Schehr_Drinking_AIR09ForumFINAL

Student drinking behavior: Do
Friday classes make a difference?
Prepared by:
Terra Schehr, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Research
& Effectiveness
Loyola College in Maryland
For:
AIR Forum, Atlanta
June 2009

Schehr, AIR Forum 2009 2
Overview
 Institutional Context
 What we already knew about student drinking
behavior
 Lifestyle survey and what we learned about
student drinking behavior
 Implications and use of findings

Institutional Context
 Medium sized comprehensive Jesuit institution
 ~3,700 undergraduates
 ~2,500 graduate students
 Primarily residential at the undergraduate level
 85% of all undergraduates live on campus
 No Greek system

College Alcohol Policies
 Underage drinking is banned by the College
 Student that are 21 years old or older may
possess and consume alcohol in the privacy of
their rooms, suites, or apartments in single-
serving containers only
 Having open containers of alcoholic beverages or
consumption of alcohol in any public area on
campus, regardless of age is a violation of policy

Alcohol and Drug Education and
Support Services (ADESS)
 Conducts alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse
prevention education programs
 Provides confidential intervention, support,
education, and referral services for students with,
or at risk to develop, AOD problems
 Provides assistance to students experiencing
difficulty due to the AOD use of someone close to
them, including a roommate, significant other, or
parent

What We Already Knew

Student Sanctions for Violating
Alcohol Policies
 In the 2007-08 academic year there were 302
students who incurred at least one “alcohol
sanction”
 First sanction includes:
monetary fine
written reprimand
mandated alcohol education
 Subsequent sanctions range from additional alcohol
education up to suspension from the College

Experiences Before Loyola and
Expectations About Drinking at Loyola
 Survey of incoming students during summer
2008 orientation (N=1,054)
 26% did not drink alcohol in the previous
academic year
 Only 2% of students thought that the “typical
Loyola student” does not drink
 68% of them think the “typical Loyola student”
drinks 2 or more times a week

Incoming First-Year Student
Drinking Behavior
 29% of students reported that they had blacked-
out from drinking at least once in their lifetime

The Lifestyle Survey

Lifestyle Survey Construction and
Content
 In-house survey designed by ADESS staff in
consultation with IR
 Designed to collect information on various
student behaviors both positive and risky
 Positive Ex: frequency of community service,
studying
 Risky Ex: frequency of drinking, number of sexual
partners

Lifestyle Survey Administration
 Administered paper-and-pencil in class
 59 undergraduate course sections
 10-15 minutes to complete the survey
 Data collection period covered two weeks in the
Fall 2008 semester
 N=895
 Responses are anonymous

Respondent Demographic
Characteristics
% of Respondents
Gender
Male 39%
Female 61%
Class level
First-year 29%
Sophomore 24%
Junior 19%
Senior 28%
First Friday Class
Before 10am 26%
10am – 12pm 45%
After 12pm 9%
None 20%Schehr, AIR Forum 2009 13

First Friday Class by Class Level
38%
31%
21%
12%
49%
51%
48%
34%
12%
9%
9%
7%
9%
21%
47%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
First-year Sophomore Junior Senior
Before 10am 10am-12pm After 12pm None
Schehr, AIR Forum 2009
14

Student Self-Reported Drinking
Behaviors

Frequency of Weekly Drinking

Frequency of Weekly Drinking by
Key Demographics
1 x or less 2 x 3x or more
Gender
Male 35% 37% 29%f
Female 49% 37% 14%
Class level
First-year 46% 38% 16%
Sophomore 51% 38% 11%
Junior 45% 42% 13%
Senior 33% 31% 36%fsj
Data are row percentages

Frequency of Blackouts as a Result
of Drinking

Frequency of Blackouts by Key
Demographics
Never Few x per
year
Few x per
month
Few x per
week
Gender
Male 32% 51% 16%f 2%
Female 37% 52% 9% 1%
Class level
First-year 36% 49% 13% 1%
Sophomore 35% 55% 10% 1%
Junior 40% 49% 9% 1%
Senior 30% 54% 15% 2%
Data are row percentages

“Problem Drinkers”
 Students who typically drink 3 or more times a
week and had at least one blackout as a result of
drinking = 18%
 More likely to be male (27% of men are “problem
drinkers” vs. 13% of women)
 More likely to be seniors (33% of seniors are
problem drinkers” vs. 12% of juniors, 11% of
sophomores, and 15% of first-year students)

Drinking Across the Week and
Demographic Differences

Student Drinking Behavior During
the Week
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
MeanNumberofDrinks
Consumed
During a typical week in the academic year (07-08), how many alcoholic drinks do
you usually consume on each of the following days?
*A "drink" is a 12-ounce beer, a glass of wine, a wine cooler, a shot glass of
liquor, or a mixed drink.
S,M S,M
S,M,T,W
S,M,T,W,TH S,M,T,W,TH

the Week by Gender
f
f
f
f
f
f
f

the Week by Class Year
f,s,j f,s,j
f,s,j
j

the Week by Problem Drinker Status
n n
n
n
nn
n

“Weekend” Drinking Behavior and
First Friday Class

“Thirsty Thursday” and Friday
Classes
a
(a) (c)(b) (d)
a,b
a,b

“Thirsty Thursday” – Differences
Based on Gender?
(a)
(b) (c) (d)
a
a
a,b
a
a,b

Based on Class Year?
(a) (d)(c)
(b)
(*n=2)
a
a,b
a,b,c
a

Based on Problem Drinker Status?
(a) (d)(c)
(b)
a
a
a,b
a

“Thirsty Thursday” and Friday
Classes?
a
(a) (c)(b) (d)
a,b
a,b

“Thirsty Thursday” Directly Related
to Friday Classes?
 There is no evidence that the
relationship between
Thursday drinking and Friday
classes is primarily due to
heavier drinkers scheduling
their classes to accommodate
their drinking behavior
 Heavier drinking on Thursday
appears to be associated with
Friday class schedules
regardless of:
 Gender
 Student class level
 Problem drinking status
YES!

“Thirsty Thursday” ≠ The Movable
Weekend!
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
a
a,b
a,b
a
a
“Thirsty Thursday” = The Movable
Weekend?

What To Do?

“Reclaim Fridays”
 Schedule more Friday classes
 especially those starting 10am or earlier
 University of Iowa offering departments additional
funding for scheduling Friday classes
Schedule more homework due on Friday
 Makes “. . . Thursday drinking more ‘costly’ to
students by imposing ‘real-world’ constraints on
drinking opportunities”1
1 Wood, Sher, and Rutledge (2007). College student alcohol
consumption, day of week, and class schedule. Alcohol Clinical and
Experimental Research 31 (7) 195-1207.

Loyola College in Maryland
www.loyola.edu/ir
tschehr@loyola.edu

Schehr_Drinking_AIR09ForumFINAL

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