This study examined the relations among precollege trauma exposure, alcohol use upon entering college, growth in alcohol use, and sleep quality in a sample of undergraduate students. Participants were 932 students from a large, urban, public university. Participants completed a survey upon entering college and then subsequent follow-up surveys each Spring semester. Precollege trauma exposure was associated with both baseline and growth in alcohol use, whereby higher levels of trauma were associated with higher baseline alcohol use, but with less steep increases in growth rate, as compared to those with lower levels of trauma. Baseline alcohol use was associated with sleep quality whereby those with higher levels of consumption demonstrated worsened sleep quality. This study provides longitudinal evidence for the relations among trauma, alcohol use, and sleep quality. Although the relationship between trauma and alcohol is well-established, further work is needed to identify how this relationship impacts additional health outcomes.
Keywords: Alcohol; college; sleep quality; trauma.