Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences Department
Alcohol and the College Student
by Dr. Ruth Shibuya
Health Science Department
Alcohol is a socially accepted, legal drug. Used in moderation
and in appropriate settings, it serves as a "lubricant" that allows
people to relax and enjoy socializing with others. There is evidence
that regular use of alcohol in moderate amounts can lower some of
the risks related to coronary heart disease. In geriatric patients,
small amounts of alcohol before dinner stimulates appetite.
In the college population, 90% of students consider themselves
users; this is 1O% higher than among the general population on the
ages 18-22. Of Americans older than 21, 66% are users; drinking
declines substantially after age 30.
Since 1988, the uniform drinking age is 21 in all the United
States. During the 1970's 30 states lowered the minimum drinking age
to 18 or 19. In the '80s, Congress authorized the Department of
Transportation to keep a portion of federal highway funds from any
state that did not raise its minimum age to 21. This mandate grew
out of increasing concern over alcohol- related traffic accidents
and deaths among young people in the late '70s and '80s.
People ages 16-24 make up 16.5% of the American population; in
1981, persons in this age group were involved in 44.6% of all
alcohol-related traffic accidents. Forty per cent of all teenage
deaths are the result of alcohol-related car accidents.
Exhaustive studies of alcohol and its effects give us precise
correlations between blood alcohol concentration, the depth of
depression on different parts of the brain and the corresponding
behavior of the affected person. That is, in lowest concentration,
it selectively depresses specific areas of the cortex and in
increasingly higher concentrations, deeper tissues and greater areas
of the central nervous system are depressed that affect equilibrium,
balance and even breathing.
However, the presence of alcohol in the body cannot itself
account for the behavior of the affected individual. Through years
of observing others using alcohol and through personal experiences
of trial and error, individuals learn what behaviors are appropriate
with different people in different settings. That is to say
acceptable behavior while using alcohol at weddings or at religious
occasions is a different experience from drinking with ones peers at
a bar, stag party or on New Year's Eve or St. Patrick's Day. Group
drinking customs and social environment determine appropriate
alcohol-related behavior. Cross cultural studies indicate that
drinking customs and behaviors vary widely; here, alcohol is related
to violence.
In America, a common drinking custom among college students is
binge drinking (defined as five or more drinks in rapid succession).
A 1992 study of students at 14 Massachusetts colleges/universities
indicated that 50% of the males and 33% of females between ages
18-23 were binge drinkers. A 1993 national study of 158,000 students
from 78 institutions found that, in the last 14 days prior to
answering questionnaires, 42% binged at least once, 19% binged three
or more times; 8% of males reported drinking 15 or more drinks per
week.
Fraternities and sororities, especially, have actively
discouraged the use of alcohol during their "rushes" fearing the
potential for liability, should injury or traffic accident occur.
College administrators discourage underage students from using
alcohol.
However, drinking behavior has not changed aver the last twenty
years. For American college students, drinking alcohol appears to
signify a "time out" from studies, responsibilities, rational
priorities and actions. Campus police records report that fighting,
vandalism, sexual assaults and other problems requiring legal
intervention are often related to alcohol intake.
Perhaps the fact that some students go off campus to drink and
must drive back, results in increased traffic accidents. The more
recently learned skills and complex behaviors are most sensitive to
alcohol; driving skills for the traditional student is in that
category. When New York's minimum drinking age was uniquely 18 (when
compared to all surrounding states) drunk driving arrests and
accidents showed a consistent pattern of frequency just inside or
outside of its borders because of alcohol-affected, inexperienced
drivers.
Academic performance and class attendance are negatively impacted
with the use of alcohol. Another alarming finding is that at one
time or another roughly half of all Americans will be involved in an
alcohol-related traffic accident.
The rational and wise conclusion in the face of all the evidence,
while attending college, is to freely choose not to use alcohol
despite pressure from others. If you're under 21, it's illegal but
more compelling are the dangers of impaired judgment, irresponsible
behavior and potential for injury and death.
Ruth Shibuya received her Ph.D from Purdue University. She has
been a professor in the health Science department for 22 years.
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