COLLEGIATE ATHLETES’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL
CONSUMPTION ON ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

A THESIS
Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Graduate Studies
and Research
of
California University of Pennsylvania in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science

by
Joanna M. Murray

Research Advisor, Dr. Robert Kane
California, Pennsylvania
2011

ii

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take this opportunity to mention some
very special people in my life to whom I owe my deepest
gratitude. First, I need to thank my family. You all are
the most amazing support system I could have ever asked
for. Without your continuous love and encouragement this
year would not have been possible.
Next, I would like to take this opportunity to thank
the number of people who helped me in the completion of my
thesis. I never would have been able to complete such a
challenging task without these knowledgeable people behind
me. First, I would like to thank my Chair, Dr. Bob Kane, my
committee members, Mr. Adam Annaccone and Dr. Bruce
Barnhart, and the rest of the CalU staff for all your help
and guidance.
Now, I need to thank my roommates and those that share
my MG status, Kathryn Annunziata, Jacqueline Coyne, and
Kristin Defenbaugh for sharing so many wonderful memories
with me. I never would have survived this year without you
girls. I am so excited to see where the next steps in our
lives take all of us, but I am so sad our year together is
over.

iv
Next, I owe a special thank you to my amazing fiancé,
Shane Fendlay. After four long years of being apart from
each other, this part of our journey is over. You have been
the most amazing support system through this whole
experience. I cannot begin to thank you for listening to me
talk about my days at Trinity, or complain about class or
my thesis. You have been everything I could have asked for
and I cannot wait to begin our life together!
Lastly, I need to mention my best friends from home
and bridesmaids-to-be. Shannon, Emily, Caasi, and Liz, all
I need to say to you all is… I’m finally coming back to
Bowie!

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
SIGNATURE PAGE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
INTRODUCTION
METHODS

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Research Design
Subjects

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Preliminary Research

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Procedures

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Hypotheses

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Data Analysis
RESULTS

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Demographic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Hypothesis Testing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Additional Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Discussion of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

vi
Recommendations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Policy Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
APPENDIX A: Review of Literature
Introduction

. . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Athletes vs. Non-athletes
Drinking Habits

. . . . . . . . . . . 43

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Alcohol’s Effect on Performance

. . . . . . . 48

Athlete’s Knowledge of Alcohol’s Effect on
Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Summary

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

APPENDIX B: The Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Statement of Problem

. . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Basic Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Significance of the Study

. . . . . . . . . . . 58

APPENDIX C: Additional Methods . . . . . . . . . . 60
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire (C1)

. . . . 61

IRB: California University of Pennsylvania (C2) . . . 65
Cover Letter (C3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Coaches Informational Letter (C4)
REFERENCES

. . . . . . . . 79

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

vii
ABSTRACT

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table

Page

1

Frequency Table of Sport

13

2

Frequency Table of Year in College

14

3

Frequency Table of Sports

14

4

Frequency Table of Age

15

5

t-Test between Gender & Total Score

16

6

t-Test between Type of Sport & Total Score

17

7

One way ANOVA between Total Score &
Frequency of Alcohol Consumption

8

18

Mean Scores for Frequency of Alcohol
Consumption

19

9

t-Test between NCAA Divisions & Total Score

20

10

t-Test between student
athlete’s Hangover Practice and Game Status

11

and Total Score

21

t-Test between Age and Total Score

22

ix
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Page

1

Drinking Habits Question 1

23

2

Drinking Habits Question 3

24

3

Drinking Habits Question 5

24

4

Drinking Habits Question 6

25

5

Drinking Habits Question 7

26

6

Drinking Habits Question 8

26

7

Drinking Habits Question 9

27

1

INTRODUCTION

For many young adults, going to college is their first
time living on their own without parental supervision.
After leaving home, there is a newfound sense of freedom
and college students are introduced to a new social
environment where it is common to experiment with alcohol.
It is even more common for alcohol consumption to take
place if the student participates in athletics. In spite of
all the negative consequences associated with alcohol,
there is evidence that alcohol is a prominent factor in the
lifestyles of many athletes at all levels of competition.1
The idea that athletes consume alcohol more frequently and
more often to the stage of intoxication than do nonathletes is well documented.2
There are a number of reasons why athletes are
considered an at risk population for alcohol consumption.
Wilson et al2 examined if there was a difference in the
reasons behind alcohol consumption between female and male
athletes. The results indicated that the female athletes
included in this study reported using alcohol more commonly
as a coping mechanism (e.g. using alcohol to feel better or
“to get through the problem”) rather than a social

2
facilitator. The male athletes included in this study
reported using alcohol most commonly as a way to “get high”
and for social reasons. Other research indicates that the
challenges associated with being a student-athlete put them
at higher risk for having problem drinking characteristics.
These challenges can include dealing with multiple role
demands and the high expectations of coaches as well as
professors and balancing time between school work,
practices, competitions, and social lives.3
The relationship between alcohol and athletes has been
long standing. Researchers have suggested that alcohol is
widely used because it continues to be a social
facilitator. The experience of a new environment, such as
college, allows students to look to their social groups to
determine what attitudes and behaviors are expected and
appropriate. Ford examined alcohol use between athletes and
non-athletes and generalized that athletes are in a “peer
intensive” state, in which, they tend to only socialize
with their teammates or other people associated with
athletics. Therefore, if consuming alcohol at team
functions and weekend parties is the norm athletes will be
influenced to participate in drinking alcohol or risk being
labeled as anti-social.4

3
There are a number of negative effects alcohol can
have on the body and on athletic performance. Athletes may
not fully understand how consuming alcohol will affect
their ability to perform on the court or field. El-Sayed et
al states alcohol use is directly related to the number of
injuries sustained in sporting events and appears to have
detrimental effects on performance capacity5. Most people
know and understand the acute effects of alcohol include a
variety of psychomotor defects such as impaired balance,
reaction time, and coordination. However, there are also a
variety of effects alcohol can have for extended periods of
time. Alcohol impairs muscular work capacity which in turn,
results in decreased over performance levels such as slower
running and cycling speeds. Alcohol will also increase the
onset of fatigue during high intensity exercise and impair
temperature regulation during exercise.6 Glucose is an
extremely important source of energy during exercise that
is synthesized in the liver and when there is even low
amounts of alcohol being digested in the liver it can
seriously impair glucose production during prolonged
moderate intensity exercise.7
Most athletes understand that the body needs to
recover after exercise; however, are unsure of the proper
physiological needs to recover properly. Rehydrating after

4
practice or competition is extremely important as it allows
for maximal recovery, thus preparing the body for the next
exercise session. Alcohol, due to its diuretic effect,
delays the recovery process by promoting urine loss and
keeping the body in a dehydrated state.1 Also, not only is
the risk of sustaining an injury increased while consuming
alcohol but the ability of a trauma-related immune response
is hindered. Even a single occasion of moderate to heavy
drinking will negatively affect the body’s immune system
response abilities such as the attenuation of inflammatory
cell functions.8
There is much attention on the use of steroids and
performance enhancing drugs in the sporting world but the
most frequently consumed and least talked about drug in
athletics is alcohol. Therefore, it is important for
athletes to understand all the effects alcohol can have on
their body, performance, and life. Some schools have
recognized this importance and have implemented a
requirement for an alcohol education course during their
high school education or during their freshman year in
college. This is one example of how to help address alcohol
related problems associated with colleges but it does not
target student-athletes. It would be beneficial for
athletic departments to provide a course for student-

5
athletes that addresses alcohol education. This education,
for both students and coaches is the cornerstone in
combating this problem.9

6

METHODS

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the
amount of knowledge collegiate athletes have in regards to
the effects of alcohol consumption on athletic performance.
This section includes the procedures used to carry out the
purpose of this research study and it includes: research
design, subjects, pilot testing, instruments, procedures,
hypotheses, and data analysis.

