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A Sober Assessment of High-Risk Drinking on College Campuses by David Skorton and Glenn Altschuler 

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A Sober Assessment of High-Risk Drinking on College Campuses by David Skorton and Glenn Altschuler 

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Heavy drinking is especially hard on young brains. In their forthcoming book, What Are They Thinking? The straight facts about the risk-taking, social-networking, still-developing teen brain, Aaron M. White and Scott Swartzwelder cite research indicating that many of alcohol’s negative impacts are more pronounced in late adolescence than in adulthood. The greatest impairment is found in attention, memory, judgment, decision-making, information processing and language skills.

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A few years ago, in the middle of a snowy night, an officer of the Cornell University Police Department found a shirtless young man sitting on a rock in the creek in one of our gorges, dangling his feet in the water. Asked what he thought he was doing, the student explained that he was calling a friend to pick him up.

The majority of college students will never drink enough to wind up in a situation like this-or worse-but a significant minority will come close. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ( NIAAA), "about half of college student drinkers engage in heavy episodic consumption," commonly defined as downing five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more drinks for women at least once in a two-week period. Since about 21.6 million Americans were enrolled in college in fall 2012, the number of students who engage in high-risk drinking on U.S. campuses easily exceeds the population of New York City.

As part of its Changing the Culture initiative, the NIAAA has compiled data on the consequences of heavy drinking for college students. For example: Each year, nearly 700,000 students are assaulted by fellow students who have been drinking. Almost 600,000 students are injured-and about 1,825 students die-as a result of alcohol poisoning and alcohol-related accidents, including motor vehicle crashes. Each year, nearly 100,000 students are survivors of sexual assault, including rape, while under the influence of alcohol; 400,000 students have unprotected sex while drunk; more than 100,000 students were so intoxicated while having sex that they weren't sure if they consented or not.

Heavy drinking is especially hard on young brains. In their forthcoming book, What Are They Thinking? The straight facts about the risk-taking, social-networking, still-developing teen brain, Aaron M. White and Scott Swartzwelder cite research indicating that many of alcohol's negative impacts are more pronounced in late adolescence than in adulthood. The greatest impairment is found in attention, memory, judgment, decision-making, information processing and language skills. According to the NIAAA, about 25 percent of college students report negative academic consequences of their drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers and receiving lower grades overall. The long-term effects include a higher risk of lifelong alcohol dependency than more temperate peers.

Does college cause heavy drinking? Statistics suggest that some young men and women pick up bad drinking habits as undergraduates. However, the 2011 edition of Monitoring the Future, a study of the behaviors, attitudes and values of American secondary school students, notes that 22 percent of 12th-graders reported episodes of heavy drinking and 40 percent had consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days. We can assume, then, that alcohol is a part of life for at least some incoming college freshmen.

However, college life may cause individual students to dial up the amount and frequency with which they drink. "A Call to Action: Changing the culture of drinking at U.S. colleges," a report by the NIAAA-supported Task Force on College Drinking, presents evidence of higher alcohol use among undergraduates than peers who do not attend college and attributes it to a perception of alcohol as central to college life. Arriving on campus anxious to establish their place in a new setting, first-year students learn from upperclass men and women "that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These beliefs and the expectations they engender exert a powerful influence over students' behavior toward alcohol."

Like many other colleges and universities, Cornell has been reshaping its campus environment to discourage the culture of drinking. Knowing that students tend to overestimate their classmates' alcohol intake, thus inflating the amount of alcohol they perceive as normal, we spread the word that the majority of Cornell students drink moderately or not at all. We restrict the availability of alcohol on university property. Since undergraduates have told us that we don't offer enough attractive alternatives to the late-night party scene, we are working with student leaders to develop more alcohol-free options. We emphasize safety in messages that include explicit warnings against "chugging" shots of hard liquor and advice on how to pace alcohol consumption during a social event. And we encourage students to seek help immediately when faced with an alcohol-related medical emergency.

Cornell is one of 32 U.S. colleges and universities participating in the National College Health Improvement Project's Learning Collaborative on High Risk Drinking. The collaborative is scheduled to wrap up its investigation in April 2013 and we believe that it will provide us with additional tools for reducing high-risk drinking.

We realize that we have a long way to go - and that it will take a village to change deeply entrenched habits and behaviors. So we are reaching out to parents of college students.

We ask that you consider a conversation with your son or daughter during the inter-session break. You might begin by sharing this blog. Or by asking open-ended questions-"What is there to do on campus at night?" "What do your friends do for fun?"

