Educational status and drinking patterns: how representative are college students?

Using data from a large, nationally representative sample, multiple regressions using sex, ethnicity, age and educational status showed that drinking patterns of college students differed significantly from those of dropouts, high school graduates and former college students. College students were more likely to use alcohol but tended to drink less quantity per drinking day than nonstudents of the same age. Sex differences were smaller among college students than among other groups, especially in proportions of abstainers. While whites were most likely to drink if they were in college, among blacks the college students were the least likely to drink. Age had little association with drinking. Conclusions based on in-school samples may not generalize well to nonschool populations and should be tested, if possible, using more representative databases.