Objective: This study examined longitudinal associations between college attendance, residence on- or off-campus, and work status during the first 2 years after high school with extreme binge drinking at 4 years after high school and tested peer drinking and personal income at 3 years after high school as mediators.
Method: Data were drawn from Waves 4-7 of the NEXT Generation Health Study (n = 2,081). Multinomial logistic regressions and mediation analyses were conducted. Extreme binge drinking was measured using the largest number of drinks on a single day in the past year.
Results: Univariate analyses indicated that attending university, living on campus, and working more than 30 hours at any point during the first 2 years after high school were associated with increased risk of drinking two to three times above the binge drinking threshold (relative risk ratios [RRR] ranged from 1.79 to 5.70). In multivariate analyses, dropping out of university was associated with drinking two times above the binge drinking threshold (RRR = 4.88), whereas living on campus (RRR = 4.54) and working more than 30 hours (RRR = 5.26) were associated with increased risk of drinking three times above the binge drinking threshold. Close friends' drinking and personal income were significant mediators.
Conclusions: Living on campus and working more than 30 hours per week during the first 2 years after high school increased risk for drinking three times above the binge drinking threshold at 4 years after high school.