Alcoholism in College Students

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.

Those that participate in binge drinking do it for many different reasons, a bad test grade, roommate arguments, celebration for a job well done, peer pressure, or simply because it is the weekend. No one is saying that it is wrong to go out and have a few drinks but when students go out and just drink to get drunk, actions must be taken to stop such activity. According to the graph on the next page done by the Harvard Public School of Health it is clear that a majority of students drink to simply get wasted. [Colorado State University 1] The number of binge drinkers may not have gone up in 1999 compared to 1997, for every five students two are binge drinkers, or 44%. [Wechsler #2, 1] However, the intensity of drinking has increased, when students are going out they are having more to drink. [Wechsler #2, 2]

According to the New York Times, “More than 1,800 students die every year of alcohol-related causes...600,000 are injured while drunk, and nearly 100,000 become victims of alcohol-influenced sexual assaults”(Mcmurtrie). This is the case as many students in America find happiness in the consumption of unhealthy amounts of alcohol and underage drinking. Unfortunately, these issues have been more prevalent on college campuses, where students have formed a culture of abusing alcohol. There seems to be no solution in sight as many college students fall victim to the devastating effects of alcohol abuse and underage drinking despite the legal drinking age. Regardless of the brutal effects of misusing alcohol, college students still continue to binge drink and participate in underage drinking. This leads one to wonder the cause of this destructive phenomenon. While some blame the minimum drinking age, others blame the society and the ignorance of the college students. Although these factors may contribute, in reality, college students in the U.S. tend to abuse alcohol because of their perception of alcohol and its consumption.

The objective of this essay was to “examine the extent of binge drinking by college students and the ensuing health and behavioral problems that binge drinkers create for themselves and others on their campus.” The results found in this study were the following: “Almost half (44%) of college students responding to the survey were binge drinkers, including almost one fifth (19%) of the students who were frequent binge drinkers. Frequent binge drinkers are more likely to experience serious health and other consequences of their drinking behavior than other students. Almost half (47%) of the frequent binge drinkers experienced five or more different drinking-related problems, including injuries and engaging in unplanned sex, since the beginning of the school year.” Not only does this impact the quality of education the students are receiving, but can be extremely detrimental to their health.

Every year college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol which is more than the money spent on books and food per year. This is amazing to think that someone could have negative effects regarding alcohol, troubles and worries, but then say "well its okay cuz I spend a lot of money on it." A more frightening statistic is that nearly half of all college students are binge drinkers. This means that there are a great deal of people trying

Despite increasing publicity about the problems caused by student drinking, a new survey suggests that the number of college-age drinkers has been steadily falling for the past twenty years. Recent studies have found connections between drinking and the prevalence of date rapes, hazing, and property damage on campuses. (Higher Education Research Institute, The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1994, University of California, Los Angeles; William Celis 3d, "Tradition on the Wane: College Drinking," New York Times, Feb. 5, 1995, p. 1). This study, by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, suggests that problem drinking may be isolated to a few students and that overall attitudes about alcohol are changing, at least among college freshmen.

Environmental factors play a great role for determining the likelihood of students encountering alcohol, not necessarily consuming it or consuming it excessively (College Drinking: Changing the Culture, High-Risk Drinking in College). After comparing different universities with different demographic makeups, it was found that predominantly single ethnic or minority schools tended to have lower rates of excessive alcohol use among its students when compared to predominantly white, coeducational schools (College Drinking: Changing the Culture, High-Risk Drinking in College). Two of the most common and widespread campus organizations that have been shown to encourage student consumption of alcohol are emphasized athletic programs and Greek systems (College Drinking:

It is no secret that many college students drink alcohol. Partying, underage drinking, and experimenting are what some students get excited about when they go off to college (unfortunately). It is also no secret that alcohol can do damaging things if not used appropriately or drank in adequate amounts. “National surveys suggest that 44% of college students engage in heavy episodic drinking at least occasionally, often leading to tragic consequences. Each year, nearly 1400 college students aged 18–24 die and 500,000 are injured due to unintentional alcohol-related causes (Voas, et all., 2008)”.

How do you feel about alcohol use and how does it affect college students? This paper will break down how frequent college students use alcohol. Does consuming alcohol affect college students in school by helping those getting good grades? Why do college students turn to alcohol? Many college students can say they have used alcohol at least one time in college. Nowadays college students seem to turn to alcohol more frequently because alcohol is more accessible because they may have a fake ID.

During the day and age of being a youth, it is very common to make decisions without thinking and not understanding the risks that come with them. Alcohol has been a major influence on college students and many of these students are unaware of the damage that is being caused by abusing it. What students in this age group do not understand is that their brain is still developing slowly and this process does not finish until they reach adulthood. Drinking can have harmful effects on the development of the brain, which has a major impact on the student as they age. College is a very stressful time period for some and a common mistake is students abusing the amount of alcohol they consume to cope with the stress they have. The question that comes to my mind is why do those who are fully aware of what they 're doing to themselves continue to drink? This issue needs to be addressed more strictly to prevent damage on college students. They are working their hardest to achieve the goals that they want and find themselves potentially being affected by a destructive habit. Alcohol can affect a student past the textbook since some effects are permanent.

According to Veronica Harper’s Effects of Binge Drinking on College Students College students are more likely to consume alcohol more than people of the same age who are not attending college. Almost half of the college students that consume alcohol are considered binge drinkers (Five drinks in a row at one sitting for a man and four drinks in a row at one sitting for women). Many students believe the use of alcohol is a big part of the college experience, thus can be concluded that the college atmosphere may influence and nurture increased alcohol consumption. The amount of alcohol the student drinks varies according to their age, where they live, and with whom they associate (Harper).

Binge drinking is a term used to describe a situation where women drink more than 4 bottles of alcohol in a row and men drink 5 or more bottles of alcohol in a row. It is taking too much alcohol in a short period. Alcohol is a substance that gradually produces an addiction in the body. Many college students use alcohol in recreational activities and parties. The alcohol gradually leads to addiction and causes a decline in their social and academic performance. Additionally, some students drink to boost their image and popularity, while others do so as a means to counter mounting pressures. There is a lot of peer pressure in college and minimal control and guidance from parents and teachers, which contributes to binge drinking.. Binge drinking in college is a societal issue as it affects students’ performance, contributes to accidents, and causes negative impacts on health.

     To understand why alcohol is a problem for college students, I decided to survey a random sample of 26 students here at State U. I designed the survey to be a quick and effective way to obtain the drinking habits of college students in

For many students, going away to college is the point in life when they begin to experience a different environment and also make their own decisions about their life. About 80% of college students use alcohol, that’s four out of every five (Retrieved February 28, 2017, from https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking)!

Using the literature and the studies previously analyzed, we can accept that binge drinking is a phenomenon that is present amongst college students everywhere. The increasing number of college students being affected by binge drinking is relatively high, particularly amongst first-year college students in the United States. The effects that binge drinking can bring as investigated in the studies previously mentioned, should raise enough concerns that will allow college campuses to take immediate action to address this major health concern.