The Reality of Collegiate Binge Drinking

Popular culture promotes the image of college parties, as it has done for years. I can remember seeing Animal House, the 1978 National Lampoon classic, as a young child. At the time I laughed at the jokes because I saw my parents doing the same. I did not, however, understand what was so comical about Jim Belushi’s character chugging a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Still, I became familiar with the notion that this behavior is expected of college students: study a little, party a lot.

            I am currently a senior at Florida State, and I have seen my fair share of parties. What scares me is the amount of partying that occurs in college on a national scale. Most can agree with the accepted definition of binge drinking, which is five or more drinks in one sitting for men, and four or more drinks in a sitting for women. A 1993 study sought to discover how many college students are binge drinkers. After 17,952 students (from 140 schools) responded to a questionnaire, the researchers found that 50% of male and 39% of females reported binge drinking in the last two weeks (Weschsler, et al., 1994). These results meant that, on average, 44% of college students could be classified as binge drinkers. Additionally, the study found that binge drinking in high school was an effective indicator of the student’s drinking habit in college. The amount of binge drinkers did not differentiate much between those under and those over the legal drinking age of 21.

            More recently, a 2002 collection of past research found that colleges with large athletic programs and an established Greek Life system are more likely to have a higher number of binge drinkers (Presley, et al. 2002) than those schools without such programs. Binge drinking is explained as primarily being a social activity, and thus it is clear that a student involved in multi-member organizations is far more likely to binge drink.

           

            Below is a link to a short piece on how parents can help prevent their children from binge drinking.

http://collegedrinkingprevention.gov/OtherAlcoholInformation/BacktoCollege_FS_2012.pdf

            Not all organizations, though, will increase the binge drinking potential of a student. In 2009, a study aimed to find the amount of binge drinking that takes place among residential learning communities (RLC) students during their first two years in school. After tracking 707 students for two years, the researchers found that, while drinking did increase as compared to the students’ pre-college experience, it did not increase as quickly or to the extent as other studies’ results on general students (Cranford, et al. 2009).

            The results of these studies show that collegiate binge drinking is still a present issue.  Despite numerous articles and literature describing the dangers of binge drinking, college students choose to continue to drink heavily.

            I believe that these trends remain due to media’s portrayal of drinking alcoholic beverages as a “fun” activity. Similar to my experience with Animal House, high school students see characters on screen partying and having a good time in a university setting, so they feel fine letting themselves get drunk.

            What appears to be getting worse, in my opinion, is the use of alcohol as a social lubricant that leaves a user more open to experimenting with other drugs and reckless behavior. Scientific research proves that alcohol lowers inhibitions. When a student’s mind is not working properly, he or she is more likely to make poor decisions.  Furthermore, as science progresses, synthetic drugs are easier to attain. We understand what heavy alcohol use does to the brain, but it is difficult to determine how these newer drugs affect the mind and body.

            I feel that college students are at the age where the brain is almost fully developed, but there is some room for elasticity. This step in the developmental process aids in the decision-making abilities of students. Movies, television shows, and music inadvertently advocate the use of mind-altering substances. I know from personal experience with some of my peers that they will go to electronic music concerts for the sole purpose of using MDMA; a synthetic drug intended to produce a feeling of euphoria. The dangers of this drug are known to an extent, but it is the unknown effects that can be scary.

            While binge drinking has been seen as a part of the college lifestyle since the 1950s, it does not have to continue this way. By educating pre-college students and preventing binge drinking habits before a student even steps foot on campus, we can hopefully combat this widespread activity. Not only will this action slow or stop the advancement of binge drinking, it will reduce the amount of students using even more harmful substances.