Research Design

The research design for this study was descriptive.
The dependent variable in this study was knowledge of the
effects alcohol consumption will have on athletic
performance. The independent variables were gender and the
type of team (i.e. individual sports members and team
sports members). The strengths of this study were that
athletes from more than one NCAA division were included and
the instrument used was a reliable questionnaire approved
by a panel of experts. A limitation of this study was that
only athletes from a limited geographical region were
surveyed.

7
Subjects

The subjects that were used are athletes from
California University of Pennsylvania, Penn State Fayette –
the Eberly Campus, Penn State Greater Allegheny, Washington
and Jefferson College, and Frostburg State University. The
reliable questionnaire was distributed to all NCAA athletes
enrolled at the participating institutions.

Preliminary Research

Questions were developed by the researcher based on
preliminary research of the topic. The questionnaire was
reviewed by a panel of experts that included Dr. Robert
Kane, Dr. Bruce Barnhart, and Mr. Adam Annaccone, before it
was distributed. This panel could be considered experts in
the field of Athletic Training because they have over 5
years of experience working as professionals and they have
knowledge on the subject matter beyond the scope of the
average population. Upon review the panel of experts
believed the knowledge question type should be a true and
false format instead of on a Likert Scale.

8
Instruments

The Alcohol Knowledge Questionnaire (Appendix C1)
examined athlete’s drinking habits and their knowledge of
the effects consuming alcohol has on athletic performance.
This questionnaire had three sections: demographics,
drinking habits, and knowledge. Within the demographics
section, questions about gender, sport, school, age, and
year in school were answered.
The drinking habits section required athletes to
establish how often they drank, how often they get drunk,
what types of drinks they consume, and with whom they
usually drink. Questions regarding whether or not alcohol
has ever affected their academics, athletic performance,
personal life, or professional responsibilities were also
examined.
For the section on knowledge, the purpose was to
determine whether or not athletes understood the effects
alcohol consumption can have on athletic performance. The
athletes were asked if the statements made on the subject
matter were true or false.

9
Procedure

The researcher applied for approval by the
Institutional Review Board at California University of
Pennsylvania (Appendix C2). After having the questionnaire
reviewed by a panel of experts and upon approval by the
IRB, the researcher distributed the questionnaire by way of
www.surveymonkey.com. The Athletic Director at each
institution was contacted and a different protocol for
contacting the student athletes was created by them and
followed by the researcher. The Athletic Director at
California University of Pennsylvania provided the
researcher with a list of email addresses for all student
athletes enrolled at California University of Pennsylvania.
The researcher sent a cover letter (Appendix C3) that
contained the link for the survey in order for the subjects
to understand the purpose of the study and to administer
instructions for participation. The athletes were
instructed to complete the survey honestly and without
assistance from any outside sources. A follow up email was
sent one week after the initial email in order to encourage
the athletes to participate in the study.
The Athletic Director at Frostburg State University
asked that the researcher send the necessary information to

10
the head coach of each Varsity sport and allow them to
forward the cover letter to their athletes. The researcher
emailed each coach an informational letter (Appendix C4)
explaining the purpose of the study and requesting their
assistance in contacting their teams. A follow up email was
sent one week after the initial email in order to ask the
coaches to forward the information again to encourage
participation.
The Athletic Director at Penn State Fayette – Eberly
Campus instructed the researcher to obtain the roster of
each sport from the athletics website and then utilize the
people finder search engine on www.psu.edu to find the
email address for each student athlete. The researcher sent
a cover letter that obtained the link for the survey in
order for the subjects to understand the purpose of the
study and to administer instructions for participation. The
athletes were instructed to complete the survey honestly
and without assistance from any outside sources. A follow
up email was sent one week after the initial email in order
to encourage the athletes to participate in the study.
The Athletic Director at Penn State Greater Allegheny
did not provide the researcher with the email addresses of
the student athletes so the researched contacted the head
coach of each sport and sent them an informational letter

11
explaining the purpose of the study and requesting their
assistance in contacting their teams. A follow up email was
sent one week after the initial email in order to ask the
coaches to forward the information again to encourage
participation.
The Athletic Director at Washington and Jefferson
College requested that the researcher send him the
information to be forwarded to the student athletes so he
could contact the participants himself. The researcher
forwarded him the cover letter with the information
explaining the purpose of the study and the link to access
the questionnaire.

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were made based upon the
literature reviewed and the insights of the researcher.

1.

There will be a difference in knowledge about
alcohol’s effect on performance scores when comparing
males and females.

2.

There will be a difference between the scores on
Knowledge About Alcohol Questionnaire in members of

12
individual sports teams and members of team sports
teams.
3.

Knowledge about Alcohol scores will vary significantly
based on how frequently the participant consumes
alcohol.

Data Analysis

To test the stated hypotheses, the significance level
was set at .05 to determine the acceptability of the
results. For hypotheses 1 and 2 an independent T test was
used to compare two different sets of score. The difference
in scores between men and women was compared for hypothesis
1 and the scores between team sports and individual sports
for hypothesis 2. To determine if there were any variances
between consumption rates and scores on the knowledge
survey for hypothesis 3, an ANOVA test was used. All the
data was be compiled and assessed by way of PASW statistics
18.

13
RESULTS

Demographic Data

The sample consisted of student athletes enrolled at
five collegiate institutions. The sample included 200
athletes, 88 males and 112 females. Table 1 reports where
the student athletes were enrolled in college. Washington
and Jefferson College (W&J) had the highest response rate
(56) and Penn State Fayette – Eberly Campus (PSU-Fayette)
and Penn State Greater Allegheny (PSU Greater All) both had
the lowest response rate (4). California University of
Pennsylvania (CalU) and Frostburg State University
(Frostburg State) had moderate response rates.
Table 1. Frequency Table of School of Participants
School
Frequency
Percentage
CalU
Frostburg State
PSU-Fayette
PSU- Greater All
W&J

45
56
4
4
91

22.5
28
2
2
45.5

Table 2 reports year in college. The participants were
given choices ranging from Freshman to Graduate.
Participants who reported being Freshman had the highest

14
response rate (67) and Graduate Students had the lowest
(4).
Table 2. Frequency Table of Year in College
Year
Frequency
Percentage
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate

67
48
43
38
4

33.5
24
21.5
19
2

Table 3 reports the findings for sports. The
participants could select the sports they participated
in from the 17 choices. Soccer had the highest
response rate (43) and of the sports that had
responses, Cheerleading had the lowest response rate
(1). No one reported having played Hockey.
Table 3. Frequency Table of Sports of Participants
Sport
Frequency
Percentage
Baseball
Basketball
Cheerleading
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Football
Golf
Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track and Field
Volleyball

