A quantification of the alcohol use-consequences association in college student and clinical populations: A large, multi-sample study

BackgroundThe present study sought to quantify the relationship between alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences in both college student and clinical samples. MethodsWe gathered 33 college student datasets comprising of 15,618 participants and nine clinical sample datasets comprising of 4,527 participants to determine the effect size of the relationship between alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. We used random-effects meta-analytic techniques, separately in college and clinical samples, to account for a distribution of true effects and to assess for heterogeneity in effect sizes. ResultsResults demonstrated that the clear majority of the variability in alcohol-related consequences is not explained by alcohol use (ie, >77% in college samples; >86% in clinical samples), and that there was significant heterogeneity in all effect sizes. Conclusions and Scientific SignificanceExperiencing alcohol-related consequences results from factors that extend beyond frequency and quantity of alcohol consumed suggesting a need to examine other predictors of alcohol-related consequences beyond alcohol use. (Am J Addict 2018;27:116-123)