title: Differential prevalence of alcohol use among 2-year and 4-year college students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether alcohol use behaviors and alcohol-related consequences differed among students attending two-year versus four-year colleges.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (N=13,700) from 7 two-year and 11 four-year colleges completed the 2010 College Student Health Survey. Alcohol use behaviors included past year alcohol use, past month alcohol use, and binge drinking over the past two weeks. Alcohol-related factors included average calculated blood alcohol level and average number of alcohol-related consequences. Cross-sectional mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted to determine if the prevalence of alcohol-related behaviors and consequences differed among two-year and four-year students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Students attending four-year colleges, particularly males, were more likely to report past year alcohol use, past month alcohol use, and binge drinking, as well as a higher average blood alcohol content and a greater number of alcohol-related consequences than their two-year counterparts (p<0.05). Among female students there were fewer differences between two-year and four-year college students. Many differences remained after adjusting for socio-demographic factors (e.g., age, race/ethnicity), however, with the addition of living situation as a covariate, several of the differences among males were no longer significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significant differences in alcohol-related behaviors and consequences exist among students attending two-year versus four-year colleges. While the prevalence of alcohol-related behaviors and consequences was lower among two-year college students, they are not a population to be over-looked. The prevalence of alcohol use remains high among both two-year and four-year college students, making it important for researchers to design appropriate interventions for all students regardless of the type of institution being attended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA. cayleywarner@mail.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Cayley E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Velazquez
authors.forename: Keryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Pasch
authors.forename: Melissa N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Laska
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lust
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Story
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Ehlinger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult