Self Esteem Paper

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

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

“According to the CDC, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of Binge Drinking, which experts say peaks at the age of nineteen.” (qtd by Listfield). Binge Drinking is the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. The author, Emily Listfield, defines that the standard alcohol consumption over a two hour period is considered to be four beers for women and five beers for men. This has become a great distraction for college students nationwide and a major dilemma on college campuses. Nearly two hundred thousand students visit emergency rooms each year due to the abuse of alcohol, and more than one thousand seven hundred students die. In the article “ The Underage Drinking Epidemic”, Listfield identifies the problems that underage drinking can cause, the dangers that could happen, and four solutions on what parents can do to keep their kids from binge drinking.

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.

Young teens all get a bad rep when it comes to drinking alcohol. Especially college students that are considered “binge drinkers”. When in reality a nation wide survey of students at 168 colleges and university’s found some interesting things about the underage corrupt youth. 93% of all students have never received a lower grade in a class because of drinking too much. 98% of all college students say that they have never gotten into trouble from an administrator from excessive drinking. While the media continually gives the under twenty one community a bad rep, in reality they are continually practicing safe drinking habits and in some cases not drinking at all. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute

An obvious outcome of underage drinking is drunk driving, which we know kills thousands every year. But an effect of lowering the drinking age that escapes the minds of many is the easy access that younger teens and tweens will have to alcohol when their senior friends are allowed to partake of alcohol freely. When 18 year olds are still in high school, they can have legal alcohol at their social events and house parties. There’s no doubt that underclassmen will be allowed in to these events to enjoy the privilege of the older peers. The danger in young drinking makes itself clear in a CDC Fact Sheet: “About 2 in 3 high school students who drink do so to the point of intoxication, that is, they binge drink (defined as having five or more drinks in a row), typically on multiple occasions.”

College DrinkingHarmful and underage college drinking are signifcant public health problems, and they exact an enormous toll on the intellectual and social lives of students on campuses across the United States. Drinking at college has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience. Many students come to college with established drinking habits, and the college environment can exacerbate the problem. According to a national survey, almost 60 percent of college students ages 18–22 drank alcohol in the past month,1 and almost 2 out of 3 of them engaged in binge drinking during that same timeframe.2Consequences of Harmful and Underage College DrinkingDrinking affects college students, their families, and college communities at large. Researchers estimate that each year:DeathAbout 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes.3Assault About 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.4Sexual AssaultAbout 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.4What is “binge drinking?” Many college alcohol problems are related to binge drinking. Binge drinking is a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men—in about 2

“Every year in the U.S., roughly 5,000 people under the age of 21 die from an alcohol-related incident including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and other related injuries” ( “11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse”). That is 5,000 more teens or young adults that could be saved from this plague in this society (11 Facts About Alcohol Abuse). Underage drinking and alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States, and as a society need to make a change with how everyone sees this problem. Adults and young teens take this topic too lightly, and it should not be taken lightly because of how many deaths there have been from poor decision making. There are many programs or events that could help this problem by fundraising, however people think this is not a very important problem. Underage Drinking and Alcoholism is a huge problem in the United States because it causes major health issues that can be very costly, personal life problems that can lead to more problems later in life, and major risks that have no benefit, but can put someone else’s life in danger.

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

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

The health assessment in which I focused on is underage drinking. It is a huge problem in the United States amongst the youths. According to the L.A. Health report “Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by teenagers in the United States, and underage alcohol use is a significant national concern.” (Underage Drinking, 2004). “Of underage adult drinkers, 76%obtained alcohol from a home or a private residence, 64% from someone ages 21 years or older, 24% from a restaurant/bar, and 18% from a store.” (Underage Drinking, 2004). I can assume that underage drinking is due to the lack of responsibility of the youth

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.

Teenagers are America’s greatest natural resource, and they need to be protected from some of the evils that lurk in the world. A subject that needs special attention is the abuse of alcohol by teens. Statistics show that there is a problem currently between teens and alcohol. There are many causes of teenage drinking and effects that prove that drinking is an important issue that needs to be dealt with to preserve American teenagers. Teenage drinking will become worse of a problem if it continues unchecked on its current path to destruction. Alcohol abuse among teenagers in the United States is a plague that is destroying the structure of American society.

Teenage alcohol abuse is one of the major problems that affect academic performance, cause health problems and is responsible for the death of teenage drivers and sometime their passengers. Many teens drink because they think it is cool and do not understand the dangers of drinking alcohol. In 2008 a survey on the students views on alcohol was conducted in the Atlanta Public School System of 4,241 students surveyed results showed 74% of sixth graders felt there was a health risk while 25% felt there was no health risk; 81% of eighth graders felt there was a health risk, while 19% felt there was none; 82% of tenth graders felt there was a health risk, while 18% felt there was none, and 84% of twelve graders felt there was a health risk,