Binge Drinking amongst College Students Most students are introduced to a whole new world when coming to college. For many, it is the first time they are on their own. College is a very different culture than high school. It takes time for most students to get acclimated to the college lifestyle. During a college student’s years at college they will partake in situations they never dealt with before. Most have never been to parties that last till about 4am with all the alcohol they can drink. A lot are also not used to having to share a bedroom with one or more persons, the heavy work load in the classrooms, and for some actually paying school tuition. The day to day college life is different for majority of first time college students. …show more content…
Usually people who binge drink consume heavy amounts of alcohol to become intoxicated in a short period of time. Binge drinking among college students is identified as the number one health hazard for American college students today. Students are definitely at risk! Binge drinking not only becomes a serious habit but comes with severe health problems. Most common health problems are alcohol poisoning, liver disease, strokes, and neurological damages. College students have a high alcohol consumption rate. Binge drinking can be very dangerous, and college students face the urge to do so every …show more content…
The heavy workload in college is very different than from that in high school. Some college students tend to have difficulties handling so much school work at a time. Binge drinking becomes a habit for them and becomes their way of getting rid of the problem. Harvard researchers have found that even some binge drinkers are seven times as likely to miss classes and eight times as likely to have their grades fall during the semester. (David L. Marcus, 1999) Individuals encounter various situations that create feelings of stress in their lives. Most of the tension may come from school, work, and family. Many university students experience pressure from taking college exams, writing research papers, and from their places of employment. Stress is expected to occur in the lives of college students, but how they cope with their stress is the issue and that is how binge drinking comes into
We meet people every day that can have a positive or negative influence on our lives and it is in these people that our lives are defined. One bad choice can send you in a downward spiral that you may not be able to recover from no matter how much help is around you. When it comes to binge drinking colleges are plagued with this growing issue because alcohol is legal and is not regulated the way that some fee that it should be.
I fully agree that binge drinking is a problem and that it not only endangers the students who drink but others around them. Binge drinking is prevalent in America because of the social constraints our country puts on alcohol consumption along with the constant messages from the media that binge drinking is a social norm.
“80 percent of teen-agers have tried alcohol, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in the top three causes of death among teens: accidents, homicide and suicide” (Underage, CNN.com pg 3). Students may use drinking as a form of socializing, but is it really as good as it seems? The tradition of drinking has developed into a kind of “culture” fixed in every level of the college student environment. Customs handed down through generations of college drinkers reinforce students' expectation that alcohol is a necessary ingredient for social success. These perceptions of drinking are the going to ruin the lives of the students because it will lead to the development alcoholism. College students who drink a lot, while in a college environment, will damage themselves mentally, physically, and socially later in life, because alcohol adversely affects the brain, the liver, and the drinkers behavior.
College student drunkenness is far from new and neither are college and university efforts to control it. What is new, however, is the potential to make real progress on this age-old problem based on scientific research results. New research-based information about the consequences of high-risk college drinking and how to reduce it can empower colleges and universities, communities, and other interested organizations to take effective action. Hazardous drinking among college students is a widespread problem that occurs on campuses of all sizes and geographic locations. A recent survey of college students conducted by the Harvard University School of Public Health reported that 44 percent of respondents had drunk more than five drinks (four for women) consecutively in the previous two weeks. About 23 percent had had three or more such episodes during that time. The causes of this problem are the fact that students are living by themselves no longer with parents or guardians; they earn their own money; students need to be a part of a group, be accepted; and they have the wrong idea that to feel drunk is “cool.”
Students entering college for the first time become concerned with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These students are now responsible for how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands of college?
Not only in the US, Many countries around the world have the same problem in college campuses. Like many European countries, college drinking has been developed into kind of traditional culture in the US and she has been facing the change of the culture of drinking at colleges. However, other than the damage and injuries that happen during semester break each year, the only consequences of college drinking that usually come to the public's attention are occasional student deaths from alcohol overuse, such as alcohol poisoning or other alcohol-related tragedies. (Ramaley) In fact, the consequences of college drinking are much more than occasional and normal. According to the studies, 1,825 college students who aged from 18 to24 died from alcohol-related inadvertent injuries, including car crashes, while 599,000 students are unintentionally hurt over the influence of alcohol (Hingson et al., 2009). College drinking also results in serious injuries, assaults, sexual abuse and other health and academic problems. The impacts of excessive college drinking are more widespread and destructive than most people realize. Therefore, this essay will first consider the pr...