10
10
1
9
15
33
6
0
12
43
10
12
4
19
12

5
5
0.5
4.5
7.5
16.5
3
0
6
21.5
5
6
2
9.5
6

15
Water Polo
Wrestling

2
2

1
1

Table 4 reports the findings of age. Participants were
asked to report how old they were. With the assumption that
the one participant who reported being 25 or older is 25,
the mean score was 19.9 (± 1.30). Participants reporting
their age as 19 had the highest response rate (56) and
participants reporting their age at 23 or 25 had the lowest
response rate (1). There were no participants who were 24
years of age.
Table 4. Frequency Table of Age of Participants
Age
Frequency
Percentage
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25+

27
56
50
41
24
1
0
1

13.5
28
25
20.5
12
.5
0
.5

16
Hypothesis Testing

The level of significance used for testing all
hypotheses was set at .05.
Hypothesis 1: There will be a difference in knowledge
about alcohol’s effect on performance scores when comparing
males and females.
An independent t-Test was used to determine if there
was a difference in total scores on the Knowledge About
Alcohol Questionnaire between males and females. The
results of the analysis are presented below in Table 5.
Table 5. T-test between Gender and Total Score on Knowledge
about Alcohol Questionnaire
Gender N
Mean
Standard
Std Error t
Sig
Deviation
Mean
Male
88
17.69
1.783
.190
.334 .692
Female 112
17.61
1.832
.173
.335

Results: An independent t-Test was calculated
comparing the mean knowledge score of male participants and
the mean knowledge score of female participants. No
significant difference was found (t(198) = .334, p > .05).
Conclusion: The mean knowledge scores of the males (m
= 17.69, sd = 1.783) was not significantly different from
the mean knowledge scores of the females (m = 17.61, sd =

17
1.832). There was no difference in knowledge about alcohol
by gender.

Hypothesis 2: There will be a difference between the
scores on Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire in members
of individual sports teams and members of team sports
teams.
An independent t-Test was used to determine if there
was a difference in total scores on the Knowledge about
Alcohol Questionnaire between members of individual sports
teams or team sports teams. The results of the analysis are
presented below in Table 6.
Table 6. T-test between type of sports team and Total Score
on Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire
Type
N
Mean
Standard
Std Error
t
Sig
Deviation
Mean
Ind
51
17.51
1.804
.253
-.618
.603
Team 149
17.69
1.812
.148

Results: An independent t-Test was calculated
comparing the mean knowledge score of members of individual
sports teams and the mean knowledge score of members of
team sports team. No significant difference was found
(t(198) = -.618, p > .05).
Conclusion: The mean knowledge scores of the members
of individual sports teams (m = 17.51, sd = 1.804) was not

18
significantly different from the mean knowledge scores of
the members of team sports teams (m = 17.69, sd = 1.812).
There was no difference in alcohol knowledge based on the
sport type.

Hypothesis 3: Knowledge About Alcohol scores will vary
significantly based on how frequently the participant
consumes alcohol.
A one way ANOVA was used to compare the mean knowledge
scores between participants, who drink a few times a year,
participants who drink a few times a month, participant who
drink once a week, and participants who drink three or more
times a week. The results of the analysis are presented
below in Table 7.
Table 7. One-way ANOVA between Total Score on Knowledge
about Alcohol Questionnaire and Frequency of Alcohol
Consumption
Variables
Sum of
df
Mean
F
Sig
Squares
Square
Between Groups
4.568
3
1.523
.463
.709
Within Groups
645.227
92
3.292
Total
649.795
98

Results: A one-way ANOVA was used to compare mean
knowledge scores between groups of people with varying
alcohol consumption frequency. No significant difference

19
was found (F(3, 196) = .463, p > .05). The mean knowledge
scores can be found in Table 8.

Conclusion: Drinking habits had no effect on alcohol
knowledge.
Table 8. Mean Scores for Frequency of Alcohol
Consumption Groups
Frequency of
Mean Knowledge
Std
Alcohol consumption
Score
Deviation
Few times a year
Few times a month
Once a week
3 or more times a week

17.63
17.79
17.59
17.29

1.496
1.942
1.829
1.848

Additional Findings

Several tests were conducted using the demographic
part of the questionnaire along with the total scores on
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire in an attempt to
discover additional findings.
An independent t-Test was used to determine if there
was a difference in total scores on the Knowledge about
Alcohol Questionnaire between members of the NCAA Division
II school and members of the NCAA Division III schools. The
results of this test are represented below in Table 9.

20
Table 9. Independent t-Test Between NCAA Divisions and
Total Score on Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire
Division N
Mean
Standard
Std Error
t
Sig
Deviation
Mean
II
45
17.36
1.694
.253
-1.222 .614
III
155
17.73
1.835
.147
Results: An independent t-Test was used to compare the
mean knowledge scores of members of NCAA Division II teams
and members of NCAA Division III teams. No significant
difference was found (t(198) = -1.222, p > .05).
Conclusion: The mean knowledge scores of student
athletes at the NCAA Division II school (m = 17.36, sd =
1.694) was not significantly different than the mean
knowledge score of student athletes at the NCAA Division
III schools. This shows that athletes from both NCAA
Divisions included in this study have the same
understanding of how alcohol consumption can effect
athletic performance.
Another independent t-Test was used to determine if
there was a difference in total scores on the Knowledge
about Alcohol Questionnaire between participants that
reported they have never practiced or competed with a
hangover and those who reported they have practiced or
competed with a hangover. The results of this test are
represented below in Table 10.

21
Table 10. Independent t-Test Between Student Athlete’s
Hangover Practice and Game Status and Total Score on
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire
Hangover N
Mean
Standard
Std Error
t
Sig
Status
Deviation
Mean
Never
158 17.76
1.732
.138
1.747 .274
Have
42
17.21
2.031
.313
Results: An independent t-Test was used to compare the
mean knowledge scores of participants who reported they
have never practiced or competed with a hangover and the
mean knowledge scores of participants who reported they
have practiced or competed with a hangover. No significant
difference was found (t(198) = 1.747, p > .05).
Conclusion: The mean knowledge scores of participants
who reported they have never practiced or competed with a
hangover (m = 17.76, sd = 1.732) and the mean knowledge
scores of participants who reported they have practiced or
competed with a hangover (m = 17.21, sd = 2.031) were not
significantly different. The results of this study show
that both athletes who do not practice or compete with a
hangover and athletes who do have similar understandings of
how alcohol consumption can effect athletic performance.
Another independent t-Test was used to determine if
there was a difference in total scores on the Knowledge
about Alcohol Questionnaire between participants who
reported being under the age of 21 (the legal drinking age)

22
and participant who reported being over the age over 21.
The results of this test are reported below in Table 11.
Table 11. Independent t-Test between Age and Total Score on
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire
Age
N
Mean
Standard
Std Error
t
Sig
Deviation
Mean
Under 21 133 17.66
1.779
.154
.183 .963
Over 21
67 17.61
1.875
.229
Results: An independent t-Test was used to compare the
mean knowledge scores of participants who reported being
under the age of 21 and the mean knowledge scores of
participants who reported being over the age of 21. No
significant difference was found (t(198) = .183, p > .05).
Conclusions: The mean knowledge scores of participants
under the age of 21 (m = 17.66, sd = 1.779) was not
significantly different than the mean knowledge scores of
participants over the age of 21 (m = 17.61, sd = 1.875).
The results of this test show that athletes under the legal
drinking age, as well as athletes who are over the legal
drinking age, have similar understandings of the effects
alcohol consumption can have on the body.
Furthermore, the number of participants in this study
who were under the age of 21 more than doubled the number
of participants who were over the age of 21. In the
Drinking Habits section of the Knowledge about Alcohol

23
Questionnaire, a question asking “How often do you drink
alcohol?” was asked and there were no participants in this
study that answered “Never”. The following figures
illustrate the drinking habits of underage student athletes
as compared to student athletes who are of legal drinking
age.

