Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator

Páramo, María Fernanda; Cadaveira, Fernando; Tinajero, Carolina; Rodríguez, María Soledad

doi:10.3390/ijerph17020542

Open AccessArticle

Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator

by

María Fernanda Páramo

^1,*,

Fernando Cadaveira

²

,

Carolina Tinajero

¹

and

María Soledad Rodríguez

³

¹

Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, C/ Xosé María Suárez Núñez, s/n, Campus Vida, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

²

Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, C/ Xosé María Suárez Núñez, s/n, Campus Vida, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

³

Department of Social, Basic Psychology and Methodology, Faculty of Psychology, C/ Xosé María Suárez Núñez, s/n, Campus Vida, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(2), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020542

Submission received: 2 December 2019 / Revised: 11 January 2020 / Accepted: 13 January 2020 / Published: 15 January 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol Use Among Adolescents and Young People)

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Abstract

Little is known about how binge drinking or the combination of binge drinking and cannabis consumption affect academic achievement in students during the transition to university, or about the mechanisms that mediate this relationship. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between this pattern of alcohol/cannabis consumption and academic achievement, considering academic adjustment as a possible mediator. A total of 258 Spanish, first-year university students (145 females and 113 males), enrolled in undergraduate degree courses, were categorized into three groups on the basis of their patterns of alcohol/cannabis consumption: control, binge drinkers and co-consumers. The findings showed a significant effect of the combined binge drinking/cannabis consumption, but not of binge drinking alone, upon academic achievement and academic adjustment. Grade point average (GPA) and academic adjustment were lower in the co-consumers than in the other groups. Regarding the mediation effect, 34.33% of the impact of combined alcohol/cannabis use on GPA was mediated by academic adjustment. The combined consumption of alcohol and cannabis led to difficulties in adaptation to academic life, which in turn contributed to poorer performance at university. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: alcohol binge drinking; cannabis; academic achievement; adjustment; university students

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MDPI and ACS Style

Páramo, M.F.; Cadaveira, F.; Tinajero, C.; Rodríguez, M.S. Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 542. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020542

AMA Style

Páramo MF, Cadaveira F, Tinajero C, Rodríguez MS. Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(2):542. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020542

Chicago/Turabian Style

Páramo, María Fernanda, Fernando Cadaveira, Carolina Tinajero, and María Soledad Rodríguez. 2020. "Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 2: 542. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020542

APA Style

Páramo, M. F., Cadaveira, F., Tinajero, C., & Rodríguez, M. S. (2020). Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 542. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020542

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Binge Drinking, Cannabis Co-Consumption and Academic Achievement in First Year University Students in Spain: Academic Adjustment as a Mediator

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