family history of alcoholism

Disordered eating and depressive symptoms are established correlates of alcohol use in college women. Family history of alcoholism (FHA) is also related to problematic alcohol use, but there have been limited studies of how it relates to other established cofactors in women. Predictive associations between disordered eating (i.e., overall levels as well as binge eating), depressive symptoms, and alcohol problems were examined in a sample of 295 female twins. The direct and moderating effects of FHA on the relationships between alcohol problems, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms were investigated. Using hierarchical linear modeling depressive symptoms, but not disordered eating or FHA, significantly predicted alcohol problems. However, there was a significant interaction between disordered eating and FHA; disordered eating was associated with alcohol problems in those with a positive FHA. The implications for high-risk subgroups of college women are discussed.

Mental and Social Health Impacts the Use of Protective Behavioral Strategies in Reducing Risky Drinking and Alcohol Consequences

The present study is the first to examine the moderating effects of mental and social health status in the relationship between protective behavioral strategies utilized to reduce high-risk drinking (e.g., alternating alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks or avoiding drinking games) and alcohol outcomes (drinking variables and alcohol-related negative consequences) among first-year college females (N = 128). Findings revealed that protective behaviors were particularly effective in reducing both alcohol consumption and related risks among participants reporting lower mental health as compared to higher mental health. Further, participants with higher social health who utilized protective behaviors consumed significantly fewer maximum drinks per occasion than did peers who also employed protective behaviors but reported lower social health. Explanation of findings and implications for campus intervention initiatives are discussed.