Figure 1. Drinking Habits Question 1

Figure 1 describes the frequency of alcohol consumption
between participants under the age of 21 and participants
over the age over 21.

24

How often do you get drunk?
Over 21

Under 21

Figure 3. Drinking Habits Question 5
7.46%
9.02%

Everytime I drink

32.83%

Once a week

15.03%
25.37%

A few times a month

31.57%

20.89%

A few times a year

33.08%
13.43%
11.27%

Never

Figure 2. Drinking Habits Question 3

Figure 2 describes the how often participants under
the age of 21 and participants over the age over 21 report
getting drunk.

Have you ever practiced or
competed with a hangover?
Over 21
5 or more times per season
Once or twice per season

Under 21

1.40%
0.75%
26.86%
16.54%

Never

Figure 3. Drinking Habits Question 5

71.64%
82.70%

25
Figure 3 illustrates how often the participants who are
under the age of 21 and the participants who are over the
age of 21 practice or compete in athletic competition with
a hangover.

Has drinking alcohol ever
effected you academically?
Over 21

Under 21

50.74%
No
80.54%

49.25%
Yes
19.54%

Figure 4. Drinking Habits Question 6

Figure 4 illustrates if participants who are under the
age of 21 and if participants who are over the age of 21
have ever had their academic roles or status be effected by
their alcohol consumption. This included, but was not
limited, to going to class hung-over, missing class because
of hangover, or forgetting to study for an exam because of
a party.

26

Has drinking alcohol ever effected your
athletic status?
Over 21

Under 21

88.05%
No
92.48%

11.94%
Yes
7.51%

Figure 5. Drinking Habits Question 7

Figure 5 illustrates if participants who are under the
age of 21 and if participants who are over the age of 21
have ever had their athletic status be effected by their
alcohol consumption. This included, but was not limited to,
going to being suspended from a game for getting an alcohol
citation or missing a practice or game because of a
hangover.

27

Has drinking alcohol ever negatively
impacted your personal life?
Over 21

Under 21

62.68%
No
69.92%

37.31%
Yes
30.07%

Figure 6. Drinking Habits Question 8

Figure 6 illustrates if participants who are under the
age of 21 and if participants who are over the age of 21
have ever had their personal life impacted by alcohol
consumption.

Has drinking alcohol ever effected your
ability to handle professional
responsibilities?
Over 21

Under 21

86.56%
No
92.48%

Yes

13.43%
7.51%

Figure 7. Drinking Habits Question 9

28
Figure 7 illustrates if participants who are under the
age of 21 and if participants who are over the age of 21
have ever had alcohol effect their ability to handle their
professional responsibilities. This included, but was not
limited to, being unable to go to work because of a
hangover or going to work late because of a hangover.

29
DISCUSSION

Discussion of Results

This survey studied the amount of knowledge collegiate
athletes have on how alcohol consumption can affect their
athletic performances. The researcher examined specific
discriminators such as gender, sport team type, frequency
of alcohol consumption, etc can affect the amount of
knowledge a student athlete has on the subject matter.
Hypothesis 1 stated there will be a difference in
knowledge about alcohol’s effect on performance scores when
comparing males and females. The researcher proposed that
males and females will have different levels of
understanding the ways alcohol consumption can affect
athletic performance. This idea was based on previous
research that associated males with higher drinking
incidence than females.2,10-13
The results showed no significant difference between
the two groups. The mean scores of both the males and
females were statistically the same. Bulmer et al studied
alcohol consumption patterns and trends at a public
university over a span of 6 years. When comparing data
between genders, Bulmer et al found no significant

30
increases in rate of consumption and frequency of
consumption in the male population but very significant
increases in the female population. When the Bulmer study
began men showed consistently higher rates of alcohol
consumption, but over the period of the study the females
began bridging the gap in alcohol consumption frequency and
volume between males and females.13
Hypothesis 2 stated there will be a difference between
the scores on Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire in
members of individual sports teams and members of team
sports teams. The researcher proposition this claim based
on research suggesting that athletic teams commonly
participate in off-the-field social activities that often
involve alcohol as a way to promote team unity.14 No
significant difference was found in the mean scores of
individuals who participated in individual sports teams and
individuals who participated in team sports teams.
The sports teams that were considered individual sports
teams in this study included track and field, cross
country, golf, swimming, tennis, and wrestling. In some of
these sports, there is a team score in competition but it
is based off of individual performance, thus possibly
leading to a decreased need for team unity. Participating
in athletics already puts an individual in a high risk

31
population for problem drinking.2-4,10,11 Individuals who
participate in team sports are at an even higher risk
because their sports depend on group cohesion. Zamboanga et
al discovered that there was high team social cohesion in
teams with increased frequency of team social events that
involved alcohol.14
Hypothesis 3 stated that Knowledge about Alcohol
scores will vary significantly based on how frequently the
participant consumes alcohol. This declaration was based on
the assumption that if athletes understood how alcohol
impacts athletic performance, they would consume alcohol
less. Thomas et al claimed that understanding the perceived
negative effects athletes associate with illicit
“recreational” drug use may assist in the development of
appropriate drug education messages that may prove to be
successful in deterring use among high-level athletes.15
However, no significant difference was found when comparing
the mean scores of those who drank alcohol more frequently
with those who drank alcohol less frequently.
In 2000, Wechsler et al found that only 59% of
colleges with athletic programs provide their athletes with
alcohol education programs.16 But in 2002 Wechsler et al
surveyed 474 colleges and found that 84% reported they
provided alcohol education to freshman.17 It is clear, that

32
education alone is not enough to prevent athletes from
becoming part of the problem drinking norm associated with
athletics.
Thadani et al examined on the success rates of multicomponent prevention programs in the decrease of drinking.
According to their research education only programs do not
reduce drinking, and in fact, they have been found to
produce little measurable change in drinking behaviors. The
control group in the study was provided with just
educational programming and at the end of the study there
was a positive correlation between alcohol knowledge and
drinking (those who drank more also had more knowledge
about alcohol.18
In addition to hypothesis testing, some other
statistics were performed using other information from the
Demographic section and the Drinking Habits section of the
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire. The first additional
find examined the mean knowledge scores of the two NCAA
Divisions that were represented in the study. Green et al
found that 76% of Division I colleges provide alcohol
education programs while only 50% of Division II schools
and 41% of Division III programs provide alcohol education
programs.19 There was no significant difference in the mean
scores of student athletes from the NCAA Division II

