Alcohol Abuse in Higher Education Institutions

Alcohol Abuse in Higher Education Institutions

College drinking has been one of the primary topics studied by many researchers over the years. One particular research carried out back in 1993 showed that the drinking behavior of the college students involved close to half of the college student population. The study or project, that is, the College Alcohol Study, focused on a good number of surveys that were carried out throughout the country and involved data gained from 140 higher education institutions. The researchers who headed the project found that close to 44 percent of the student engaged in alcohol abuse. Furthermore, the data gained from the research further showed that men would consume five drinks or more in one sitting while women would consume four drinks or more. Further research conducted later on showed that for some of the college students, they engaged in alcohol abuse before they had attended college (Iconis, 2014).

There are certain risk factors, which will contribute to the high rates or percentage of alcohol abuse, as seen among college students. One of the risk factors or the reasons as to why college students will engage in alcohol abuse will focus on peer pressure. This particular reason will serve as the main one and will apply to adolescents who are yet to go to college. New college students who are yet to misuse alcohol will be pressured to do so since their new peers have exposed them to alcohol abuse, which will be regarded as a norm. For some students, they will feel the pressure to catch up with their peers since alcohol consumption will be regarded as normal among college students. Students who fail to complete their higher education will consume less alcohol while the rates when it comes to college students will only increase with time. Peer pressure will fall under environmental factors (Weiten, Dunn, & Hammer, 2014).

The other reasons as to why the high rates will be experienced more so in higher education institutions will focus on college transition. College transition will involve various changes that will take place and will be experienced by the student. One of the changes will focus on the transition from being a child to an adult. As an adult, the students will experience freedom, which would not have been experienced while they were living in their parents’ houses. Such freedom will further lead them to engage in alcoholism. The other reason will focus on media perceptions when it comes to drinking. The media has portrayed alcohol use as something normal and positive. Such perceptions have further encouraged more and more college students to engage in alcoholism.  The other reason, which will contribute to the high rates when it comes to alcohol use will focus on the availability of alcohol within such institutions. Alcohol will always be available during social events as well as during sporting events. The availability of alcohol will encourage students to consume more and more alcohol.

References

Iconis, R. (2014). Understanding alcohol abuse among college students: Contributing factors and strategies for intervention. Contemporary Issues in Education Research (CIER), 7(3), 243-248.

Weiten, W., Dunn, D. S., & Hammer, E. Y. (2014). Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st century. Cengage Learning.