Underage and Dangerous College Alcohol Use
Many college students experiment with alcohol during their college years. Drinking is a ritual they see as being part of the whole college experience. According to the organization Alcohol Help, four out of five college students drink alcohol to some degree, and about 50% of these students engage in binge drinking. This means they drink too much alcohol over a short time period.
College Students and Binge Drinking
Why do college students binge drink? College students binge drink for a variety of reasons. They may be away from parental control for the first time and exploring new freedoms. The desire to be accepted often plays a large role. The social camaraderie students experience when drinking with others is often one of the main reasons for binge drinking. It doesn’t take much for one drink to become two and it escalates from there. What can also cause excess drinking is to relieve the stress they feel due to financial concerns or academic pressure.
Some students will drink to help them cope with the relentless academic pressure. What it does instead is make them miss classes or put them in situations where they are unable to complete academic assignments on time. That’s true. Academic rigor can put even the best students off track and might leave them in a mental state where they cannot perform at normal levels. These are the times when they need assistance. They need help matching steps with academics and staying on course with assignments.
When reeling under pressure and facing the pressure created by academic paper writing, students should contact professionals on an online essay writing service that is reputed and trustworthy. A professional writer takes up the assignment and delivers outstanding work on time. They can raise their grades and stay on track academically.
Risk Factors
A study of binge drinking among U.S. college students found that they face increased developmental and social risks of excessive alcohol consumption. Key risk factors include high-risk drinking occasions like 21st birthday celebrations, substance abuse, and using alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Students who live on campus often experience additional risks. College party drinking encourages binge drinking as do house parties and fraternity socials. Tailgating before a sporting event can also lead to heavy drinking. Spring break activities are also notorious due to the level of student drinking, which can cause many dangerous situations.
There are researchers who have found links between factors such as age, race, and sex with binge drinking. Even personality traits such as introversion or extroversion can also play a role. Students lower in self-efficacy had a higher likelihood of engaging in binge drinking over time.
Consequences of Harmful and Underage Drinking
The most recent NIAAA data shows that as many as 30% of college students report at least one binge drinking episode in the past month. Binge-drinking college students can experience serious consequences.
Deaths
The number in this regard is shocking. Over 1,500 college students from ages 18 to 24 die from alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.
Sexual and Other Assaults
NIAAA statistics state that nearly 700,000 students ages 18 to 24 experience assault by another student who has been drinking. Estimating alcohol-related sexual assaults can be challenging as it is often underreported. However, a long-standing finding by researchers is that one in five college women experience sexual assault while at college.
Most of these sexual assaults involve substance abuse of some kind. Victims of sexual assault are often too incoherent to fight back and many pass out so they don’t know what really happened.
Injuries
Beer drinking impairs coordination and judgment, increasing the risk of falls, accidents, and serious injuries. It can also lead to impaired decision-making, resulting in fights or driving under the influence. For college students, binge drinking lowers inhibitions, often leading to unsafe sexual behaviors.
Alcohol Poisoning
Alcohol poisoning can occur when students drink too much in a short period of time. The body is unable to process the alcohol, and some symptoms of this include vomiting and blackouts. Many students end up at a hospital each year due to alcohol abuse and some of them die.
Legal Issues
Underage drinking is illegal and may result in fines or community service. Students may lose their driver’s licenses and even spend some time in jail. They could also face suspension or expulsion from college. Under the influence of alcohol, students could also commit crimes like vandalism of property that also result in legal consequences. This jeopardizes their careers, which is a situation nobody should ideally be in.
Poor Physical and Mental Health
A study found that students who binge drink have poorer overall physical and mental health than others. It can raise blood alcohol concentration to dangerous levels. For males, this could be about five drinks in two hours. For women, it could be about four drinks in two hours. Alcohol-related physical health issues are common and they range from mild to severe with some of them being high blood pressure, liver damage, and other related conditions.
Students who are already struggling with mental health issues are at a higher risk because they might attempt to commit suicide and engage in other self-harming acts. Binge drinking can alter their minds to the extent that they act irrationally.
Alcohol Use Disorder
Students who think it isn’t dangerous to abuse alcohol on a regular basis don’t know the facts. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a serious condition that can make them unable to control or stop alcohol use even when they know it has a negative effect on them. There are about 10% of students attending college full-time who meet the criteria for AUD.
Identifying AUD at an early stage gives the opportunity for preventative measures. Studies are currently taking place to understand factors that increase vulnerability to the disorder. Past studies have found that the year of study, being male, and having intimate friends who abuse alcohol can increase the risks. Knowing the risk factors can result in interventions before the problem escalates.
How Can Students Avoid Binge Drinking?
Nothing can have more of a negative effect on the quality of life for college students than a culture of heavy drinking. It not only affects academic performance but health and safety too. Drinking can be seen as so much a part of college culture that it becomes normalized. It is much harder to avoid overuse when use is normalized.
Studies reveal that protective factors against college students drinking too much include religious beliefs and the use of protective behavioral strategies. The following suggestions can help protect students:
- They should try to surround themselves with alcohol policies, close friends who don’t abuse alcohol, and encourage others to drink safely.
- They should always be aware of their alcohol consumption when in situations where heavy drinking occurs. They need to communicate politely but firmly with their peers that they have had enough to drink.
- They should try to join clubs or organizations that offer them a chance to meet people and have positive experiences without having to consume too much alcohol.
Parents who educate their children about responsible drinking and the consequences of abuse while they are still at school give them an advantage when they go to college. It also helps them to make them aware of the fact that colleges have not adhered to them, and not adhering to them can have serious consequences.
The Social and Psychological Triggers of Beer Abuse in College
College students may turn to beer for various reasons, from wanting to fit in to coping with financial and academic stress. The social culture around beer drinking can make it hard to refuse, especially when peers see it as a college rite of passage. However, understanding the risks of excessive beer consumption can help shift their mindset and encourage healthier drinking habits.