33
institution and student athletes from the NCAA Division III
institutions.
The second addition find examined the mean knowledge
scores of people who reported they have practiced or
competed with a hangover and people who reported they have
never practiced or competed with a hangover. There was no
significant difference between the mean scores of these two
groups. The findings from this statistic determined that
people who choose to consume copious amounts of alcohol
that would result in a hangover understand the
physiological effects of alcohol and how it affects their
athletic performance.
The last additional statistic examined the mean
knowledge scores of participants who were under the age of
21 and participants who were over the age of 21. There was
no significant different between the two sets of mean
knowledge scores. There was however, a profound discrepancy
in the number of subjects from each category. The number of
participants who were under the legal drinking age of 21,
more than doubled the number of participants who were over
the legal drinking age. According to the 2008 Monitoring
the Future Survey almost 72% of high school seniors
reported consuming alcohol during the lifetime, 43%
reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days, 28%

34
reported being drunk in the last 30 days, and 25% reported
binge drinking in the past 2 weeks.20

Conclusions

The results of the study revealed the following major
conclusions:
1. Both male and female student athletes had similar
amounts of alcohol knowledge.
2. Members of individual sports teams and members of team
sports team had similar amounts of alcohol knowledge.
3. People who consume alcohol more frequently have similar
amounts of knowledge as people who consume alcohol less
frequently.
4. Members of NCAA Division II athletic programs have
similar amounts of alcohol knowledge as members of NCAA
Division II athletic programs.
5. The amount of knowledge a student athlete has does not
affect drinking habits preceding practice or games.
6. People under the age of 21 have similar alcohol
knowledge scores as people over the age of 21.
7. People under the age of 21 have similar drinking habits
as people over the age of 21.

35

Recommendations

Based

on

the

results

of

this

study,

the

following

research recommendations were made.

1. Future studies should include a larger sample size.
2. Future studies should include representation of all NCAA
Divisions.
3. Future studies may want to consider a using a different
instrument that can yield more specific alcohol
knowledge data.
4. More studies should be done to understand the reasons
why athletes consume more alcohol than do non-athletes.
5. More studies should be done to understand what type of
intervention programming would be effective in lowering
the alcohol consumption rate and frequency of student
athletes.

Policy Recommendations

Because the amount of knowledge student athletes have
on how alcohol consumption can effect athletic performance

36
was not the problem, the following recommendations were
made.

1. Regulations need to be put in place to begin regulating
alcohol, a mostly unregulated drug.
2. Programming that goes beyond the scope of educating
athletes on the effects of alcohol needs to be
implemented into athletic programs.

37
REFERENCES
1.

Shirreffs SM, Maughan RJ. The effect of alcohol on
athletic performance. Current Sports Medicine Reports,
2006;5:192-196.

2.

Wilson GS, Pritchard ME, Schaffer J. Athletic status
and drinking behavior in college students: the
influence of gender and coping styles. J Am Coll
Health, 2004;52(6):269-273.

3.

Doumas DM, Turrisi R, Coll KM, Haralson K. High risk
drinking in college athletes and nonathletes across
the academic year. Journal of College Counseling,
2007:10.

4.

Ford JA. Alcohol use among college students: a
comparison of athletes and nonathletes. Subst Use
Misuse, 2007;42:1367-1377.

5.

El-Sayed MS, Ali N, Zeinab, AE. Interaction between
alcohol and exercise. Sports Med, 2005;35:257-269.

6.

Suter PM, Schutz Y. The Effect of exercise, alcohol or
both combined on health and physical performance. Int
J Obesity, 2008;32:48-52.

7.

Maughan RJ. Alcohol and Football. J Sport Sci,
2006;24(7):741-748.

8.

Szabo G, Mandrekar P. A recent perspective on alcohol,
immunity, and host defense. Alcohol Clin Exp Res,
2009;33(2):220-232.

9.

O'Brien CP, Lyons F. Alcohol and the athlete. Sports
Med. 2000;5:295-300.

10.

Brenner J, Swanik K. High risk drinking
characteristics in collegiate athletes. J Am Coll
Health. 2007;56(3).

38

11.

Martens MP, Dams-O'Conner K, Duffy-Paiement C.
Comparing off-season with in-season alcohol
consumption among intercollegiate athletes. J Sport
Exercise Psy, 2006;28:502-510.

12.

Quarrie KL, Feehan M, Waller AE. The new zealand rugby
injury and performance project: alcohol use patters
within a cohort of rugby players. Addiction.
1996;91(12):1865-1868.

13.

Bulmer S, Irfan S, Mugno R, Barton B, Ackerman L.
Trends in alcohol consumption among undergraduate
students at a northeaster public university, 20022008. J Am Coll Health. 2010;58(4):383-390.

14.

Zamboanga BL, Rodriguez L, Horton NJ. Athletic
involvement and its revelance to hazardous alcohol use
and drinking game participation in female college
athletes: a preliminary investigation. J Am Coll
Health, 2008;56(6):651-656.

15.

Thomas JO, Dunn M, Swift W, Burns L. Elite athletes'
perceptions of the effect of illicit drug use on
athletic performance. Clinical Journal of Sports
Medicine, 2010;20(2):189-192.

16.

Wechsler H, Kelley K, Weitzman ER, Giovanni, PS,
Seilbring M. What colleges are doing about student
binge drinking. J Am College Health, 2000;48: 219-226.

17.

Wechsler H, Seibring M, I-Chao L, Ahl M. Colleges
respond to student binge drinking: reducing student
demand or limiting access. J Am Coll Healthy. 2004;
52:159-168.
Thadani V, Huchting K, LaBrie J. Alcohol-related
information in multi-component interventions and
college students’ drinking behavior. J Alcohol Drug
Educ. 2009; 52(2):31-51.

18.

19.

Green GA, Uryasz FD, Petr TA, Bray CD. NCAA study of
substance use and abuse habits of college studentathletes. Clin J Sport Med. 2001;11:51-56.

39
20.

Windle M, Zucker RA. Reducing underage and young adult
drinking. Alcohol Res Health. 2010;33(1):29-44.

40

APPENDICES

41

APPENDIX A
Review of Literature

42

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The purpose of this Review of Literature is to discuss
the relationship between alcohol knowledge and use among
intercollegiate athletes. There are many studies done
surrounding the topic of alcohol and athletes but this
literature review will look into a few specifically. A
study done by Zamboanga et al1 examined the role alcohol
plays to facilitate social activities among athletes in the
way of drinking games. A study done by Doumas et al
examined whether there is a relationship between alcohol
consumption rates in season or out of season.2 Alcohol has
always been synonymous with the sportsman’s world and
continues to be the most commonly used substance among
athletes1; however, this review will examine the role of
alcohol as it relates to collegiate athletes.
The topics discussed in this review are alcohol’s role
as a social facilitator, athletes’ drinking habits, the
effects alcohol has on athletic performance, common risk
factors associated with alcohol, and athletes’ knowledge
about alcohol’s effects on athletic performance.

