Alcohol consumption among college students has been an ongoing public health concern for decades. Alcohol influences and exacerbates aggressive behavior (Bushman & Cooper, 1990). A segment of the college student population that is understudied is that of sexual minorities (i.e., gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning students). Research indicates that sexual minority students drink differently and experience different consequences than heterosexual students. The purpose of this study is to explore alcohol-induced aggressive behavior among sexual minorities as the current literature does not evaluate alcohol-related aggression experienced by sexual minorities (SMs). Data will be collected from a mid-sized, midwestern university using snowball sampling methods. This study will utilize peak drinking, sexual minority status, and the Aggression Questionnaire (Bus & Perry, 1992) to determine potential relationships between the variables. The Aggression Questionnaire evaluates aggression by four constructs: physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility (Bus & Perry, 1992). It is expected that SMs will experience more verbal aggression and hostility while drinking alcohol. The data collection is ongoing, and the implications of this study are to provide an understanding of what type of aggression SMs most frequently experience when drinking to create up-to-date intervention programs.
Author: Lauren Haus
Advisor: Rose Marie Ward, Kinesiology and Health
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