The conversation might lead to some eye-opening revelations. Your student may tell you about friends whose drinking habits scare you to death-or talk about his or her own hair-raising adventures. He or she may ask uncomfortable questions about your own experiences with alcohol or drugs. You will have to decide for yourself how you want to respond, but after decades of talking with young people, we recommend that you keep an open mind and avoid either lecturing about risks and remedies or glamorizing your own college experiences in ways that might be read as permission to indulge in the same behaviors.

Half of all college students observe the dumb and dangerous stunts, rambling conversations and other side effects of overconsumption around them and opt to imbibe moderately or not at all. You may find that one of those students is yours. If not, now's the time to identify the problem, encourage your child to recognize it as a problem and begin to do something about it

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learning collaborative on high-risk drinking

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A Sober Assessment of High-Risk Drinking on College Campuses

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Colleges and universities are trying to change the student culture of high-risk drinking that far too often leads to accidents, assaults, unprotected sex, and rape. If you're a parent, winter break may be just the time for an open-minded conversation with your student.

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College Students’ Alcohol Consumption Changes Throughout The Year: The Peaks Of Binge Drinking by Samantha Olson

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College Students’ Alcohol Consumption Changes Throughout The Year: The Peaks Of Binge Drinking by Samantha Olson

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Researchers first wondered if college students drink more in the summer or the winter. So in January 2014, they measured alcohol consumption among 462 college freshmen (290 females and 172 males) eight times over the course of 55 weeks, just over a year.

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To college students, drinking alcohol is a rite of passage; roughly four out of five students admit to doing it. But to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), it's a persisting problem throughout America's colleges. The NIAAA finds alcohol abuse, including binge drinking, negatively affects students' academic and social lives at increasingly high rates. Now, a team from the Research Society on Alcoholism may have new insight into college drinking, including the times students drink the most.

Researchers first wondered if college students drink more in the summer or the winter. So in January 2014, they measured alcohol consumption among 462 college freshmen (290 females and 172 males) eight times over the course of 55 weeks, just over a year. They made note of events where they may be more likely to drink, including campus festivals, the start and end dates of semesters and new school years, as well as summer breaks when most students are back home.

According to the findings, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, there's a distinct fluctuation in students' alcohol consumption. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they saw a 29 percent drop in alcohol consumption during the summer - a time when most students are off campus and out of the drinking environment. But once students returned to school in the fall, their alcohol consumption spiked 31 percent. It spiked again, by 18 percent, around spring break up until an on-campus festival.

Drinking alcohol isn't a problem as much as the groceries list of results that come with it. Aside from the 25 percent of college students who report missing class, falling behind, and performing poorly on exams, papers, and receiving overall lower grades, drinkers risk physical, mental, and sexual consequences. According to the NIAAA, every year another 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related injuries, nearly 600,000 students insure unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol, and more than 690,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

But it doesn't stop there. In one calendar year, more than 97,000 students become victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault. And when it comes to suicide, between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students have tried to commit suicide while drinking or doing drugs. Another 150,000 students report developing alcohol-related health problems during their time in college.

Previous research suggests the first six weeks of freshmen year is when a student is most likely to experience heavy drinking and other alcohol-related consequences because of peer expectations and other social pressures. However, now that researchers have found drinking peaks and valleys throughout the year, colleges and policy makers could use the timeline to target specific behaviors in order to reduce the frequency of negative outcomes. This includes but is not limited to when more students are likely to pour one out.

Source: Schuckit MA, Smith TL, Clausen P, Skidmore J, Shafir A, and Kalmijn J. Drinking Patterns Across Spring, Summer, and Fall in 462 University Students. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2016.

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College Students' Alcohol Consumption Changes Throughout The Year: The Peaks Of Binge Drinking

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To college students, drinking alcohol is a rite of passage; roughly four out of five students admit to doing it. But to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), it's a persisting problem throughout America's colleges. The NIAAA finds alcohol abuse, including binge drinking, negatively affects students' academic and social lives at increasingly high rates.

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Although we think of college as a time when young adults experiment with alcohol, the college years are rarely the first time students have faced decisions about alcohol. According to the nationally representative Monitoring the Future Study, in 2012, 42 percent of high school seniors reported having had alcohol (more than just a few sips) within 30 days prior to the survey, and 24 percent reported binge drinking within the previous two weeks.

