Alcohol and Athletics: A Study of Canadian Student-Athlete Risk

in Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology

Click name to view affiliation

Siobhan K. FitzpatrickDepartment of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada

Search for other papers by Siobhan K. Fitzpatrick in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMedClose
*
and
Janine V. OlthuisDepartment of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada

Search for other papers by Janine V. Olthuis in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMedClose
*
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2020-0062
Keywords:
alcohol expectancies; binge drinking; drinking motives; social norms
First Published Online:
22 Sep 2021
In Print:
Volume 17: Issue 1
Page Range:
53–71
Restricted access

American student-athletes (SAs) are at heightened risk for hazardous alcohol consumption compared with their nonathlete peers. However, little is known about this risk or the influence of psychosocial predictors on drinking behavior among Canadian SAs. This study compared rates of alcohol use across Canadian SAs and nonathletes and investigated whether the use of athlete-specific psychosocial predictors can improve the prediction of alcohol use outcomes in SAs. Participants (179 varsity athletes and 366 nonathletes) completed anonymous self-report questionnaires. Results suggest that Canadian athletes are at a heightened risk for experiencing alcohol-related problems compared with nonathletes, with general psychosocial predictors explaining the majority of variance in SA alcohol use. However, and quite notably, athlete-specific positive reinforcement motives predicted SA binge drinking. This research provides some of the first evidence of drinking-related problems among Canadian SAs and supports the potential use of preventative efforts to help SAs develop safe strategies for alcohol use.

Fitzpatrick (siobhan.fitzpatrick@unb.ca) is corresponding author.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology

Cover Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Barry, A.E., Howell, S.M., Riplinger, A., & Piazza-Gardner, A.K. (2015). Alcohol use among college athletes: Do intercollegiate, club, or intramural student athletes drink differently? Substance Use & Misuse, 50, 302–307. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826084.2014.977398

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Borsari, B., & Carey, K. (2006). How the quality of peer relationships influences college alcohol use. Drug and Alcohol Review, 25, 361–370. https://doi.org/10.1080/09595230600741339

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bracken, N. (2012). National study of substance use trends among NCAA college student athletes. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved from http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/SAHS09.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Brenner, J., & Swanik, K. (2007). High-risk drinking characteristics in collegiate athletes. Journal of American College Health, 56(3), 267–272. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.56.3.267-272

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Collins, R.L., Parks, G.A., & Marlatt, G.A. (1985). Social determinants of alcohol consumption: The effects of social interaction and model status on the self-administration of alcohol. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53(2), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.53.2.189

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Doumas, D. (2013). Alcohol-related consequences among intercollegiate student-athletes: The role of drinking motives. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 34(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1872.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Doumas, D.M., Turrisi, R., Coll, K.M., & Haralson, K. (2007). High-risk drinking in college athletes and nonathletes across the academic year. Journal of College Counseling, 10(2), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1882.2007.tb00016.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • El-Sayed, M.S., Ali, N., & El-Sayed, Z. (2005). Interaction between alcohol and exercise. Sports Medicine, 35, 257–269. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200535030-00005

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Faulkner, S., Hendry, L., Roderique, L., & Thomson, R. (2006). A preliminary study of the attitudes, triggers, and consequences of hazardous drinking in university students. Health Education Journal, 65(2), 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/001789690606500206

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ford, J.A. (2007). Alcohol use among college students: A comparison of athletes and nonathletes. Substance Use & Misuse, 42(9), 1367–1377. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826080701212402

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grant, V., Stewart, S., O’Connor, R., Blackwell, E., & Conrod, P. (2007). Psychometric evaluation of the five-factor modified drinking motives questionnaire—Revised in undergraduates. Addictive Behaviors, 32(11), 2611–2632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.07.004

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Green, K., Nelson, T.F., & Hartmann, D. (2014). Binge drinking and sports participation in college: Patterns among athletes and former athletes. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 49(3–4), 417–434. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690213509257

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Grossbard, J.R., Geisner, I.M., Mastroleo, N.R., Kilmer, J.R., Turrisi, R., & Larimer, M.E. (2009). Athletic identity, descriptive norms, and drinking among athletes transitioning to college. Addictive Behaviours, 34(4), 352–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.11.011

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Halim, A., Hasking, P., & Allen, F. (2012). The role of social drinking motives in the relationship between social norms and alcohol consumption. Addictive Behaviors, 37(12), 1335–1341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.07.004

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ham, L., & Hope, D. (2003). College students and problematic drinking: A review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 23(5), 719–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(03)00071-0

