Is orientation week a gateway to persistent alcohol use in university students? A preliminary investigation

Orientation Week is common at many universities throughout the world and is a way to introduce students to their new environment. Despite some benefits, Orientation Week is often typified by heavy alcohol use. Although typically viewed as a "one-time" event, the higher levels of drinking that students engage in during Orientation Week may persist into the academic year. We investigated this possibility in the present study.

Freshman-year students (n = 143; 41% male) residing in a dormitory were surveyed about their alcohol intake before university. During Orientation Week, students were sent a daily text message asking about the number of drinks they consumed the previous night. Then, during the academic year, students were sent one text message each month to record their weekend drinking.

Participants consumed a higher number of standard drinks during Orientation Week (M = 26.0, SD = 28.6) than they did either before entering university (M = 13.1, SD = 13.6) or during the academic year (M = 6.4, SD = 8.5). For male students, but not female students, higher Orientation Week drinking uniquely contributed to higher rates of drinking during the academic year when controlling for pre-university drinking (b = 0.122, p < .001). Students who drank at low levels before entering university were particularly susceptible to the negative effects of Orientation Week drinking.

Orientation Week may act as a gateway for male students, as drinking during Orientation Week predicted their subsequent drinking throughout the academic year. Based on these findings, Orientation Week could be a prime period for interventions aimed at curbing academic-year drinking.