DRINKING PATTERNS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WITH SCOTTISH, IRISH AND OTHER CAUCASIAN ANCESTRY

Abstract

Researchers looking at demographic differences in drinking tend to classify whites as just one category. However, some find that those from Celtic cultures have more alcohol abuse problems compared to other groups . Are different drinking patterns reflected among university students with ancestors of Celtic compared to other backgrounds? Thus the PURPOSE of this study was to investigate the drinking practices among students with Celtic ancestry.METHODS A sub­-sample of 3,000 students from the 1993-1994 national sample of American college students collected by R.C. Engs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN and D.J. Hanson, SUNY Potsdam, NY, were asked if they had Scottish or Irish or other ancestry. The Student Alcohol Questionnaire to assess drinking patterns and problems was used. RESULTS revealed that there was no difference in the Quantity/Frequency drinking levels between the groups. However, there was a significant difference ( p< .001) between the groups in terms of mean drinks consumed per week. Scheffe post-hoc test revealed that students with Irish ancestry consumed more drinks per week ( 14.0) compared to those with Scottish ( 11.6), both Scottish & Irish ( 8.7) and other Caucasian backgrounds( 11.1). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that possible diversity among white students in terms of drinking should be taken into consideration when designing research studies or planning alcohol education program. The category “white” might need to be broken down into various ethnic or combination of ethnic groups to obtain accurate information for alcohol education.