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ham, L.S., Stewart, S.H., Norton, P.J., & Hope, D.A. (2005). Psychometric assessment of the comprehensive effects of alcohol questionnaire: Comparing a brief version to the original full scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 27, 141–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-005-0631-9

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hingson, R., Heeren, T., Winter, M., & Wechsler, H. (2005). Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students aged 18–24: Changes from 1998 to 2001. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 259–279. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144652

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hummer, J.F., LaBrie, J.W., & Lac, A. (2009). The prognostic power of normative influences among NCAA student-athletes. Addictive Behaviours, 34(6–7), 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.03.021

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jasinski, J., & Ford, J. (2007). Sexual orientation and alcohol use among college students: The influence of drinking motives and social norms. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 51(4), 63–82.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jones, B.T., Corbin, W., & Fromme, K. (2001). A review of expectancy theory and alcohol consumption. Addiction, 96, 57–72. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.961575.x

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kahler, C.W., Strong, D.R., & Read, J.P. (2005). Toward efficient and comprehensive measurement of the alcohol problem continuum in college students: The brief young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire. Alcoholism, Clinical Experimental Research, 29(7), 1180−1189. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ALC.0000171940.95813.A5

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kuntsche, E., Knibbe, R., Gmel, G., & Engels, R. (2005). Why do young people drink? A review of drinking motives. Clinical Psychology Review, 25(7), 841–861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2005.06.002

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Larimer, M.E., Turner, A.P., Mallett, K.A., & Geisner, I.M. (2004). Predicting drinking behavior and alcohol-related problems among fraternity and sorority members: Examining the role of descriptive and injunctive norms. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(3), 203.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lewis, T.F. (2008). An explanatory model of student-athlete drinking: The role of team leadership, social norms, perceptions of risk, and coaches’ attitudes toward alcohol consumption. College Student Journal, 42(3), 818.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lewis, T.F., Milroy, J., Wyrick, D., Hebard, S.P., & Lamberson, K.A. (2017). Binge-drinking and non-binge-drinking student-athletes: The role of proximal norms, negative expectancies, and selected sociodemographic variables. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 26(2), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/1067828X.2016.1222978

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lisha, N.E., & Sussman, S. (2010). Relationship of high school and college sports participation with alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use: A review. Addictive Behaviours, 35(5), 399–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.12.032

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Mackinnon, S., Couture, M., Cooper, M., Kuntsche, E., O’Connor, R., Stewart, S., & Salemink, E. (2017). Cross-cultural comparisons of drinking motives in 10 countries: Data from the DRINC project. Drug and Alcohol Review, 36(6), 721–730. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12464

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Maclean’s. (2013, February 11). Sports scholarships are an expensive fix to a non-existent problem. Maclean’s. Retrieved from http://macleans.ca/general/an-expensive-fix-to-a-non-existent-problem/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Maddock, J.E., Laforge, R.G., Rossi, J.S., & O’Hare, T. (2001). The college alcohol problem scale. Addictive Behaviours, 26(3), 385–398. https://doi.org/10/1016/S0306-4603(00)00116-7

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Martens, M., & Martin, J. (2010). College athletes’ drinking motives and competitive seasonal status: Additional examination of the athlete drinking scale. Addiction Research and Theory, 18(1), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066350902867882

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Martens, M., Pedersen, E., Smith, A., Stewart, S., & O’Brien, K. (2011). Predictors of alcohol-related outcomes in college athletes: The roles of trait urgency and drinking motives. Addictive Behaviors, 36(5), 456–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2010.12.025

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Martens, M.P., Dams-O’Connor, K., & Beck, N.C. (2006). A systematic review of college student-athlete drinking: Prevalence rates, sport-related factors, and interventions. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 31(3), 305–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2006.05.004

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Martens, M.P., Rocha, T.L., Martin, J.L., & Serrao, H.F. (2008). Drinking motives and college students: Further examination of a four-factor model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(2), 289–295. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.55.2.289

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Martens, M.P., Watson, J.C., Royland, E.M., & Beck, N.C. (2005). Development of the athlete drinking scale. Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, 19(2), 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-164X.19.2.158

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Mastroleo, N.R., Barnett, N.P., & Bowers, K.M. (2019). Associations between sex, race/ethnicity, season, day of the week, and alcohol use and related risks in college student athletes and nonathletes. Journal of American College Health, 67(5), 422–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1484367

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Miller, P., & Kerr, G. (2002). The athletic, academic, and social experiences of intercollegiate student-athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25(4), 346–367.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Neighbors, C., O’Connor, R.M., Lewis, M.A., Chawla, N., Lee, C.M., & Fossos, N. (2008). The relative impact of injunctive norms on college student drinking: The role of reference group. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22(4), 576–581. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013043

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Nelson, T.F., & Wechsler, H. (2001). Alcohol and college athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 33(1), 43–47.