43
Athletes vs. Non-athletes

There has always been a strong societal connection
between sports and alcohol. It is not uncommon for a sports
fan to consume alcohol while celebrating a win or while
watching or attending sporting events. There is a long
history of sponsorship of athletic clubs by alcohol
companies; therefore, the connection between sport and
alcohol has deep roots.3 In addition, studies have
demonstrated that athletes are more likely to regularly
consume alcohol and binge drink in comparison to nonathletes.2,4-6 A study by Brenner et al5 found that 78% of
athletes in a Division I setting, 76% of athletes in a
Division II, and 68% of athletes in Division III reported
participating in high risk drinking during their noncompetitive season. Further, Martin completed a study to
determine if drinking rates changed between traditional and
non-traditional seasons. He reported that 56% of Division I
athletes report binge drinking out of their competitive
seasons and 35% report binge drinking during their
competitive season.7 Alcohol consumption may be
statistically lower when athletes are in season, but some
still participate in problem drinking.

44
There is a common belief that participation in
athletics would help decrease the number of kids engaging
in unhealthy behaviors, such as consuming high quantities
of alcohol, but this is not necessarily the case. One study
aimed to compare the patterns of alcohol abuse and
engagement in organized collegiate sports and found that
current and former athletes showed an increase in risky
behavior involving alcohol when compared to non-athletes.6
Research indicates that athletes and even former athletes
are more likely to begin drinking at a younger age,
participate in binge drinking more frequently, suffer from
high alcohol-related consequences, and are more likely to
suffer from alcoholism in the future.6
Another study, by J. A. Ford, had similar findings but
also speculated on reasons why athletes tend to have higher
tendencies to use alcohol. He states that because athletes
tend to be in a “peer intensive” state, meaning they
usually socialize with their teammates or other athletes in
which alcohol consumption is the norm for their group, then
other individuals will also feel compelled to partake in
activities involving alcohol.4 This is only one reason why
there may be an increase in alcohol consumption in
athletics. In order to fully understand consumption in
athletes, it is important to view drinking habits.

45

Drinking Habits

There are numerous studies arguing that athletes are
far more likely to consume alcohol more frequently and have
higher consumption rates as compared to non-athletes.2,4,5,6
When analyzing alcohol consumption it is important to
examine drinking habits. More importantly it is vital to
determine whether or not drinking habits change over the
course of the academic year or during the in-season or offseason. Further, it is warranted to study whether male or
female athletes participate in binge drinking more often.
Factors including the awareness of the cultural connection
between athletics and drinking alcohol, increased peer
pressure and personality factors are just some of the
reasons that have been speculated as possible reasons for
the heightened alcohol statistics among athletes.8 Also,
some literature discusses team member’s perceptions of
their teammate’s drinking habits and how these perceptions
determine alcohol consumption among athletes. Student
athletes have multiple role demands and higher standards
that are expected of them by professors, coaches,
teammates, and friends.2 Maintaining a social life along
with balancing schoolwork and team responsibilities can

46
place stress upon the student athlete which may lead them
to consume alcohol. Leichliter et al mentions that team
leaders and team members with more stress, report higher
levels of binge drinking as compared to other team members.9
The increase in stress associated with being a team leader
or a student athlete could lead the student to team social
functions often involving alcohol. J. A. Ford states,
“Failure to conform to group norms, by not using alcohol,
may result in rejection by peers and social isolation”.4
One researcher, Berkowitz, examined the social norm
theory in an attempt to explain the increased incidence of
athletes involved with drinking problems. According to him,
this model is built on the assumption that individual
behavior can be greatly influenced by peer influence rather
than biological, cultural, personal, or family beliefs or
influences.10

In a study done by Lewis he examined whether

or not this theory was valid regarding athletes and their
consumption of alcohol. The results showed that team
leaders who were not binge drinkers perceived more
strictness on the subject from coaches and team leaders who
were identified as binge drinkers perceived greater
leniency from coaches.11 On the other hand, this study
supports the beliefs in that athletes, who perceived their

47
fellow teammates were drinking, were more likely to consume
alcohol and vice versa.11
Another drinking habit that was examined by
researchers focused on gender. It has been shown that male
athletes are much more likely to consume alcohol, binge
drink, and drink more frequently than female athletes.12 One
study conducted by Wilson et al12 concluded that men drank
more frequently than women and male athletes drank more
heavily than non-athletic males. The same results were
concluded when comparing the quantity of alcohol consumed
on each drinking occasion and the amount of times they
drank to intoxication.12 Moreover, it was noted that male
athletes in particular were more likely to drink for social
reasons, such as to get a high, and to use alcohol to
relax.12
Martens et al8 assessed the differences in in-season
and off-season alcohol consumption in athletes. The authors
researched a theory in which if an athlete were to
recognize the negative effects of alcohol on athletic
performance; this awareness would lead to a decrease in the
amount of alcohol consumed. They concluded that college
athletes were less likely to drink during their competitive
season and more likely to drink during their off-season.8
One reason for this decrease could be because there is more

48
time for social activities in the off season. However,
another explanation for this increase may be athletes
believe alcohol will have no effect on future athletic
performances if consumed days or weeks before activity.

Alcohol’s Effects on Performance

It has been considered that alcohol in moderation may
offer some health benefits.13 While most studies on this
topic are non-conclusive, Suter et al identify that that
health benefits associated with proper nutrition and
exercise are well established14 and the consumption of
alcohol can have a number of negative effects, both acute
and chronic, on the body. Alcohol causes impairments on
psychomotor skills, strength and power, and aerobic
fitness.3,13-17
Most individuals binge drink so they can have an
immediate effect of alcohol called euphoria. After the
immediate sensation of elation, psychomotor skills will
soon begin to decrease. Ingesting low amounts of alcohol
can alter reaction time, fine motor movements, and hand eye
coordination.14 With a moderate to high amount of alcohol
consumption these skills are further impaired along with
decreased balance and accuracy, coordination, response

49
skills, speech impairments, and recognition
abilities.13,14,16,18 These impairments typically only affect
an athlete’s performance if alcohol was consumed prior or
during activity because most of these are short term
effects. However, there are a number of effects that are
more long term and have the potential to effect athletic
performance post-consumption.
One study in particular showed that alcohol is thought
to decrease muscular work capacity therefore resulting in
slower running and cycling speeds along with a faster onset
of fatigue during high intensity exercises.14 There is
evidence showing moderate amounts of alcohol consumed will
decrease grip strength, vertical jump height, and sprint
speed.3 Exposure to alcohol will interfere with the release
of calcium necessary for proper and efficient muscle
contractions.19 The authors of The effect of Alcohol on
Athletic Performance identified the fact that even low
amounts of alcohol in a person’s body can impair glucose
synthesis in both the liver and in oxidative skeletal
muscle therefore, would decrease an athlete’s performance
during prolonged moderate-intensity activities.17
Dehydration is thought to be a large contributor to
the hangover effect after alcohol consumption.17 During this
phase of recovery there are disturbances in cardiovascular

50
function including an increased resting heart rate,
increased blood pressure, and decreased left ventricular
performance.17 Because alcohol has a diuretic affect it will
cause dehydration which in turn will impair aerobic
function during exercise.20 This effect will also slow the
recovery process after exercise as well.
Some of the chronic effects are associated with long
term alcohol use include cellular changes in the liver,
heart, brain and muscles leading to increased risk for
liver disease, heart disease, stroke, and decreased
muscular work capacity.3,13,14 An article discussing the
health implications associated with alcohol discussed
specifically the increased risk of developing breast cancer
in women who consistently drink heavily and the increased
risk for men to develop colon cancer. This article also
mentions how alcohol can reduce the oxidation of fat and
enhance the consumer’s appetite and therefore, it can lead
to increased fat storage21 which could be detrimental to
athletes who need to strictly regulate their weight such as
wrestlers, gymnasts, boxing, and pole vaulters.
Alcohol use can also impair temperature regulation
during athletic activity in adverse weather conditions.20 A
study done by Yoda et al, on the effects alcohol can have
on a person in a cold environment showed that although

