Alcohol Use in College

College is synonymous with reckless students, Greek life organizations, and extravagant drinking parties. According to Alcohol Rehab Guide, four out of five students (80%) consume alcohol and roughly 50% of them binge drink (“College Alcoholism…”, 2023). It is common for U.S. college students to drink. However, many students drink at such an excess to where they blackout or develop addictions. This has led to the negative stereotype of the typical college student who only parties without thinking about the consequences. There are many reasons for excessive college drinking and equally as many negative outcomes. However, in a stressful environment such as college, social drinking can improve mental health and provide other benefits that are often overlooked.

When considering the stressful academic expectations placed on students and the presence of fraternities and sororities all around college, it is not surprising why so many students drink. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism claims, “The first six weeks of freshman year are a vulnerable time for heavy drinking and alcohol-related consequences because of student expectations and social pressures at the start of the academic year” (“Harmful and Underage…”, 2024). Since drinking is common in college, it becomes a socially acceptable escape from the stress and frustrations from academic obligations. In the study “Stress Mediates the Association Between Pain and Alcohol Use in College Students”, higher stress levels correlate with more drinking as a coping mechanism in college students. “39% of college students reported drinking to cope with stress” (Bush et al., 2022).

Academic stress is a bonding agent all students can sympathize with, but alcohol can be a bonding agent by itself, encouraging others to drink and making it harder to abstain. In the study, “Students Who Limit Their Drinking…”, it is reported that students who limited their drinking or abstained were negatively labeled by anti-Semetic, derogatory sexual terms, ageist language, and references to being weak. However, students who did drink were labeled with positive terms (Robertson & Tustin, 2018). In social settings with heavy drinking, students are pressured to drink and persuaded that they need to drink in order to socialize and fit in. Fraternities/sororities and other student organizations often host these drinking parties which provide easy-access sources for underaged students to drink alcohol and bypass drinking age laws. According to “Harmful and Underage College Drinking”, “students attending schools with strong Greek systems or prominent athletic programs tend to drink more than students at other types of schools.” From academic stress, peers who drink or encourage drinking, and extravagant drinking parties and social events, there are many incentives that encourage heavy drinking in college. 

While drinking in moderation is healthy, college students aren’t known for drinking in moderation, leading to consequences in their academic, personal, and social lives. As “Students Who Limit Their Drinking…” states, “The student drinking culture was described as an “all or nothing” culture where alcohol is consumed to achieve drunkenness and consuming less is thus seen as pointless as it will not result in intoxication” (Robertson & Tustin, 2018). Such attitudes on heavy drinking in extreme cases lead to injury and even death. “Harmful and Underage College Drinking” states that “the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) estimates about 1,519 college students ages 18 to 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries and about 696,000 students ages 18 to 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.” While in an inebriated state, reaction time is slower and judgment is hazy, causing drunk students to be a danger to themselves and the people around them. 

A night of excessive drinking has consequences that linger much longer than the subsequent morning. For example, frequent intoxication could encroach on a student’s academic performance. The study “Binge drinking and academic performance…” reports, “among students who had never engaged in binge drinking at baseline, those who reported regular binge drinking at follow-up were relatively less likely to complete their homework, attend class, and value and achieve high grades” (Karen et al., 2017). It is common for students to rely on alcohol to cope with academic stress , though abusing it leads to lower performance which could add further frustration and stress upon the student. 

Lastly, alcohol intake also increases the chances of unwanted sexual attention and even sexual assault. According to Fountain Hills Recovery, “approximately 50% of college assaults involve excessive alcohol intake. NSVRC reports that 75% of rapes happened to intoxicated victims” (“The Link Between…”, 2019). According to “Harmful and Underage College Drinking”, “researchers have confirmed a long-standing finding that one in five college women experience sexual assault during their time in college.” This correlation between alcohol consumption and sexual assault could be explained by factors such as peer pressure, lower inhibitions and reasonable judgement while impaired, or increased confidence and aggression while drunk. Regardless, heavy drinking could result in dire consequences and regrettable decisions for students the following day. 

Ultimately, college provides the optimal environment and social conditions for students to engage in heavy drinking. Academic burdens place tremendous stress and frustration upon students while their fellow peers oftentimes pressure them to socialize and drink. While excessive drinking has negative consequences, drinking in moderation has its benefits. The study, “Functional Benefits of (Modest) Alcohol Consumption” reports “social drinkers have more friends on whom they can depend for emotional and other support, and feel more engaged with, and trusting of, their local community” (Dunbar et al., 2017). Alcohol, when used in moderation, is a great social lubricant that provides many mental health benefits. However, the drinking culture in the U.S. tends to abuse, binge and drink excessive amounts of it. To reduce the negative consequences of college drinking, future drinking-age policies should seek to help students control and moderate their alcohol intake and consumption rather than outright prohibiting it entirely. 

 References

Bush, N. J., Schick, M. R., Spillane, N. S., & Boissoneault, J. (2022). Stress Mediates the Association Between Pain and Alcohol Use in College Students. Journal of Pain Research, Volume 15, 757–766. https://doi.org/10.2147/jpr.s351837 

College Alcoholism and Binge Drinking - Alcohol Rehab Guide. (2019). Alcohol Rehab Guide. https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/college-alcohol-abuse/ 

Dunbar, R. I. M., Launay, J., Wlodarski, R., Robertson, C., Pearce, E., Carney, J., & MacCarron, P. (2016). Functional Benefits of (Modest) Alcohol Consumption. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 3(2), 118–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-016-0058-4 

Karen A., P., Wei, Q., & Scott T., L. (2017). Binge drinking and academic performance, engagement, aspirations, and expectations: a longitudinal analysis among secondary school students in the COMPASS study. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada : Research, Policy and Practice, 37(11), 376–385.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5695901/ 

Marston-Salem, N. (2019, April 12). Link Between Alcohol and Sexual Assault | Fountain Hills. Fountain Hills Recovery. https://fountainhillsrecovery.com/blog/link-between-alcohol-and-sexual-assault/ 

NIAAA. (2021, October). Harmful and Underage College Drinking. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).  https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/college-drinking 

Robertson, K., & Tustin, K. (2018). Students Who Limit Their Drinking, as Recommended by National Guidelines, Are Stigmatized, Ostracized, or the Subject of Peer Pressure: Limiting Consumption Is All But Prohibited in a Culture of Intoxication. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 12, 117822181879241. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178221818792414