College Students' Beliefs About Alcohol and Drinking at UNI Homecoming

The college experience has long been associated with heavy consumption of alcohol. Moreover, alcohol consumption by college students is linked to a variety of negative outcomes, including poor academic performance, assault, injury, and death. Although research has focused on many environmental factors that contribute to collegiate drinking, one relatively unexplored area is drinking on college campuses tied to special events. There is research evidence suggesting that certain college events perpetuate higher levels of alcohol consumption. The current study investigated social beliefs related to drinking during the University of Northern Iowa’s homecoming using a sample of 161 full-time students. Beliefs that alcohol promotes good feelings and social pleasure during homecoming were related to drinking for men but not for women. In contrast, beliefs that alcohol makes one more gregarious were not related to homecoming drinking. The findings suggest that event programming that promotes camaraderie and pleasure for men may curb high consumption of alcohol on homecoming.