51
alcohol does not affect core temperature, it does have a
direct effect on the central nervous system thus decreasing
a person’s perception of cold.22 This substantial decrease
in cold perception greatly increases an athlete’s chances
of developing hypothermia when participating in activities
in a cold environment.
Injuries often occur when participating in
intercollegiate sports and studies show that the risk of
injury increases when an athlete has consumed alcohol3,15
and recovery from injury can be impaired due to alcohol.23
In addition, researchers believe that even one episode of
moderate to heavy alcohol consumption can lead to
impairment in immune responses including inflammatory cell
function. Also, the same article by Szabo et al discussed
other deficiencies in host defense and immune responses
that could lead to increased incidence of infections and
prolonged recovery from burns, traumatic injury, and
infections.24 This would include increasing recovery time
for athletic injuries. A study done by Vargas et al,
demonstrated that alcohol intake will accelerate atrophic
responses in disused muscles and prolong reinitiating
weight bearing activities. This was due to the impairments
of protein synthesis and degradation.23 If athletes are
unaware of the impact alcohol can have on their body while

52
it is healing after sustaining an injury or undergoing
surgery it will only prolong the healing process and lose
more playing time. For these reasons it is demonstrated
that acute alcohol intake will increase an athlete’s risk
for injury but a study done by O’Brien and Lyons describes
just how much of an increase to expect. In their study they
found that athletes who drank alcohol at least one time per
week had an injury rate of 54.8% and the nondrinking
population had an injury rate of just 23.5%.20

Athlete’s Knowledge of Alcohol’s Effects on Performance

There is a need for something more than educational
programs teaching athletes the effects alcohol can have
within collegiate sports. The National Collegiate Athletic
Association has increased their efforts by creating
prevention programs in conjunction with the Betty Ford
Center.20 Educating athletes will be the corner stone in
start to change the fact that alcohol is the most commonly
used drug among athletes. K. M. Hildebrand et al, propose
colleges requiring a wellness course to be taken by all
student athletes and a course like this would address
alcoholism and alcohol related issues with the hope to
improve behavior management.6 But a study by Thadani et al

53
describes the need for even more. Their study demonstrates
that education alone is not enough to change drinking
behaviors. The control group in their study received only
educational programming and the results at the end of the
trial showed participants who drank more also had more
knowledge about alcohol. They suggest using multi-component
intervention programs that use information about drinking
in the context of skills training, normative feedback, and
motivational interviewing in a group setting.25 In 2000
Wechsler et al found that only 59% of colleges with
athletic programs provide their athletes with alcohol
education programs26 and Martin et al found that Division I
female athletes averaged between 4 and 8 hours of alcohol
education courses during their college careers with a
majority of them reporting they wanted more educational
programming.7

Then, in 2002

Wechsler et al found that out

of 747 4-year colleges, 84% provided alcohol education to
freshman.27 Although athletes may be receiving the
information, and understanding that competing or practicing
while intoxicated or hung-over will cause suboptimal
performance, they may not fully understand the long term
effects heavy alcohol use can have.8 Also, the information
may be spiking the interest of the student athletes, thus
leading to more problematic drinking.25 This is why it is

54
important for coaches, athletic trainers and sport
psychologists to be proactive in helping athletes recognize
the impact alcohol can have on their personal and athletic
lives8 and implementing programs that will be effective in
creating positive changes.

Summary

Athletic involvement is clearly a link to increased
risk to alcohol related problems. It is important for
athletes to be aware that alcohol may impair performance of
endurance exercises because of its effects on metabolic,
cardiovascular, and thermoregulatory function as well as
altering their ability to perform skilled tasks because of
its effects on reaction time, fine motor control and
judgment and to understand what exactly this means.3
Participating in the consumption of alcohol can promote
social interaction within teammates thus leading to better
team cohesion1; however, there are other, healthier, ways
for athletes to bond as a team and coaches and team leaders
need to be involved in creating healthier lifestyle choices
in their team and fellow teammates.

55

APPENDIX B
The Problem

56
THE PROBLEM

There is a clear and long standing relationship
between sports, exercise, athletes, and alcohol use.23
Alcohol is now and will continue to be the most commonly
consumed drug in the athletic population.20 It very common
for athletes to consume alcohol to the point of
intoxication more frequently than non-athletes do.12
Research has even indicated that due to the high amount of
alcohol consumed and the greater chance of athletes having
drinking related consequences, some researchers even
classify athletes as an at risk subpopulation of students.11
With athletes being classified under an at risk category
regarding alcohol, do they really know what they are doing
to their bodies but consuming large amounts of alcohol?
Furthermore, do athletes understand the effect it can have
on their performance?
It is important for athletic trainers, coaches, and
even athletes to be aware of the negative consequences
alcohol can have on athletic performance. But first, they
need to understand exactly how much of the information they
do not have. The purpose of this study to determine whether
or not athletes know about the way alcohol can alter
athletic performance.

57
Definition of Terms
The following definitions of terms will be defined for
this study:
1) Athlete: A person who participates in NCAA division I,
II, or III athletics.
2) Binge drinking: Consuming 5 or more drinks in a row
for men and 4 or more drinks in a row for women on 1
or more occasions during the past two weeks12.
3) Team Sports: Sports in which 4 or more team members
compete towards a common goal (football, baseball,
softball, volleyball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse).
4) Individual Sports: Sports in which individuals
participate rather than groups (cross country, golf,
track & field, swimming, tennis).
5) Drinking Habits: How often a person drinks and how
much alcohol they consume on a regular basis.

Basic Assumptions
The following are basic assumptions of this study:
1) The subjects are NCAA Division II and III athletes. No
individuals who participate in only intramural or club
sports were included in this study.
2) All the subjects answered each question honestly and
to the best of their knowledge.

58
3) No individual received any assistance from an outside
participant or resource to answer a question.

Limitations of the Study
The following are possible limitations of the study:
1) The subjects may have received assistance in answering
a question or may not have done so honestly.
2) A true sampling was not received because only one NCAA
Division II program was included and no NCAA Division
I programs were.
3) Because the internal reliability of the Knowledge
about Alcohol Questionnaire was not performed, the
reader is cautioned when interpreting the results.

Significance of the Study
Determining whether athletes understand the negative
consequences alcohol can have on the body and athletic
performance will promote the need for more alcohol
education within our athletic programs. If athletes do have
a solid understanding of the negative consequences that
come from consuming alcohol in regards to athletics, then
we will know that there must be another reason for why
athletes continue to participate in unhealthy drinking
behaviors. If the athletes do not have a clear

59
understanding, then Athletic Trainers and coaches will need
to realize that education is could be the key.
Hopefully, through educating our athletes on how
alcohol consumption will affect their performance, athletes
will come to realize it’s not worth the risk. If this study
can prove that our athletes simply do not have enough
knowledge on the topic, incorporating more alcohol
education seminars into our athletic programs can be one
way of educating athletes and start changing the
stereotypes having to do with alcohol and athletes. This
way, athletes can start focusing more on training to win
the competition, rather than training to undo the effects
from last night’s party.

