A survey of the drinking patterns of never married college women

The purpose of this study was to examine the alcohol consumption patterns of selected never married college women and to reveal how these women interpreted the feelings of the people closest to their lives concerning alcohol consumption. A comparison was made of the l6l never married women who were enrolled in one of the following four colleges in East Tennessee (College A, a conservative, church supported college; College B, a predominantly Black college; College C, a liberal, church supported college; and College D, a comprehensive state university).

A questionnaire was administered to the women who were in health, physical education, and first aid classes at each of the four colleges during the Spring quarter of l978. The statistical method of chi-square was employed to determine if there were differences among the women at the four colleges surveyed concerning their responses to the questionnaire.

The data from the study indicated that there was a difference among the four colleges concerning the reasons why never married college women drink, the types and the amounts of alcohol they consume, and their responses to the Norm Quality Scale (how the women interpreted the feelings of the people closest to their lives concerning alcohol consumption).

College A (a conservative college) had more women who iv

were abstainers (nondrinkers) than the other three colleges. The women who consumed alcohol did so with less frequency and amounts (except wine, there was no difference among the colleges concerning the amount of wine consumed at one time). Their general response to the Norm Quality Scale indicated that the people closest to their lives felt that one should not drink.

College C (a liberal, church supported college) had fewer women stating they were abstainers than the other three colleges. . Beer, however, was the only alcoholic beverage that the College C women consumed in greater amounts and frequencies than the other three colleges. College C women's general response to the Norm Quality Scale indicated that the people closest to their lives felt that there should be definite guidelines concerning the consumption of alcohol.

Colleges B and D (a predominantly Black college, and a comprehensive state university, respectively) varied widely in the amounts and frequencies of alcohol consumed and in their responses to the Norm Quality Scale.

A significant difference was found in 8 of the 23 questions concerning the reasons why alcohol was consumed. With the exception of one question, the colleges which caused the difference to occur were College B and College C.

Through the analysis of data, from the results of the findings, the following conclusions were made:

vi 1. The drinking patterns of never married college women vary according to the influence of their families, friends and co-workers, and the type of college attended. 2. Never married women who attend church supported colleges generally maintain the same philosophies concerning alcohol consumption as the colleges which they attend. 3. Colleges and universities with diverse student bodies and non-sectarian environments have no discernible affect on the drinking pattern of never married college women.