1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
www.PosterPresentations.com
• The transition to college during emerging adulthood is characterized
by seeking novel experiences, and battling social, personal, academic
and mental health pressures (Arnett, 2000)
• Historically underrepresented (racial/ethnic minority, lower
socioeconomic status, first-generation) college students experience
additional stressors: socioeconomic pressures, racial dynamics,
acculturation (Lopez, 2005; Hurtado et. al, 2007)
• Binge drinking and associated risky behavior is a major problem on
college campuses, and can contribute to poorer academic
performance, poorer mental health, and legal trouble (Winograd &
Sher, 2015)
• Underrepresented students vary wildly on drinking prevalence rates
(Strada & Donohue, 2004)
• Peer support is instrumental in building emotional support and
personal identity, especially for underrepresented students who may
experience racism/distress (Azmitia, Syed, & Radmacher, 2013)
• Contradictory findings exist on peer support and drinking in normative
student populations, necessitating further research
• Psychological well-being (PWB) is markedly lower in minority
students in part due to their status (racial tensions, acculturative
stressors, SES disparities) (Crockett et. al, 2007)
• While alcohol consumption and binge drinking have been shown to be
inversely linked with well-being in high school and normative college
students (Cholewa & West-Olatunji, 2008), underrepresented
university student populations are understudied
• The present study assesses the relationship between peer support,
psychological well-being, and problematic drinking behaviors
specifically among underrepresented first-year college students
INTRODUCTION
• H1: Stronger peer support  higher psychological well-being (PWB)
• H2: Higher PWB  fewer problematic drinking behaviors
• H3: Stronger peer support  fewer problematic drinking behaviors
• H4: Stronger peer support  higher PWB  fewer problematic
drinking behaviors
HYPOTHESES
• Direct positive effect of peer support on psychological well-being
• No significant effects of PWB on problematic drinking behaviors (H2);
of peer support on problematic drinking behaviors (H3); of peer
support on problematic drinking behaviors through PWB (H4)
• Similar effects were noted for drinkers only as for all participants
RESULTS
Peer support: Inventory of Peer and Parent Attachment assessed
relationships with close friends at Wave 1 (e.g. “I can count on my
friends when I need to get something off my chest”)
Psychological well-being: Flourishing Scale assessed positive/negative
feelings about life at Wave 1 (e.g. “I am competent and capable in the
activities that are important to me”)
Problematic drinking behaviors: Core Alcohol and Drug Survey assessed
20 instances of detrimental drinking behaviors at Wave 2
Controls: Gender, race, SES, depressive symptoms
• Sample included 340 first-year college students who participated in a
larger study aimed at understanding experiences of
underrepresented students at 4-year institutions of higher learning
• Eligible participants were members of at least one of following
groups: 1) racial/ethnic minority status, 2) lower socioeconomic
status as determined by financial aid package, 3) first-generation
college student status
• Approximately 100 students had never consumed alcohol. Separate
analyses were conducted: first with all participants, second with only
those who had ever had a drink (drinkers only)
• Hierarchical regression analyses for direct and indirect effects were
conducted using SPSS 22.0
MEASURES & METHOD
DISCUSSION
• Association between peer support and psychological well-being
corroborated by past research: closer social circles tied to better
mental health. Peers may help mitigate unique challenges/stressors of
underrepresented students, improving well-being
• Lack of association between PWB and problematic drinking outcomes
may be explained by variations in minorities’ drinking prevalence
rates, cancelling out significant effects
• Lack of association between peer support and problematic drinking
behaviors may be explained by variations in role of friends (pressuring
to drink vs. protecting against), or by motivations to drink (coping
with minority status/being alone; college environment during
emerging adulthood), necessitating research on motivations to
drinking heavily among the underrepresented population
Limitations
• Data were self-report, and study time frame was relatively short.
Sample was comprised only of first-year students, most of whom
were underage and not able to consume alcohol legally, contributing
to lower overall base rates of drinking
Implications
• Foster groups of similar peers to overcome stressors/challenges
specific to underrepresented students in college environment
• Inform university policies of importance of peer support and possible
contradictory drinking motivations as rooted in social networks
Future Directions
• Determine how peer support operates in context of drinking and
being well through specific behaviors more so than perceptions of
peer closeness
• Focus on longitudinal outlook on peer support and prevention of
problematic drinking outcomes
REFERENCES
● Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American psychologist, 55(5), 469.
● Azmitia, M., Syed, M., & Radmacher, K. (2013). Finding your niche: Identity and emotional support in emerging adults' adjustment to the transition to
college. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23(4), 744-761.
● Cholewa, B., & West-Olatunji, C. (2008). Exploring the relationship among cultural discontinuity, psychological distress, and academic outcomes with low-
income, culturally diverse students. Professional School Counseling, 12(1), 54-61.
● Crockett, L. J., Iturbide, M. I., Torres Stone, R. A., McGinley, M., Raffaelli, M., & Carlo, G. (2007). Acculturative stress, social support, and coping: relations
to psychological adjustment among Mexican American college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(4), 347.
● Hurtado, S., Han, J. C., Sáenz, V. B., Espinosa, L. L., Cabrera, N. L., & Cerna, O. S. (2007). Predicting transition and adjustment to college: biomedical and
behavioral science aspirants’ and minority students’ first year of college. Research in Higher Education, 48(7), 841–887.
● Lopez, J. D. (2005). Race-Related Stress and Sociocultural Orientation Among Latino Students During Their Transition Into a Predominately White, Highly
Selective Institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4(4), 354–365.
● Strada, M. J., & Donohue, B. (2006). Substance use in ethnic minority youth. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 5(1), 67-89.
● Winograd, R. P., & Sher, K. J. (2015). Binge Drinking and Alcohol Misuse: Among College Students and Young Adults (Vol. 32). Hogrefe Publishing.
University of Virginia
Yekaterina A. Davydova
Jamie N. Albright, Noelle Hurd, PhD
Exploring peer support, psychological well-being, and problematic drinking behaviors
among underrepresented students
Psychological
Well-Being
Peer Support
Problematic
Drinking
Behaviors
B = .27, p < .001
B = .06, p = .33
B = .10, p = .13