Alcohol Behaviors Among First Year Students Essay

Binge drinking and consumption of alcohol by minors has long been a problem on college campuses. According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 59.4% of college students between the ages of 18-22 consumed alcohol within the past month (Prevalence. The same survey found that 39% of students in the same age group reported binge drinking (five or more drinks in a short period of time) within the past month. Given these numbers, institutions have created many programs to both deter drinking and encourage safer drinking. This literature review will analyse and discuss current literature regarding prevention programs, professional standards, and statistics about college age drinkers.

Unhealthy and irresponsible drinking taking place by college students is causing further issues in their lives. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the use of alcohol in a campus setting is a ‘ritual’ that the students consider an initiation to the start of their college careers. (par. 2). College drinking leads to other health and social problems including deaths, suicides, academic issues, drug use. Studies by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (2015) show that each year, “more than 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking, 95% of all violent crime on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both, and 90% of acquaintance rape and sexual assault on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both. (Par. 16). College students, especially the ones consuming alcohol, are the main stakeholders in this situation. Whether they are participating in the use of alcohol or not, it still affects them one way or another. Friends and family members are affected because if something happens to their loved one using alcohol they will be directly affected. Possible outcomes of careless drinking include car

Underage drinking is a problem within the US and has been for some time. No matter how hard many businesses try it still goes on because of the kid’s lucrative ways to obtain it. Many kids use fake IDs or have a person of age purchase it for them. This problem of alcohol abuse is most prominently seen it college. One college it often occurs at is Indiana University in Bloomington. The early habit of drinking alcohol can have many bad effects on one’s body at a young age and causes habits, decrease in grades, and other negative outcomes.

Many students in college throughout the country participate in drinking for many different reasons. People drink for sports events, social purposes, or simply for a party. Binge drinking is an important issue that requires more attention from students, parents, and the media. Drinking can be acceptable at the correct age and if it is not abused. Many people binge drink for a number of reasons. Alcohol can be often viewed as “liquid confidence”. People tend to partake in the activity to lower social anxiety unfortunately not realizing the physical and emotional effects that may come along. There are many different alternatives that can be taken in place of or to help the use of consuming alcohol. Drinking alcohol can be illegal if underage and taken to a further extent that shouldn’t be reached. There have been many instances where people have been extremely injured or even died due to the use of binge drinking and it needs to be taken more seriously let alone controlled.

“80 percent of teen-agers have tried alcohol, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide” (Underage, CNN.com pg 3). Students may use drinking as a form of socializing, but is it really as good as it seems? The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of “culture” fixed in every level of the college student environment. Customs handed down through generations of college drinkers reinforce students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These perceptions of drinking are the going to ruin the lives of the students because it will lead to the development alcoholism. College students who drink a lot, while in a college

Risk factors such as sex, race, and grades are also discussed and linked with increased drinking. The social aspects of drinking, such as peer pressure and ones perceived image of themselves are discussed as well, along with student opinions on why they think other students drink.

For many, the college years are not only to pursue education in your chosen field but also a time to gain independence and practice the decision making process. For some, that decision includes moderate to heavy alcohol consumption. Some students can easily handle the amount of time spent socializing and taking time away from their studies; however, the majority of students’ academic performance suffers greatly from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol abuse is a serious health problem when it comes to college students. "The average amount of binge drinkers on college campuses is 50% of men and 39% of women" (<a href="http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/">http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/</a>). There are various reasons why students drink and serious short and long term effects on the body and mind. Alcoholism is a serious problem for college students and there are many actions being taken to try to lessen the problem among colleges throughout the country.

Alcohol is a main concern in many college campuses, leading to various problems with students either being involved in overusing it or becoming the victim of someone who has been over using it. Many of the freshmen in college are underage students coming right out of highschool with little knowledge of the serious consequences that alcohol can have. If the drinking age is lowered to 18 years old, these students coming out of highschool and into college will be the appropriate age to purchase alcohol. It is important that these students are informed of the issues alcohol can have before they endanger the wellbeing of themselves or

Students adopt the heavy drinking tendencies during their first year of college. Intervention has been made to reduce the statistics of heavy drinking of college students. More and more college administrators have adopted alcohol and drug abuse education and prevention programs but despite the efforts, the alcohol-related problems have not decreased much (Turrisi, Mallett & Mastroleo, 2006).

As recognition grows that binge drinking on colleges nationwide is more prevalent than ever, school administrators and parents alike are seeking useful intervention to combat this issue. Studies have determined that “students’ use of alcohol is shaped, to some extent; by how much they think other students on campus drink” (Wechsler 2000:57). Most college students are in the particular age group that statistically has the highest rate of binge drinking. According to the American Journal of Public Health, this leads college students who decide to overindulge “extremely vulnerable to such health problems as: injuries from related car crashes; unplanned and unsafe sex; assault and aggressive behavior; alcohol dependence; and

Binge drinking within colleges and universities have been occurring for many years. Students in college have the freedom to make their own decision once they leave home away from their parents. In most cases, once students leave home, they will most likely to turn to drinking. College students usually do this to feel a sense of acceptance. Once college students turn to drinking when they enter college, binge drinking will severely affect student’s behavior, academics, and self-awareness.

Underage students drinking on college campuses has been a problem for countless years. Parents and professors look over the problem of students drinking and look at their college life in a positive way. They understand the students to be studying, making new friends, or working. Instead, an abundance of students are partying and drinking at these parties. The transformation from high school to college causes stress to the students. Therefore, instead of the students looking towards studying more, they start partying to solve their problems. Once they start partying, it gets harder for them to stop and they become depressed. Students drinking at college has become a provision for them, thinking it would help with their stress and problems rather than causing other predicaments.

Throughout history the abuse of alcohol and underage drinking has been a serious problem, especially at colleges and universities. In recent research, for the past 20 years more than 80 percent of undergraduates drink. And two thirds of those students partake in “binge drinking”, which is consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Most of the drinking takes place at fraternity houses, which is where all the crazy and violent behaviors usually occur. But the alcohol should be no blame because millions of people drink alcohol on daily basis and don’t attribute to bad behavior. The problem is the lack of parental guidance greek life has. For most students this is first time they have freedom, so what they are doing is learning their limits.

Alcohol use among college students has always been a popular subject among teachers, parents, researchers, and even students. The actual act of drinking alcohol is not necessarily the problem, whether legal or not. The main problem is the act of binge drinking of college students, of age or not. Drinking modest amounts of alcohol may have some consequences, but binge drinking has more negative consequences than normal modest drinking. There are many examples as to the consequences that binge drinking can cause to college student’s lives, but one of the main consequences that students face as a result of frequent drinking is poor academic final grades.