Close Friends' Drinking and Personal Income as Mediators of Extreme Drinking: A Prospective Investigation

This study examined longitudinal associations between college attendance, residence on- or off-campus, and work status during the first 2 years after high school with extreme binge drinking at 4 years after high school and tested peer drinking and personal income at 3 years after high school as mediators.

Data were drawn from Waves 4-7 of the NEXT Generation Health Study (n = 2,081). Multinomial logistic regressions and mediation analyses were conducted. Extreme binge drinking was measured using the largest number of drinks on a single day in the past year.

Univariate analyses indicated that attending university, living on campus, and working more than 30 hours at any point during the first 2 years after high school were associated with increased risk of drinking two to three times above the binge drinking threshold (relative risk ratios [RRR] ranged from 1.79 to 5.70). In multivariate analyses, dropping out of university was associated with drinking two times above the binge drinking threshold (RRR = 4.88), whereas living on campus (RRR = 4.54) and working more than 30 hours (RRR = 5.26) were associated with increased risk of drinking three times above the binge drinking threshold. Close friends' drinking and personal income were significant mediators.

Living on campus and working more than 30 hours per week during the first 2 years after high school increased risk for drinking three times above the binge drinking threshold at 4 years after high school.