  • Olthuis, J.V., Zamboanga, B.L., Martens, M.P., & Ham, L.S. (2011). Social influences, alcohol expectancies, and hazardous alcohol use among college athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 5(1), 24–43.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Pitts, M., Chow, G., & Donohue, B. (2019). Relationship between general and sport-related drinking motives and athlete alcohol use problems. Substance Use and Misuse, 54(1), 146–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2018.1512624

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Seitz, C., Wyrick, D., Rulison, K., Strack, R., & Fearnow-Kenney, M. (2014). The association between coach and teammate injunctive norm reference groups and college student-athlete substance use. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 58(2), 7–26.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Shirreffs, S.M., & Maughan, R.J. (2006). The effect of alcohol on athletic performance. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 5, 192–196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11932-006-0046-8

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Tewksbury, R., Higgins, G.E., & Mustaine, E.E. (2008). Binge drinking among college athletes and non-athletes. Deviant Behaviour, 29(3), 275–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639620701588040

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Thombs, D. (2000). A test of the perceived norms model to explain drinking patterns among university student-athletes. Journal of American College Health, 49(2), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480009596287

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Turrisi, R., Mastroleo, N.R., Mallett, K.A., Larimer, M.E., & Kilmer, J.R. (2007). Examination of the mediational influences of peer norms, environmental influences, and parent communications on heavy drinking in athletes and nonathletes. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21(4), 453–461. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-164X.21.4.453

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wahesh, H., Milroy, J., Lewis, T., Orsini, M., & Wyrick, D. (2013). Hazardous drinking by first-year college-athletes: The differential roles of drinking motives, alcohol consequences, and season status. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 57(2), 66–84.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ward, B.W., & Gryczynski, J. (2009). Social learning theory and the effects of living arrangement on heavy alcohol use: Results from a national study of college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 70(3), 364–372. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad/2009.70.364

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wechsler, H., Davenport, A., Dowdall, G., Moeykens, B., & Castillo, S. (1994). Health and behavioral consequences of binge drinking in college: A national survey of students at 140 campuses. JAMA, 272, 1672–1677. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1994.03520210056032

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wechsler, H., Lee, J.E., Kuo, M., Seibring, M., Nelson, T.F., & Lee, H. (2002). Trends in college binge drinking during a period of increased prevention efforts: Findings from 4 Harvard school of public health college alcohol study surveys: 1993-2001. Journal of American College Health, 50(5), 203–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480209595713

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wilsnack, R.W., Wilsnack, S.C., Gmel, G., & Kantor, L.W. (2018). Gender differences in binge drinking: Prevalence, predictors, and consequences. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 39(1), 57.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wilson, G.S., Pritchard, M.E., & Schaffer, J. (2004). Athletic status and drinking behaviour in college students: The influence of gender and coping styles. Journal of American College Health, 52(6), 269–273. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.52.6.269-275

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Wyrick, D.L., Milroy, J.J., Reifsteck, E.J., Rulison, K.L., Dudley, W.N., & Fearnow-Kenney, M. (2016). Investigating risk factors predictive of problem outcomes experienced by first year drinking and non-drinking collegiate student-athletes. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 60(3), 22.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Yusko, D.A., Buckman, J.F., White, H.R., & Pandina, R.J. (2008). Risk for excessive alcohol use and drinking-relate problems in college student athletes. Addictive Behaviours, 33(12), 1546–1556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.07.010

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zamboanga, B.L., Ham, L.S., Olthuis, J.V., Martens, M.P., Grossbard, J.R., & Van Tyne, K. (2012). Alcohol expectancies and risky drinking behaviours among high school athletes: ‘I’d rather keep my head in the game.’ Prevention Science, 13(2), 140–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-011-0252-3

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhou, J., O’Brien, K.S., & Heim, D. (2014). Alcohol consumption in sportspeople: The role of social cohesion, identity and happiness. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 49(3–4), 278–293. https://doi.org/10/1177/1012690213493105

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 1677 1157 28
Full Text Views 117 42 5
PDF Downloads 137 47 6