We proposed a conceptual model to predict binge-drinking behavior among college students, based on the theory of planned behavior and the stress-coping hypothesis. A two-wave online survey was conducted with predictors and drinking behavior measured separately over 2 weeks' time. In the Wave 1 survey, 279 students at a public university in the United States answered questions assessing key predictors and individual characteristics. In the Wave 2 survey, 179 participants returned and reported their drinking behavior over 2 weeks' time. After conducting a negative binomial regression, we found that more favorable attitude toward drinking and less perceived control of drinking at Wave 1 were associated with more binge drinking at Wave 2; subjective norm at Wave 1 was not a significant predictor of binge drinking at Wave 2; students with higher stress at Wave 1 engaged in more binge drinking at Wave 2, but those with higher loneliness did not. Implications of findings are discussed.
AjzenI. (1991) The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes50: 179–211.
2.
AjzenI.BrownT. C.CarvajalF. (2004) Explaining the discrepancy between intentions and actions: The case of hypothetical bias in contingent valuation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin30: 1108–1121.
3.
AjzenI.CzaschC.FloodM. G. (2009) From intentions to behavior: Implementation intention, commitment, and conscientiousness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology39: 1356–1372.
4.
Aldridge-GerryA. A.RoeschS. C.VillodasF.McCabeC.LeungQ. K.Da CostaM. (2011) Daily stress and alcohol consumption: Modeling between-person and within-person ethnic variation in coping behavior. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs72(1): 125–134.
5.
Backer-FulghumL. M.Patock-PeckhamJ. A.KingK. M.RoufaL.HagenL. (2011) The stress-response dampening hypothesis: How self-esteem and stress act as mechanisms between negative parental bonds and alcohol-related problems in emerging adulthood. Addictive Behaviors37(4): 477–484.
6.
BanduraA. (1986) Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
7.
BodenlosJ. S.NoonanM.WellsS. Y. (2013) Mindfulness and alcohol problems in college students: The mediating effects of stress. Journal of American College Health61(6): 371–378.
8.
BoyleJ. R.BoekelooB. O. (2009) The association between parent communication and college freshmen's alcohol use. Journal of Drug Education39(2): 113–131.
9.
BromanC. L. (2007) Perceived discrimination and alcohol use among black and white college students. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education51(1): 8–16.
10.
CacioppoJ. T.HawkleyL. C.ThistedR. A. (2010) Perceived social isolation makes me sad: 5-year cross-lagged analyses of loneliness and depressive symptomatology in the Chicago health, aging, and social relations study. Psychology and Aging25(2): 453–463.
11.
ChenY.FeeleyT. H. (2012) Enacted support and well-being: A test of the mediating role of perceived control. Communication Studies63: 608–625.
12.
ChenY.FeeleyT. H. (2014a) Social support, social strain, loneliness, and well-being among older adults: An analysis of the health and retirement study*. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships31(2): 141–161.
13.
ChenY.FeeleyT. H. (2014b) Numeracy, information-seeking and self-efficacy in managing health: An analysis using the 2007 health information national trends survey (HINTS). Health Communication29(9): 843–853.
14.
ChenY.YangZ. J. (2015) Message formats, numeracy, risk perceptions of alcohol-attributable cancer, and intentions for binge drinking among college students. Journal of Drug Education45(1): 37–55.
15.
CohenF. (1984) Coping. In: MatarazzoJ. D.WeissS. M.HerdJ. A.MillerN. E.WeissS. M. (eds) Behavioral health: A handbook of health enhancement and disease prevention, New York, NY: Wiley, pp. 261–270.
16.
CohenJ.CohenP.WestS. G.AikenL. S. (2003) Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences, 3rd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
CohenS.KamarckT.MermelsteinR. (1983) A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior24: 385–396.
18.
CollinsS. E.CareyK. B. (2007) The theory of planned behavior as a model of heavy episodic drinking among college students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors21(4): 498–507.
19.
CookeR.FrenchD. P. (2008) How well do the theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour predict intentions and attendance at screening programmes? A meta-analysis. Psychology & Health23: 745–765.
20.
CookeR.SniehottaF.SchüzB. (2007) Predicting binge-drinking behavior using an extended TPB: Examining the impact of anticipated regret and descriptive norms. Alcohol and Alcoholism42(2): 84–91.
21.
CoxeS.WestS. G.AikenL. S. (2009) The analysis of count data: A gentle introduction to poisson regression and its alternatives. Journal of Personality Assessment91(2): 121–136.
22.
DermodyS. S.CheongJ.ManuckS. (2013) An evaluation of the stress-negative affect model in explaining alcohol use: The role of components of negative affect and coping style. Substance Use & Misuse48(4): 297–308.
23.
EaglyA. H.CarliL. L. (1981) Sex of researchers and sex-typed communications as determinants of sex differences in influenceability: A meta-analysis of social influence studies. Psychological Bulletin90(1): 1–20.
24.
ElliottM. A.AinsworthK. (2012) Predicting university undergraduates' binge-drinking behavior: A comparative test of the one- and two-component theories of planned behavior. Addictive Behaviors37(1): 92–101.
25.
FishbeinM. (2000) The role of theory in HIV prevention. AIDS Care12: 273–278.
26.
FishbeinM.AjzenI. (1975) Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research, Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
27.
FishbeinM.AjzenI. (2010) Predicting and changing behavior: The reasoned action approach, New York, NY: Psychology Press.
28.
HaggerM. S.ChatzisarantisN. L. D.BiddleS. J. H. (2002) A meta-analytic review of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior in physical activity: Predictive validity and the contribution of additional variables. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology24: 3–32.
