It has been well researched that college student alcohol use is a public health concern and that college students as a general population are at risk for excessive alcohol use and binge drinking. Within the wide population of college students, student-athletes are at a particularly high risk for excessive alcohol consumption. Collegiate student-athletes have been found to be more likely than their peers to report alcohol-related negative consequences. In studying why athletes drink more than their peers, collegiate student-athlete alcohol research purports that motives for alcohol use stem from both general and sport-related motives. Social norms research, particularly descriptive and injunctive norms, has also been used to explain alcohol use habits in college students and student-athletes. Alcohol use is also strongly influenced by cultural norms and beliefs that one may develop in their country of origin. No research currently exists that studies how domestic and international student-athletes differ in alcohol use trends. The current study intends to bridge gaps in the literature by investigating alcohol use among international and domestic student-athletes and the resulting relationship between factors such as alcohol consumption, drinking motives, negative consequences of alcohol use, and a student-athlete's country of origin. It was hypothesized that student-athletes from the United States would report significantly different alcohol use behaviors than their International counterparts. NCAA student-athletes (n = 1330) completed an online questionnaire that included a demographics survey, country of origin questions, social norms perceptions questions, alcohol use questions, Athlete Drinking Scale, Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised, and Rutger's Alcohol Problem Index. Multiple MANCOVA analyses were run to examine differences in alcohol use behaviors between the three pairs of independent variables while controlling for gender and age. Analyses revealed significant effects for country of origin on student-athletes perceived injunctive norms and sport-related drinking motives. Specifically, international student-athletes perceived that friends from their country of origin approve of binge drinking more than United States student-athletes perceived their friends approve of binge drinking. Also, United States student-athletes endorsed all sport-related drinking motives more than international student-athletes endorsed the same motives, meaning that American student-athletes are more motivated to drink alcohol due to sport-related drinking motives than in international student-athletes are motivated to drink due to sport-related drinking motives.

The U.S. college environment presents risk of alcohol consumption and related consequences, with more than half of full-time college students reporting alcohol use in the past month and a third engaging in binge drinking (4 + drinks (females)/5+ drinks (males); National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH], 2018). U.S. college students that identify as Hispanic/Latinx have grown in volume, representing nearly 1 in 5 college students (College Enrollment Statistics, 2022; U.S. Department of Education, 2019). There is indication that Hispanic adolescents experience unique cultural, peer, and family risk factors for alcohol use and related consequences (Goldbach et al., 2015; Jacobs et al., 2016; Segura et al., 2003; Zamboanga et al., 2009). However, there remain unanswered questions on the precise nature of these influences for Hispanic emerging adults in the college environment (Lui & Zamboanga, 2019; Zamboanga et al., 2014). The aims of this scoping review were to examine the literature among Hispanic U.S. college student alcohol use and related consequences for: (1) cultural, peer, and family predictors; and (2) demographic variance by sex, gender, and ethnic subgroup. From the 46 articles identified in PubMed and PsychINFO databases, 80.4% analyzed traditional Hispanic (pan-ethnic) samples and 19.5% analyzed Mexican American samples. Nine additional sources of gray literature identified themes of family and cultural stress among Hispanic college students. Highly acculturated individuals appeared to be more at risk for general consumption, which was characteristic of social motives. High enculturation was associated with drinking related consequences, which could be an indication that these students are more likely to view alcohol use as a coping or conformity motive. There was not full support for familism or first-generation status as protective constructs, and instead, other related components such as communication and religiousness emerged as relevant predictors. More acculturated females tend to be more vulnerable to high stress environments, and in turn binge drinking episodes. Lowered familism, increased traditional machismo (e.g., dominance and toughness), and elevated peer norms were predictors putting males more at risk, an indication that perceptiveness to the influences of peers and family depend on gender. No articles were able to specify variance in predictors by sex, and only articles of Mexican American subgroup were identified, which presents a clear gap for future research to fill.

