College student drinking, attitudes toward risks, and drinking consequences.

Objective: This study examined whether college students' attitudes toward risks explain significant variance in drinking consequences beyond gender, alcohol use, and self-protective strategies.

Method: A derivation sample (N=276; 52% women) and a replication sample (N=216; 52% women) of undergraduate students completed the Campus Alcohol Survey (CAS) and the Attitudes Toward Risks Scale (ATRS).

Results: Scores on the ATRS correlated positively with students' self-reported typical number of drinks and negative drinking consequences (p<.001). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ATRS scores explained significant variance in negative drinking consequences beyond college students' gender, typical number of drinks, and use of protective strategies (p<.001). Furthermore, a significant Drinks x ATRS interaction revealed that heavy-drinking students who scored high on the ATRS experienced the most harm from drinking (p<.01). Students with high-risk attitudes showed a stronger link between typical number of drinks and negative drinking consequences.

Conclusions: Even when controlling for students' gender, alcohol use, and protective strategies, college students' attitudes toward risks explain significant variance in drinking consequences.