Er. Weitzman et I. Kawachi, Giving means receiving: The protective effect of social capital on binge drinking on college campuses, AM J PUB HE, 90(12), 2000, pp. 1936-1939
Citations number
27
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
Objectives. We tested whether higher levels of social capital on college ca
mpuses protected against individual risks of binge drinking.
Methods. We used a nationally representative survey of 17 592 young people
enrolled at 140 4-year colleges. Social capital was operationalized as indi
viduals' average time committed to volunteering in the past month aggregate
d to the campus level.
Results. In multivariate analyses controlling for individual volunteering,
sociodemographics, and several college characteristics, individuals from ca
mpuses with higher-than-average levels of social capital had a 26% lower in
dividual risk for binge drinking (P<.001) than their peers at other schools
.
Conclusions. Social capital may play an important role in preventing binge
drinking in the college setting.