Masculine Norms, Ethnic Identity, Social Dominance Orientation, And Alcohol Consumption Among Undergraduate Men

Abstract

According to the National Center for Health Statistics (2007), 18-24 year olds are most likely to report heavy drinking in the past year compared to other adults. Heavy alcohol use is problematic not only in itself, but also because it is associated with a host of other negative outcomes. Research has identified traditional-age college men (age 18-24), who are White, and members of a Greek organization or athletic team as the most likely to consume alcohol in excess (Ham & Hope, 2003; Hingson & White, 2012). White men, members of Greek organizations, and college athletes are also the populations least likely to change their behavior as a result of current alcohol interventions employed by colleges and universities (Fachini, Aliane, Martinez, & Furtado, 2012; LaBrie, Pedersen, Lamb, & Quinlan, 2007; Lundahl, Kunz, Brownell, Tollefson, & Burke, 2010; Mattern & Neighbors, 2004). The primary shortcoming of previous research into this problem, is that it has failed to take an intersectional approach to the phenomenon of college men’s alcohol use. To address this gap, this study surveyed 1,457 college men across five college in the Northeastern United States, using the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI; Mahalik et al., 2003) the Revised Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM-R; Phinney & Ong, 2007) and the Social Dominance Orientation scale (SDO; Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth, & Malle, 1994). Alcohol consumption was predicted using zero-inflated negative binomial regressions and zero-inflated Poisson regressions, and alcohol problems were predicted using logistic regressions. The study found that the college men’s drinking was primarily predicted by the masculine norms of risk taking, having power over women, emotional control, and desiring multiple sexual partners. Although the sample size was smaller, for non-White respondents in the study, men’s drinking was also predicted by a focus on heterosexual presentation, and the SDO factor of group based dominance. Alcohol problems were largely predicted by the same masculine norms.