"Heavy alcohol consumption among college students can be problematic, particularly for student-athletes. According to prior research discussed in this study, college athletes have higher binge drinking rates than non-athletes and tend to have higher levels of intoxication when they drink, subsequently, athletes are more likely to experience alcohol-related harms and consequences. Additionally, research indicates that athletic team members often socialize around alcohol consumption and certain team characteristics may influence drinking behaviors. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between high-risk drinking and team cohesion among college athletes. The researcher collected data from 382 student-athletes from 14 teams at a public university in the mid-Atlantic region to study the strength of association between high-risk drinking and several predictor variables, including team cohesion, gender, race, class rank, and type of sport. Findings from this study will serve to inform coaches, athletic directors, and student affairs professionals on issues associated with the relationship between student-athlete alcohol consumption and team cohesion, particularly as it relates to how student-athletes may socialize and bond around alcohol consumption." -- Abstract

Collegiate student-athletes have been identified as an especially at-risk subgroup for heavy alcohol use as compared to the general college student population. Despite the intense physical demands required for athletic participation, national studies have found that intercollegiate athletes consumed more alcohol, engaged in more frequent heavy episodic drinking, and experienced more negative alcohol-related consequences as compared with non-athletes. A combination of structured open-ended and closed-ended questions was used in the current study. Data was collected from student-athletes across the United States through semi-structured, individual interviews informed by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) and its constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control). Open coding was the chosen method for data analysis for the study. Codes, accompanied by descriptives, were organized into themes as they related to the research questions and the theory of planned behavior. Results show that nearly half (49%) of student-athletes report drinking five or more drinks in one-sitting, with the majority of student-athletes consuming alcohol only 1-2 times per week at parties. Student-athletes' attitudes towards heavy drinking and alcohol outcome expectancies are apparent in two themes: sexual risk taking and athletic training justification. Many respondents expressed alcohol-drinking relationships with other student-athletes at their institution. The NCAA has recognized the importance of addressing alcohol related issues among collegiate athletes. However, the type of educational programming being assigned by the NCAA has been generally ineffective in reducing alcohol use of student-athletes. In fact, of the student-athletes surveyed in this study, the majority struggled with recalling NCAA alcohol prevention programs that they are familiar with--only 13% of student-athletes use alcohol prevention skills and tools taught by the NCAA or their athletic department to reduce alcohol consumption. Similarly, there is a belief among student-athletes that the NCAA is not doing enough to reduce alcohol use among student-athletes is exemplified by the fact that the majority (57%) gave the NCAA an F letter-grade for their current alcohol intervention and prevention strategies that are being taught to student-athletes. Although the NCAA requires student-athletes to participate in alcohol, tobacco and other drug education programming, only approximately 25% of student-athletes surveyed recalled viewing a NCAA drug and alcohol educational video or reading a brochure detailing the effect alcohol has on athletic performance at the beginning of the academic year. Furthermore, 85% of student-athletes reported that they were not informed of the counseling or alcohol treatment options that the NCAA provides.

College student use of alcohol is the number one health problem facing this population. For African American college students the problems associated with alcohol use can have far reaching implications associated with graduation rates, socioeconomic station within the community, as well as health status. There are a myriad of factors to consider when examining alcohol use among African American colleges students. These include living arrangement, classification, age, gender, cumulative grade point average, Greek-letter organization affiliation as well as whether or not the student participates in athletics. This research sought to examine alcohol use, perceived norms and attitudes held by African American college students. Results determined that African American college students who consume alcohol when compared to those who do not consume alcohol share similar overall attitudes and perceptions regarding use. The students in this sample held perceptions of alcohol use comparable to students in predominantly Caucasian national samples. Additionally, results showed that African American college student drinkers perceived that students affiliated with sororities and fraternities consumed more alcohol than non-Greek affiliated students. Furthermore, linear regression analyses indicated that participation in athletics, classification, gender and living arrangement were predictors for alcohol use.