Missed Call? A Reexamination of Sport Fans' and Nonfans' Alcohol Usage and Alcohol-Related Experiences

Abstract

The current investigation attempted to replicate and extend Nelson and Weschler's (2003) research that indicated that college student sport fans were more likely to report problematic alcohol usage and more negative alcohol-related experiences in comparison to nonfans. In addition to utilizing the original study's operational definition of fan (spectatorbased), 323 college students were categorized according to more traditional measures of fandom, specifically levels of fan and team identification. Contrary to the previous research, the results indicated that fans' and nonfans' alcohol usage and experiences of negative alcoholrelated events were not significantly different. Additionally, both forms of identification (fan and team) failed to predict problematic alcohol usage and negative alcohol-related experiences. Although the results were unaffected by the operational definitions of fan, distinguishing certain subgroups of fans may be important in regards to clarifying and advancing our understanding of the potential relationship between sport and alcohol usage. These distinctions could guide efforts to reduce problematic alcohol usage.

Department(s)

Economics

Keywords and Phrases

Drinking; Alcohols; Drinking games

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0273-2173; 1521-0707

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2009 Taylor & Francis, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Oct 2009

Link to Full Text

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