Alcohol Consumption and Binge Drinking are Common Among College Students.
- Alcohol Consumption: About four in five of all college students drink, including nearly 60 percent of students age 18 to 20.
- Binge Drinking: Approximately two of every five college students of all ages—more than 40 percent—have reported engaging in binge drinking at least once during the past 2 weeks. However, colleges vary widely in their binge drinking rates—from 1 percent to more than 70 percent (Wechsler et al., 1994, 1998, 2000b and NSDUH 2006).
Excessive Drinking in College Leads to Many Adverse Outcomes
- Deaths: It is estimated that 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes (about half among students under 21)
- Injuries: It is estimated that 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol each year (about half among students under 21)
- Assaults: It is estimated that more than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking each year (430,000 of them by a college student under 21)
- Sexual Abuse: It is estimated that more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape each year (about half among students under 21)
- Unsafe Sex: It is estimated that more than 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex as a result of their drinking and more than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex each year.
- Academic Problems: It is estimated that about 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall
- Vandalism: About 11 percent of college student drinkers report that they have damaged property while under the influence of alcohol
Results of the Harvard School of Public Health 1999 College Alcohol Study show that in the past 30 days:
- 60.5 % had study or sleep interrupted
- 53.6 % had to take care of a drunken student
- 29.3 % had been insulted or humiliated
- 20.1 % experienced an unwanted sexual advance (women)
- 18.6 % had a serious argument or quarrel
- 13.6 % had property damaged
- 9.5 % had been pushed, hit, or assaulted
- 1.3 % had been a victim of sexual assault or date rape (women)
ARTICLE 2
Academic Performance
Poor academic performance among college students is associated with alcohol consumption. Alcohol abuse contributes to students missing class, failing tests, dropping out due to do poor grades, and compromising the academic mission of colleges and universities.
Alcohol Abuse’s Influence on Grades
One of the most common consequences of alcohol abuse by students is difficulty keeping up with academic responsibilities. The number of drinks a student consumes is directly associated with the student’s grades.Core Institute research shows the following correlation between grades and alcoholic drink consumption:
- Students with B averages consume 1.1 more drinks per week than A students.
- Students with C averages consume 2.7 more drinks per week than A students.
- Students with D and F averages consume 6.4 more drinks per week than A students.
Other Academic Consequences
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about a quarter of college students report experiencing difficulty with academics due to alcohol use, including earning low grades, doing poorly on tests and papers, missing class, and falling behind.
Even students who don’t abuse alcohol may suffer academically as a result of their peers’ drinking. The so-called secondary effects of drinking, including taking care of a drunk friend, being the victim of an assault, and putting up with loud parties, can affect the school work of students who don’t drink.
These consequences can have dramatic end results. Campus administrators report that a significant number of students who drop out of college do so because alcohol interfered with their academics.
ARTICLE 3
Alcohol's Effects on Cognitive Abilities
Alcohol affects many parts of the brain, but the most vulnerable cells are those associated with memory, coordination, and judgment.Short-term effects (usually lasts up to 72 hours after heavy use) Alcohol has several physiological and psychological effects, which will inhibit your performance as a student. Cognitive abilities are affected by even small amounts of alcohol (BACs > .03), and can persist for a substantial period of time after the acute effects of alcohol impairment disappear.
For example, alcohol impairs memory by inhibiting the transfer and consolidation of information in long-term memory—so alcohol reduces our ability to remember information that we learned prior to going out for drinks. Perhaps most importantly, your attention span is shorter for periods up to forty-eight hours after drinking.
Even in small doses, alcohol inhibits REM sleep. When REM sleep is suppressed we may feel tired when we wake up. In addition to cognitive impairments, consumption of alcohol and the resulting recovery period (i.e., hang-over) wastes time that might be better spent studying or having fun. Have you ever tried to study or even watch TV with a hangover?
With long-term use (one year of hevay use), alcohol can result in the adulteration and even death of brain cells, and those cells that support brain cells by providing energy and nutrients. Alcohol can cause damage to the connections between nerve cells and cause irreversible brain damage, including memory loss and personality changes.
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