Chartier, Karen, PhD, MSW

Ell, Victoria

The Spit for Science Working Group

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Spit for Science Publications and Presentations Spit for Science: The VCU Student Survey 2023 Predicting Alcohol Consequences using Family History and AUDIT-C Scores Victoria Ell Virginia Commonwealth University The Spit for Science Working Group Karen Chartier PhD, MSW Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/spit_pubs  Part of the Social Work Commons, and the Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons  © The Author(s) Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/spit_pubs/34 This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by the Spit for Science: The VCU Student Survey at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Spit for Science Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu. Predicting Alcohol Consequences using Family History and AUDIT-C ScoresResearch AimThis current study seeks to understand how information about family history of alcohol problems and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) can be used to identify college students who are at risk of alcohol problems. IntroductionPrior research has found that the family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) strongly predicts alcohol use in young adulthood, including in college students, as exemplified by Kendler et al.’s (2015) study. Mahedy et al. (2018) also determined that young adults whose parents display moderate to high-risk drinking patterns are more likely to drink alcohol than individuals whose parents have low-risk drinking patterns. It is hypothesized that using family history in combination with AUDIT-C will have a stronger relationship with alcohol consequences in college students than if used separately.MethodsThis study uses data from the Spit for Science Study (Dick et al., 2014) on college students' behavioral and mental health.  Study participants (N=875; 70% female) completed surveys using REDcap (Harris et al., 2009) in the fall of their first year and spring of their second year in college and had complete data on all study variables. Measures:Family History is a mean score of questions about maternal; paternal; grandparents, aunts, uncles; and siblings’ drinking problems. AUDIT-C sums questions about drinking frequency, quantity, and binge drinking. Students’ scores (range: 0-12) were above or below the cut-off for unhealthy alcohol use (score ≥ 3 females; ≥ 4 males).Alcohol Consequences are the outcome and a count of 11 possible effects of alcohol on different aspects of a student’s life (See Figure 2).Demographic Variables used to describe our sample and as covariates in the analysis were sex and race and ethnicity.Analysis:General linear models included main effects and then a family history by AUDIT-C interaction to test the study hypothesis. Results/DiscussionIn a racially and ethnically diverse college student sample (See Table 1), almost 60% were positive for unhealthy alcohol use. The mean family history score was 0.24, with most students reporting alcohol problems for grandparents, aunts, and uncles (57.2%) or for fathers (21.8%). The mean number of alcohol consequences was 1.56. The model results showed that there was statistical significance for the relationship between family history and alcohol consequences (b = 1.15,  p < .001) and between AUDIT-C and alcohol consequences (b = 1.59,  p < .001), but no statistical significance when family history and the AUDIT-C were combined (interaction effect: b = 0.77, p = .113). In other words, college students who had a higher family history score OR AUDIT-C score showed a notable increase in experiencing alcohol consequences (See Figures 2 and 3). However, their combined effect was not stronger as our hypothesis predicted. We concluded that both family history and the AUDIT-C are good indicators of alcohol consequences in college students when utilized on their own. Victoria Ell, The S4S Working Group, and Karen Chartier, PhDVirginia Commonwealth UniversityFamily History and AUDIT-C are independent determinants of alcohol consequences. Both may be effective for identifyingcollege students experiencing the negative effects of alcohol.Figure 1. Frequencies of Alcohol Consequences ItemsTable 1. Description of SampleReferencesDick DM, et al. (2014). Spit for Science: Launching a Longitudinal Study of Genetic and Environmental Influences on Substance Use and Emotional Health at a Large US University. Front Gen, 5(47):1-12.Elliott, J. C., et al. (2012). Does Family History of Alcohol Problems Influence College and University Drinking or Substance Use? A Meta-analytical Review. Addiction, 107(10), 1774–1785. Kendler, K. S., et al., (2015). The Predictive Power of Family History Measures of Alcohol and Drug Problems and Internalizing Disorders in a College Population. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 168B(5), 337–346. Mahedy, L., et al. (2018). The Effect of Parental Drinking on Alcohol Use in Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Parental Monitoring and Peer Deviance. Addiction, 113(11), 2041–2050. Harris, PA, et al. (2009). Research electronic data capture (REDCap) – A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support, J Biomed Inform, 42(2):377-81. Wahesh, E., & Lewis, T. F. (2015). Psychosocial Correlates of AUDIT-C Hazardous Drinking Risk Status: Implications for Screening and Brief Intervention in College Settings.AcknowledgementsThis research was supported by the National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R25AA027402. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.% or M (SD)GenderFemale 69.5%Race and EthnicityAsian 17.4%Black/African American  20.2%Hispanic/Latino 7.0%White 46.6%More than one race 7.1%Other race and ethnicity 1.7%Unhealthy Alcohol UseAUDIT-C Score ≥3 females & ≥4 males 59.2%Relatives with Alcohol Use ProblemMother 7.0%Father 21.8%Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles 57.2%Siblings 9.9%Mean Family History Score (range: 0-1) 0.24 (0.25)Alcohol Consequences Count (range: 0-11)Mean # of Alcohol Consequences 1.56 (1.87)Notes: M = mean; SD = standard deviation; AUDIT-C = Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-ConsumptionFigure 2. Relationship between Family History Score & Alcohol ConsequencesFigure 3. Relationship between AUDIT-C Score & Alcohol ConsequencesScore

Predicting Alcohol Consequences using Family History and AUDIT-C Scores

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Predicting Alcohol Consequences using Family History and AUDIT-C Scores

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