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APPENDIX C
Additional Methods

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Appendix C1
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire

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Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire

1. What is your Gender?
Male
Female
2. What sport do you play? Football Basketball
Soccer
Lacrosse Track and Field
Volleyball
Swimming Cross Country Tennis
Wrestling Field Hockey
Golf Baseball Softball
3. What School do you attend?
California University of
Pennsylvania
Frostburg State University
Penn
State Greater Allegheny
Penn State FayetteEberly Campus Washington and Jefferson College
4. What year in college are you? Freshman Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Graduate
5. What is your age?
Drinking Habits
1. What kind of alcohol do you drink? Beer
Mixed drinks
Shots
Wine
Malt Beverages
2. How often do you drink alcohol?
Never
A few
times a year
A few times a month
Once a week
3 or more times a week
3. How often do you get drunk?
Never
A few times a
year
A few times a month
Once a week
Every time I drink
4. Who do you usually drink alcohol with?
Teammates
Other friends
By myself
5. Have you ever practiced or competed with a hangover?
Never
Once or twice per season
more than 5 times in a season
6. Has Drinking alcohol ever effected you academically
(going to class hung-over, missing class because of a
hang-over, etc)
yes
no
7. Has drinking alcohol ever affected you athletically?
(practicing or competing while intoxicated or hungover, getting a citation and being suspended from the
team, etc)
yes
no
8. Has drinking ever negatively impacted your personal
life?
Yes
no

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9. Has drinking ever affected your professional
responsibilities? (could not go into work because of a
hang-over, etc) Yes
no

Alcohol Knowledge Questions
Please answer each of the following questions to the best
of your ability without any outside assistance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

Drinking alcohol will increase accuracy
True
False
Drinking alcohol will slow reaction time
True
False
Drinking alcohol will increase hand-eye coordination
True
False
Drinking alcohol will increase fatigue during exercise
True
False
Exercise will increase alcohol metabolism
True
False
Alcohol will increase muscular work capacity (i.e.
make you run faster and longer)
True
False
Drinking alcohol will increase the loss of muscle mass
when recovering from an injury
True
False
Drinking alcohol will increase your chances of
sustaining a sports related injury
True
False
Drinking alcohol will increase your vertical jump
height
True
False
Drinking alcohol will help your body recover after
exercise
True
False
Drinking alcohol will cause an increase in blood
pressure True
False
Drinking alcohol will cause you to stay warmer when
exercising in the cold
True
False
Drinking alcohol will increase muscular power
True
False
Alcohol promotes body fat accumulation
True
False
Exercise after drinking alcohol can cause an increase
in muscle damage
True
False
Drinking alcohol will decrease the pumping forces of
the heart
True
False
Drinking alcohol can negatively impair your immune
system
True
False

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18.
19.
20.

Drinking alcohol within 24 hours of athletic
performance will not have an effect aerobic
performances
True
False
Alcohol will increase your blood sugar levels enabling
you to exercise longer
True
False
Alcohol will change the body’s hormonal balances
making it more conductive to increases in muscle mass
True
False

NOTE: The Bolded test marks the correct answer for each
knowledge question.

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APPENDIX C2
Institutional Review Board –
California University of Pennsylvania

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67

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APPENDIX C3
Cover Letter

77

March 16, 2011
Dear Student Athlete:
My name is Joanna Murray and I am currently a graduate
student at California University of Pennsylvania pursing a
Master of Science in Athletic Training. Part of the
graduate study curriculum is to complete a research thesis
through conducting research. I am conducting survey
research to determine if athletes understand how alcohol
consumption can impact their athletic performance.
Athletes from your institution, as well as four others, are
being asked to participate; however, your participation is
voluntary and you do have the right to choose not to
participate. You must be 18 years of age or older in order
to participate in this study. You also have the right to
discontinue participation at any time during the survey
completion process at which time your data will be
discarded. The California University of Pennsylvania
Institutional Review Board has reviewed and approved this
project. The approval is effective 03/03/2011 and expires
03/02/2012.
All survey responses are anonymous and will be kept
confidential, and informed consent to use the data
collected will be assumed upon return of the survey.
Aggregate survey responses will be housed in a password
protected file on the CalU campus. Minimal risk is posed
by participating as a subject in this study. I ask that
you please take this survey at your earliest convenience as
it will take no more than 20 minutes to complete. If you
have any questions regarding this project, please feel free
to contact the primary researcher Joanna Murray at
mur7552@calu.edu. You can also contact the faculty advisor
for this research Dr. Robert Kane by phone at 724-938-4011
or email at kane@calu.edu. Thanks in advance for your
participation. Please click the following link to access
the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9HKY52X.

78
Thank you for taking the time to take part in my thesis
research. I greatly appreciate your time and effort put
into this task.
Joanna M. Murray, ATC, PES
Primary Researcher
California University of Pennsylvania
250 University Ave
California, PA 15419
301-412-4308
Mur7552@calu.edu

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APPENDIX C4
Coach Information Letter

80

Date
Dear Coaches,
My name is Joanna Murray and I am currently a graduate
student at California University of Pennsylvania pursing a
Master of Science in Athletic Training. I recently
contacted (Athletic Director’s name) asking for permission
to contact (Institution’s name) athletes to take part in my
research thesis. On March 3, 2011 the California University
of Pennsylvania's Institutional Review Board approved my
research proposal.
I would like to begin distributing the link to my online
questionnaire. All the information your athletes need is in
the cover letter I have attached to this email. If you
could please copy and paste it into an email to all the
members of your team, it would be greatly appreciated.
Please let me know if you need any other information from
me. Thank you again for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Joanna M. Murray, ATC, PES
Primary Researcher
California University of Pennsylvania
250 University Ave
California, PA 15419
301-412-4308
Mur7552@calu.edu
Robert Kane, EdD, PT, ATC
Research Advisor
California University of Pennsylvania
250 University Ave
California, PA 15419
kane@calu.edu

81
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ABSTRACT
Title:

Collegiate Athletes’ Knowledge on the
Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Athletic
Performance

Researcher:

Joanna M. Murray

Advisor:

Dr. Robert Kane

Purpose:

The primary purpose of this to examine
the amount of knowledge collegiate athletes
have in regards to the effects of alcohol
consumption on athletic performance.

Methods:

Participants included 200 student athletes
from five collegiate institutions. The
Knowledge about Alcohol Questionnaire was
distributed electronically to the subjects
and completed. The data was analyzed using
Independent t-Tests and an ANOVA with an
alpha level set at .05.

Findings:

Gender had no effect on the amount of
knowledge the student athletes had on the
subject of alcohol consumption and its
effect on athletic performance. Members of
individual sports teams and members of team
sports team had the same amount of knowledge
on the subject of alcohol. Student athletes
who consume alcohol more frequently have the
same amount of knowledge as student athletes
who drink less frequently. There were 133
participants who were under the age of 21
and they all reported having drunk alcohol.

Conclusions:

It was determined that gender, type of
sports team, and drinking frequency had no
effect on knowledge about alcohol knowledge
scores.