An examination of drinkers' consequences by sexual orientation.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined college student drinkers by sexual orientation (SO), alcohol use, and negative consequences in a national sample that self-identified gender and SO.

PARTICIPANTS

Students completing the Spring 2005 National College Health Assessment (N = 54,111).

METHODS

A secondary analysis was conducted examining student responses by SO to items regarding negative consequences associated with alcohol.

RESULTS

Bisexual students had the highest mean scores on an index of alcohol-related harm. Significant differences were found by SO among male high-risk drinkers for alcohol-related consequences of "fighting" and "injuring another," and females for "injuring another" and "unprotected sex." Bisexual students had significantly greater than expected cell counts for significant results, including a significant finding for bisexual low-risk female students for alcohol-related "regret."

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that more research is necessary to discern real differences in alcohol-related risk among college students by sexual orientation.