Effects of Binge Drinking on College Students

As many teenagers enter college, they begin to experiment with many things. Although not all students participate in underage drinking, it is evident that a vast majority do. Drinking is not the problem. The main problem occurs when students resort to binge drinking. In the

Drinking has become a tradition amongst college students, and drinking is portrayed as a vital part of the college experience. Most incoming college freshman come into college with a preexisting tendency to drink, and the college campus life can be a significant influence on alcohol consumption and the rate at which alcohol is consumed. Binge drinking is so common that it is expected of a college student to drink once getting into the university. The reasons in which students decide to binge drink can vary from students

Since 1997, binge drinking has increased each year (Wechsler, Lee, & Kuo. 2010). Binge drinking is no stranger to San Jose State University as well as college campuses nationwide (Police Department, n.d.). Binge drinking has been on epidemic on college campuses and continues to grow over the course of time with alarming numbers of incidents that occur while under the influence. Since binge drinking is common on most college campuses, about 60% of students nationwide have stated that they have binge drank during their college years (College Drinking Fact Sheet, 2015).

“From the moment freshmen set foot on campus, they are steeped in a culture that encourages them to drink, and drink heavily. At many schools, social life is still synonymous with alcohol-lubricated gatherings” (Cohen). Binge drinking is a huge aspect of the culture of college life; many college students binge drink to become socially accepted in a particular group. Binge drinking is not only

“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

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.

High school is over and it is your first time away form home, what are you going to do? The typical college student wants to party! Of the people that were surveyed over half believed that the legal drinking age should be lowered. [O’Kane 1] The legal age to drink in the United States is now 21 years old; college freshman, sophomores, and some juniors are not of the legal age to drink. This causes a problem on many campuses; several students are experiencing their first time away from parental care in a setting sinonomus with drinking and clubbing. Some feel pressure from family and friends to receive excellent grades while attending school, sometimes the pressure is too much and going out and

In the article “Drinking over the Lifespan” By: Jennifer E. Merrill, Ph.D., and Kate B. Carey, Ph.D. They talk about how many college students drink heavily and experience myriad associated negative consequences. Most college student’s drink, they tend to drink more heavily than their friends who don’t attend college. Many of these drinking patterns have affected many environmental and temporal characteristic specific to the college environment, including residential campus living, the academic week, and the academic year. A study shows that about 41 percent of 18-24 year olds are enrolled in post-secondary education. When teens are emerging into adulthood, they are trying to find out their own identity, which alcohol use might come in while

The consumption of alcohol as a habitual behavior has long been associated with the American collegiate experience, despite the many known negative consequences a student who partakes in drinking can encounter. Because of the danger drunken students pose to a college’s reputation and the safety of its surrounding areas, much research has been done concerning the collegiate party and drinking scenes. This research mostly studied the demographics of the student body, so strategies developed to curtail the illegal or overconsumption of alcohol could be targeted towards the specific groups that demonstrated the highest likelihood of participating in these acts. When the strategies were implemented, however, there was little decline in the number of college students who chose to party and drink (Vander Ven 2011). This failure did not point toward a flaw in the research data, but instead a lack of research into the benefits a collegiate drinker receives that are rewarding to the point he or she cannot resist. This is the topic of Getting Wasted: Why College Students Drink Too Much and Party So Hard by Thomas Vander Ven.

Research has supported the observation that young people in America consume alcohol regularly; this prevalence of use increases rapidly during adolescence, as well as a few years afterward (Wagenaar and Wolfson 37). This has come to be a problem among college students. It has been shown through extensive quantitative and qualitative research that those under twenty-one years of age are able to obtain alcohol, which allows them to binge drink. Binge drinking holds many problems for college students: alcohol poisoning, DUIs, traffic accidents, and even fatalities.

Binge or excessive drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, health, and education on college campuses today. Binge or excessive drinking by college students has become a social phenomena in which college students do not acknowledge the health risks that are involved with their excessive drinking habits. Furthermore college students do not know enough about alcohol in general and what exactly it does to the body or they do not pay attention to the information given to them. There needs to be a complete saturation on the campus and surrounding areas, including businesses and the media, expressing how excessive drinking is not attractive and not socially

Thus, the college years have developed into a time for finding oneself. Alcohol and drug abuse provide a means to conceal feelings of insecurity that arise from the students uncertainty of themselves. Substance abuse acts as a stress reducer through the beginning stages of college.

People who drink are more than likely to have poor Academics. There is a clear relationship between alcohol use and academic performance among college students (Pediatrics 1). Students with grades of D or F drink 3 times as much as those who earn A’s …the effects on less mature individuals may be even more significant (Pediatrics 2). Poor academics can lend to students dropping out of school . Heavy drinking in high school also is associated with multiple interpersonal , academic, legal and neurocognitive consequences (Doumas 1). Poor academics can cause changes in behavior

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.