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| Research | Family Social Science | U of M

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Family Social Science faculty are renowned researchers who use the knowledge and methods of the social sciences to conduct research and outreach in partnership with families, communities, and organizations to address psychological, cultural, social, and economic issues affecting families locally, nationally, and globally.

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High Risk Drinking in College: What we Know and What We Need To Learn. 

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High Risk Drinking in College: What we Know and What We Need To Learn. 

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College students vary greatly in their use of alcohol and their beliefs about its positive and negative effects. Studies show that two major drinking patterns appear dominant among college students: (1) drinking related to impassivity, dis-inhibition, and sensation-seeking; and (2) drinking to manage negative emotional states, such as depression.

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Adolescence is a time of heightened risk taking, independence seeking, and experimentation, a time when adolescents must cope with dramatic changes in their bodies, feelings, perspectives, and environments.

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FACT: Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among America's youth. More kids try alcohol than try cigarettes and a substantial number of young people begin drinking at very young ages.

FACT: Adolescents drink less frequently than adults, but when they do drink, they drink more heavily than adults.

Adolescence is a time of heightened risk taking, independence seeking, and experimentation, a time when adolescents must cope with dramatic changes in their bodies, feelings, perspectives, and environments. It is a period when an appetite for adventure, risks, excitement, and impulsive behavior seem to reach naturally high levels.

During this period, alcohol can present a special allure to some adolescents for many different reasons. Unfortunately, this attraction occurs at the very time adolescents may not be fully prepared to anticipate all the effects of drinking alcohol and at a time when they are more vulnerable to certain of its adverse consequences.

Why do some young people drink alcohol?

Young people, like adults, drink alcohol for many different reasons. Some of the reasons may seem obvious, but understanding the feelings behind these reasons--as well as how everyday teen life comes into play--can be difficult.

Young people often drink to check out from family problems or issues with school/grades;

loneliness, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety disorder and other mental health issues;

to deal with the pressures of everyday social situations;

to change their image or to fit in when moving to a new school or town;

to gain confidence or lose inhibitions;

and young people are more likely to start experimenting with alcohol if they have parents who drink and if their parents don't give them clear messages about not drinking.

What are the risks?

Whatever it is that leads adolescents to begin drinking, once they start they face a number of potential health and safety risks. Young people who drink are more likely to be sexually active and to have unsafe, unprotected sex; are more likely to be involved in a fight, commit violent crimes, fail at school, use other drugs, and experience verbal, physical, or sexual violence. And those who start drinking before age 15 are five times more likely to develop alcoholism later in life than those who begin drinking at age 21.

FACT: Research shows that brain development continues well into a person's twenties. Alcohol can affect this development, causing youth to make irresponsible decisions, encounter memory lapses, or process and send neural impulses more slowly.

FACT: 5,000 people under age 21 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drowning.

College drinking

FACT: About four out of five college students drink alcohol.

FACT: About half of college students who drink, also consume alcohol through binge drinking.

The more students drink, the more likely they will suffer negative consequences. Those consequences can range in severity from having a hangover, performing poorly on a test, or missing class to getting into an argument or fight, driving under the influence, being hurt or injured, or being taken advantage of sexually.

The negative consequences of alcohol use on college campuses are widespread and each year, drinking impacts thousands of college students - whether they drink or not -- as well as families, friends and entire college communities.

Some of the consequences of college drinking include:

Assault: More than 690,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

Sexual Abuse: More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

Injury: 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

Academic Problems: 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.

Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use.

Death: 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from unintentional alcohol-related injuries.

What factors contribute to the problem?

Students sometimes drink because they think alcohol makes it easier to meet other people, relaxes their social inhibitions, and helps them have more fun. In addition, advertisements for alcohol are everywhere, with slick marketing campaigns featuring attractive, youthful actors and models. And keg parties and the drinking activities promoted by campus groups, including fraternities and sororities, also set the stage for dangerous attitudes toward drinking.

Sobering realities: Prevention

Underage drinking is a complex problem, requiring cooperation at all levels of society. Four basic approaches, however, have proven to be effective in prevention of the problem:

1. Changing cultural misconceptions and behaviors about alcohol use through education;

2. Curtailing the availability of alcohol to young people under age 21;

3. Consistent enforcement of existing laws and regulations regarding alcohol purchase;

4. Expanded access to treatment and recovery support services for adolescents and their families.

For additional information, see What Is Prevention?

