Essay On Alcohol Use Disorder In College Students

Alcoholism (sometimes called Alcohol Use Disorder in the technical literature) is, essentially, defined as a dependency on alcohol for an individual to function in his/her daily life. The condition is related to but distinct from "alcohol abuse". In the latter case, an individual may be said to have a drinking problem, but s/he is not dependent on alcohol, i.e. alcohol is not a required part of that person 's life. This is an important distinction to make as often

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

According to the DMS-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders issued by the American Psychiatric Association, the Alcohol Use Disorder is defined as “a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment of distress, as manifested by at least two symptoms of the eleven in their diagnostic criteria occurring within a 12-month period. These symptoms demonstrates activities such as, alcohol being often taken in larger amounts over a long period of time, a persistent desire to cut down or control alcohol use, cravings to use alcohol, a great deal of time spent in activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol or recover from its effect, recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it is physically

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

Americans are abusing alcohol less than in the past with one exception: college students who drink more and binge drink more often than nonstudents of similar age. The definition of binge drinking is " the consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol in a short period of time." (Dictionary.com) Alcohol continues to extract a high toll from those who abuse it at any age, killing 80,000 Americans a year and draining more than $220 billion from the economy. Out of all the teens who drink, 90 percent of them binge drink to get drunk. To fight alcohol abuse, many educational institutions, community organizations and government agencies are stepping up efforts to promote abstinence among the young and responsible drinking by adults. (Alcohol Abuse)

The literature on college binge drinking and student’s academic performance are for the most part; focused on an essential constituent or characteristic that has been revealed. During the past ten months, research has become an essential basis in regards to college binge drinking and the effects said behavior is having on those college students who choose to over-indulge. Given the situation over the literature pertaining to college binge drinking and poor academic grades, it is important to ask if such research is assisting college students in proper alternatives when choosing to consume alcohol (College Drinking, 2005). In order for success; college students must put in the effort; and participate in surveys,

Alcohol has long been a problem for society, and college students are no exception to this problem, especially when it comes to binge drinking. Binge drinking is classified at 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women within 2 hours. According to a study by Ikes, “more than 40% of college students have engaged in heavy episodic drinking (HED)” or binge drinking (find pg number) and “19% engage in frequent binge drinking” (Iconis 243). There are very large implications for college students drinking this much alcohol. First of all, there is a huge health risk when drinking at such an alarming rate and a young age. According to a study done by the Office of the Surgeon General, when exposed to large amounts of alcohol, college students run the risk of developing long term biological change. Sustained binge drinking can affect both the brain’s and body’s biology. Young college students can develop adverse mental symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. Sustained binge drinking can also “affect memory, alters sensitivity to motor impairment, and damages frontal­anterior cortical regions” (25). There is also evidence that sustained binge drinking has detrimental effects on the liver, endocrine system and bones (Office of the Surgeon General 26). Not only is this a health issue, it has become a social issue as well. Students who regularly engage in binge drinking have increases in risky behavior as a result of their impaired judgement, and this risky behavior has many

Sheffield, Jack Darkes and Frances K. Del Boca). The numbers between 2-year and 4 year colleges that involve problematic binge drinking are respectfully higher on a 4-year college campus, however despite this elevation, binge drinking still presents its share of consequences at an undergrad level. The environmental differences contribute to the lower numbers at a community college level are associated with the lack of fraternities and sororities and the variations of social norms. Prevention and intervention efforts would need to speak to these differences in campus life and maneuver around the limited financial and personnel

Alcohol and drug abuse has been an active habit among college students sense the 1960s. The immediate cause of this behavior was the youth’s need to rebel against the overly conservative American society. This rebellion led to a since of freedom for the young adults, which caused them to continue acting in these unintelligent manners. After a short period of time, late teens just did not belong if they were not participating in the mischievous acts. Substance abuse quickly became a way of life for many young adults. As a result, this inapt behavior still continues today.

On college campuses across America, the use of alcohol has been an topic in need of explanation for many years. The concept will be explaned with emphise on the negative effects of hooch. Alcohol in cardio-sport athletes is especially harmful. But at any rate the negative concepts apply to all student. Besides the fact that a large number of students are underage when they drink, alcohol can put students in dangerous situations and give them a headache long after the hangover is gone. The short and long term effects alcohol has can impair students physically and mentally, impacting their education and health.

When looking at the reasons that many college students engage in behavior that leads to substance abuse, one can see that there are several factors that play a part in their risky behavior. As students start to feel more comfortable, they begin to branch out and meet new people, but sometimes they meet and make friends who are bad influences. For some reason almost every incoming freshman college student thinks they need to project a party image and will do

College is a time in one’s life to start over, to start off on a clean slate. It is also time for a person to prepare for their future. Most importantly, college is time for people to achieve an education, while furthermore working on who they are and who they want to be. However, when people hear about college experiences, they are mostly focused around wild parties, drugs, and alcohol: the makings of a “good time”. Most of the time, all people hear and talk about is how much alcohol they drank the night before and how “awesome” it was, but what are some of the effects that result from the road of alcohol?

Alcohol is the number one drug problem among America’s youth. More senior high school students use alcohol than any other psychoactive drug. Family doctors, pediatricians, schoolteachers, and parents know that alcohol is overwhelmingly the drug of choice among today’s youth, although trendier substances such as cocaine are often given more attention in the headlines (Carla Felsted, p. vii). Furthermore, it is widely acknowledged that drinking alcohol is a part of the youth culture in America; it may also be understood as a culturally conditioned and socially controlled behavior.

Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive and potentially fatal disorder which leads to physical and psychological harm, and impaired social and vocational functioning. It is characterized by tolerance, physical dependence and/or pathological organ changes, all of which are the direct/indirect consequence of the alcohol ingested (Light 5). Alcoholism, also known as "alcohol dependence," can be recognized by four obvious symptoms.