Abstract

The present study investigated effects of self-consciousness and negative life-events on drinking behaviors of college students. A questionnaire was administered to 985 college students. The measures of interest included the following : self-consciousness scale, negative/ positive life events, personal background information, quantity and frequencey of alcohol use and problem drinking. With self-consciousness scores, life event impact rating scores and personal background information as predictors multiple regression analyses were performed in order to test direct effects of predictors. The results showed that women are more self-conscious than men and Korean college students are much more self-conscious than their American counterparts. For men low self-consciousness, greater negative life event ratings, low major satisfaction were associated with a higher degree of drinking in general and also with more problem drinking. Family history of alcohol abuse was also associated with problem drinking. For women, greater negative life event impact was associated with more drinking as well as more problem drinking. High degree of participation in club activities was also associated with a greater degree of drinking. The interaction between self-consciousness and negative life events was not obtained for either male or female drinkers. Contrary to what has been reported in studies with American subjects, the results of the present study suggest a high level of self-consciousness affect alcohol use of Korean male college students as an inhibiting factor. Future research is needed to clarify the role of self-consciousness in alcohol use and also to determine whether these findings apply to a alcohol use among adolescents and adults.