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FACT: Alcohol is the most widely used substance of abuse among America's youth. More kids try alcohol than try cigarettes and a substantial number of young people begin drinking at very young ages. FACT: Adolescents drink less frequently than adults, but when they do drink, they drink more heavily than adults.

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Drinking at college has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience.

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When I Saw My Rapist Again                                                                         Warning: This video contains sensitive material related to sexual assault.

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When I Saw My Rapist Again                                                                         Warning: This video contains sensitive material related to sexual assault.

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One out of six American women have been the victim of an attempted assault or rape in her lifetime. This video provides a chilling depiction of what it feels like to live in the same world as your rapist, and how it feels to confront them:

Although there are many who say sexual assault is caused by drinking, it's really caused by rapists. This is a huge epidemic among college campuses everywhere.

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One out of six American women have been the victim of an attempted assault or rape in her lifetime. This video provides a chilling depiction of what it feels like to live in the same world as your rapist, and how it feels to confront them:

If you have been a victim of sexual assault, please contact your local authorities or the National Sexual Assault hotline at 800-656-4673. To see a list of resources in your area, please check here.

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One out of six American women have been the victim of an attempted assault or rape in her lifetime. This video provides a chilling depiction of what it feels like to live in the same world as your rapist, and how it feels to confront them:

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One out of six American women have been the victim of an attempted assault or rape in her lifetime. This video provides a chilling depiction of what it feels like to live in the same world as your rapist, and how it feels to confront them: If you have been a victim of sexual assault, please contact your local authorities or the National Sexual Assault hotline at 800-656-4673.

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Acquaintance Rape and Alcohol Consumption on College Campuses: How Are They Linked? by Antonia Abbey PhD

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Acquaintance Rape and Alcohol Consumption on College Campuses: How Are They Linked? by Antonia Abbey PhD

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This article explores the links between acquaintance rape and alcohol consumption among college students. Both heavy drinking and acquaintance rape are serious problems on college campuses, and they frequently co-occur. Seven explanations for the relationship between alcohol consumption and acquaintance rape are provided: three of these explanations focus on alcohol consumption by the perpetrator and four focus on alcohol consumption by the victim. The need to conduct studies and develop prevention programs that address these issues is discussed.

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Acquaintance Rape and Alcohol Consumption on College Campuses: How Are They Linked?

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This article explores the links between acquaintance rape and alcohol consumption among college students. Both heavy drinking and acquaintance rape are serious problems on college campuses, and they frequently co-occur. Seven explanations for the relationship between alcohol consumption and acquaintance rape are provided: three of these explanations focus on alcohol consumption by the perpetrator and four focus on alcohol consumption by the victim.

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I came to SIU as an incoming freshman and have never had a drop of alcohol before being on my own, I remember being invited to a party my first week of school and being offered a beer. I was hesitant but I drank it just to look like Ive done that before. I gave in to peer pressure and just accepted that my actions were triggered by social activity and environmental norms.

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Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses. Use, Consequences, and Perceptions of the Campus Environment. Volume I: 1989-91.

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Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses. Use, Consequences, and Perceptions of the Campus Environment. Volume I: 1989-91.

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This study used the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey which was administered to students at 56 four-year institutions and at 22 two-year institutions for a total student count of 58,625. The study ended up with seven very important findings regarding alcohol and substance abuse.

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ERIC - Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses. Use, Consequences, and Perceptions of the Campus Environment. Volume I: 1989-91., 1993-Jan

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In response to the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986, a national study of alcohol use on college campuses was undertaken from 1989 to 1991. The study used the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey which was administered to students at 56 four-year institutions and at 22 two-year institutions for a total student count of 58,625.

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According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, these are some of the results that most young people between the ages of 18 and 24 have suffered due to alcohol use per year.

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"Misconceptions of the Norms for the Frequency of Alcohol and Other Drug Use on College Campuses"                                                                                                             H. Wesley Perkins PhD , Philip W. Meilman PhD , Jami S. Leichliter MA , Jeffrey R. Cashin MA & Cheryl A. Presley PhD

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"Misconceptions of the Norms for the Frequency of Alcohol and Other Drug Use on College Campuses"                                                                                                             H. Wesley Perkins PhD , Philip W. Meilman PhD , Jami S. Leichliter MA , Jeffrey R. Cashin MA & Cheryl A. Presley PhD

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This scholarly article shows and uses data that was taken by 100 students to study the frequency of their own use of 11 drugs (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives, hallucinogens, opiates, inhalants, designer drugs, and steroids) and how often they thought “the average student” on their campus used these drugs