Nirmala Jayaraman, a 2023 graduate of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, New England, has written and published a dissertation titled Protective Behavioral Strategies and Negative Consequences of Alcohol Use Among College Athletes.
Alcohol use is associated with a variety of negative consequences among young adults. Current studies consider how protective behavioral strategies (PBS), such as acting as a designated driver, alternating with a non-alcoholic beverage, or watching out for a friend at a party, can be analyzed to understand better what factors contribute to alcohol consumption and drinking behavior.
The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between the use of specific protective behavior strategies and negative consequences related to drinking alcohol among college athletes. Jayaraman used survey findings from 2017, which asked college-age students from multiple undergraduate schools in New Hampshire about their alcohol consumption, protective behavioral strategy use, and the negative consequences of drinking. Jayaraman also used Inferential statistics such as t-tests and ANOVA to investigate whether participation in athletics would relate to different patterns of PBS use. Results from this research inform literature about the negative consequences of alcohol consumption for club sport participants and non-participating students within the college athlete population.
Read Jayaraman’s dissertation, Protective Behavioral Strategies and Negative Consequences of Alcohol Use Among College Athletes, here.
