College Drinking: Content Analysis of 30 Years of Research

Researchers applied a content analysis method to evaluate the 119 articles about college drinking that appeared in Journal of College Student Development and NASPA Journal during the past 30 years. The data revealed that a greater proportion of articles on college drinking appeared in the last decade (5.82%) than in the first decade (1.60%). Two thirds of the studies did not use a theoretical framework to guide the research. Of the 94 quantitative studies, only 10% were experimental, 60% used convenience samples, and 61% used locally developed survey instruments for a single institution. Seven recommendations about college drinking are identified for student affairs practitioners and scholars.