Title:
Adult attachment dimensions and binge drinking patterns among college students
Author:
Kristie M. Harris
Thesis Advisor:
Sharon Green-Hennessy
Committee Member:
Beth A. Kotchick
Committee Member:
James Miracky
Committee Member:
Matthew Kirkhart
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2012
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
Problematic drinking behavior in the United States college population has continued to rise in recent years despite increased prevention efforts. Interventions designed to decrease binge drinking have been largely unsuccessful. This lack of success may be partially explained by the tendency to view binge drinkers as a homogenous group and the failure to account for the fact that the motivations behind binge drinking may differ by individual. Attachment theory attempts to explain different motivations for social behavior and affect modulation and, therefore, may be one possible aspect of this population to observe. This study sought to examine individual differences in attachment styles and how they relate to binge drinking behaviors, particularly examining issues of drinking prior to (?ǣpre-gaming?ǥ) or during social encounters. Subjects were 233 undergraduate students (160 female, M = 18.88 years) from a small, private, liberal arts college in Baltimore, Maryland, and a large, public, research-oriented university in Blacksburg, Virginia. Using self-report questionnaires, participants were classified as having either a secure, preoccupied, dismissing, or fearful attachment style; however, 71 subjects (30.5%) were unclassifiable with respect to attachment style and were not included in select analyses. No statistically significant differences in binge drinking were found among the attachment styles. However, an examination of the percentages of participants reporting at least one occasion of binge drinking in the prior 30 days suggested that preoccupied subjects had fewer incidents of self-reported binge drinking. Preoccupied individuals were also the least likely to engage in pregaming drinking behaviors. Additionally, a statistical trend was found that suggested dismissing/fearful individuals were more likely to consume alcohol in social situations. Emotional pain, as a motivator for alcohol consumption, was significantly associated with insecure attachment styles. Results from this study support the notion that interventions designed to prevent or reduce binge drinking may benefit from becoming more individualized and examining attachment style may be an effective framework to use when considering how to tailor effective interventions.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Master of Science
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Clinical Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
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Identifier:
HarrisKM-12