HingsonR.HeerenT.WinterM.WechslerH. (2005) Magnitude of alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24: Changes from 1998 to 2001. Annual Review of Public Health26(1): 259–279.
31.
InghamR. (1994) Some speculations on the concept of rationality. Advances in Medical Sociology4: 89–111.
32.
JohnstonL. D.O'MalleyP. M.BachmanJ. G.SchulenbergJ. E. (2011) Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2010: Volume II, College students and adults ages 19–50, Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The University of MichiganRetrieved from http://monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/mtf-vol2_2010.pdf.
33.
JohnstonK. L.WhiteK. M. (2003) Binge-drinking: A test of the role of group norms in the theory of planned behaviour. Psychology & Health18(1): 63–77.
34.
KenneyS. R.LacA.LaBrieJ. W.HummerJ. F.PhamA. (2013) Mental health, sleep quality, drinking motives, and alcohol-related consequences: A path-analytic model. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs74(6): 841–851.
35.
KnoxD.Vail-SmithK.ZusmanM. (2007) The lonely college male. International Journal of Men's Health6(3): 273–279.
36.
LazarusR. S.FolkmanS. (1984) Stress, appraisal, and coping, New York, NY: Springer.
37.
MillerG. (2011) Why loneliness is hazardous to your health. Science331(6014): 138–140.
38.
MohrC. D.BrannanD.MohrJ.ArmeliS.TennenH. (2008) Evidence for positive mood buffering among college student drinkers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin34(9): 1249–1259.
NewmanI. M.ShellD. F.MajorL. J.WorkmanT. A. (2006) Use of policy, education, and enforcement to reduce binge drinking among university students: The NU Directions project. International Journal of Drug Policy17(4): 339–349.
41.
NormanP.ArmitageC. J.QuigleyC. (2007) The theory of planned behavior and binge drinking: Assessing the impact of binge drinker prototypes. Addictive Behaviors32(9): 1753–1768.
42.
NormanP.ConnerM. (2006) The theory of planned behaviour and binge drinking: Assessing the moderating role of past behaviour within the theory of planned behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology11: 55–70.
43.
ParkC.ArmeliS.TennenH. (2004) A daily process examination of stress, coping, and alcohol use in college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol65: 126–135.
44.
PauleyP. M.HesseC. (2009) The effects of social support, depression, and stress on drinking behaviors in a college student sample. Communication Studies60(5): 493–508.
45.
PeplauL. A.PerlmanD. (1982) Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy, New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience.
46.
PerkinsH. W.BerkowitzA. D. (1986) Perceiving the community norms of alcohol use among students: Some research implications for campus alcohol education programming. International Journal of the Addictions21: 961–976.
47.
QuinlanS. L.JaccardJ.BlantonH. (2006) A decision theoretic and prototype conceptualization of possible selves: Implications for the prediction of risk behavior. Journal of Personality74(2): 599–630.
48.
ReadJ. P.ColderC. R.MerrillJ. E.OuimetteP.WhiteJ.SwartoutA. (2012) Trauma and posttraumatic stress symptoms predict alcohol and other drug consequence trajectories in the first year of college. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology80(3): 426–439.
49.
ReynaV. F.FarleyF. (2006) Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest7(1): 1–44.
50.
RussellD. W. (1996) UCLA Loneliness scale (version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment66(1): 20–40.
51.
RussellM.CooperM. L.FroneM. R.PeirceR. S. (1999) A longitudinal study of stress, alcohol, and blood pressure in community-based samples of blacks and non-blacks. Alcohol Research and Health23(4): 299–306.
52.
SharmaM.KanekarA. (2008) Binge drinking interventions among college students. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education52(2): 3–8.
53.
SherryS. B.HewittP. L.StewartS. H.MackinnonA. L.MushquashA. R.FlettG. L.SherryD. L. (2012) Social disconnection and hazardous drinking mediate the link between perfectionistic attitudes and depressive symptoms. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment34(3): 370–381.
54.
SullivanH. S. (1953) The interpersonal theory of psychiatry, New York, NY: Norton.
55.
ToddJ.MullanB. (2011) Using the theory of planned behaviour and prototype willingness model to target binge drinking in female undergraduate university students. Addictive Behaviors36(10): 980–986.
56.
TrafimowD. (2007) Distinctions pertaining to Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action. In: AjzenI.AlbarracínD.HornikR. (eds) Prediction and change of health behavior: Applying the reasoned action approach, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 23–42.
57.
Von AhD.EbertS.NgamvitrojA.ParkN.Duck-HeeK. (2004) Predictors of health behaviours in college students. Journal of Advanced Nursing48(5): 463–474.
58.
WechslerH.LeeJ. E.KuoM.SeibringM.NelsonT. F.LeeH. (2002) Trends in college binge drinking during a period of increased prevention efforts: Finding from four Harvard school of public health college alcohol study surveys 1993–2001. Journal of American College Health50: 203–217.
59.
WoolfsonL. M.MaguireL. (2010) Binge drinking in a sample of Scottish undergraduate students. Journal of Youth Studies13(6): 647–659.
60.
YzerM. C. (2013) Reasoned action theory: Persuasion as belief-based behavior change. In: DillardJ. P.ShenL. (eds) The Sage handbook of persuasion: Developments in theory and practice, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 120–136.
61.
YzerM. C.HennessyM.FishbeinM. (2004) The usefulness of perceived difficulty for health research. Psychology, Health and Medicine9: 149–162.