Alcoholism is a major problem in today’s society it is considered a disease. The effects of this so called disease are a lot more serious than one might think, and can effect your life in a big way. Many of alcohols consumers drink frequently that they will eventually get used to it, and it becomes an everyday thing. That right there is where the problem starts. Some of the effects I found are economical, physiological, and physical, which are some of the negative effects alcohol, can have on someone’s life.
According to a national survey conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “almost 60 percent of college students ages 18–22 drank alcohol in the past month, 1 and almost 2 out of 3 of them engaged in binge drinking during that same timeframe” (NIH). Binge drinking culture refers to the recent rise and normalization of college age students drinking excessively. The CDC describes binge drinking as “a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol level to 0.08grams within two hours” (CDC). For many young adults, college is one of the first times they will experience complete freedom. This freedom often leads to partying, which goes hand in hand with the consumption of alcohol. However, since the age at which
Many first year college students face problems as they enter a new educational environment that is very different than that of high school. However, the common problem is that many first year students become stressed. For many students, college is supposed to be the most fun time of their life; however, their fun can be restricted if it is limited by stress and other mental illnesses. According to the National Health Ministries (2006), stress is caused by “greater academic demands,” the feeling of being independent from family, “financial responsibility,” homesickness, being exposed to meeting new people, peer pressure, “awareness of one’s own sexual identity,” and the abuse of drugs and alcohol (p. 2). However, the causes to first year students’ stress mainly include academic demand, parents, finance, and peer pressure.
Binge or excessive drinking is the most serious problem affecting social life, health, and education on college campuses today. Binge or excessive drinking by college students has become a social phenomena in which college students do not acknowledge the health risks that are involved with their excessive drinking habits. Furthermore college students do not know enough about alcohol in general and what exactly it does to the body or they do not pay attention to the information given to them. There needs to be a complete saturation on the campus and surrounding areas, including businesses and the media, expressing how excessive drinking is not attractive and not socially accepted.
Almost anything can become a cause for binge drinking. There are things that directly lead to drinking problems such as depression but most of the causes for it are just any old excuse. If I had to decide on main causes for binge drinking they would be depression and simple excuses that give students a reason to drink. People that are depressed usually have thoughts of giving up on life, so by drinking they are just easing their pain. Most of the binge drinking that goes on in college is because students feel that they are supposed to drink, its a college tradition in a way. This is why students will use any excuse they can to drink.
Studies have shown that many college students are not able to handle the stress while in school, which hinders the ability for the brain to act in a normal way (Shahrokh and Hales, 2003). If a person is unable to deal with the stress that one is being faced with, it will have negative consequences in terms of causing several psychological disorders (Canby et al., 2014). Entering post-secondary education is a completely new environment for students, as it can be tough for many to adjust to the new surroundings. There are many factors that cause stress when students enter college, as it can include having the ability to deal with lower marks (Struthers et al., 2000) and having to create a new social life. Once and if a social life is established, it can cause more stress among students because it can lead into peer pressure that results in risky behavior. In particular, peer pressure can cause alcoholism or drug abuse (Seiffge-Krenke, 1990) or it can also cause unprotected sex. Not only does stress revolve around peer-pressure, but it can also be caused by headaches and lack of energy. If a student is constantly staying up late to finish assignments or to study, it can cause headaches from the lack of sleep; thus causing stress. With all the given factors, it can be hard to overcome these external factors which can ultimately lead to stress among
If one were to ask an adult about their college experience it is likely than the majority will say it was the best time of their life. They had fun, enjoyed the full college experience, etc. If you ask students currently in college to describe their experience, it may still be the best time of their life but it will likely also be described as stressful and filled with a variety of pressures. The average college student will likely change his/her major at least once, seek for clubs or fraternities/sororities to fit in with, work to have some spending money or to pay their way through school, deal with being away from home for extended periods of time for the first time, and other things that will increase anxiety levels. So what is a major cause initially?
Alcohol is a very serious and dangerous drug, although it is not treated this way anymore. College students have taken drinking to a new level in which, for many, is very scary. Alcohol is much more dangerous than many would think. Kids see a night of drinking as a great way to have fun and party but do not see the consequences. Getting drunk and even blacking out can lead to many problems. When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts, it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long-term ones as well.
The problem of alcohol use is very relevant nowadays. Today alcohol consumption characterized by vast numbers in the world. All of society is suffering from this, but primarily jeopardized the younger generation: children, teenagers, young people, and the health of future mothers. Because alcohol is particularly active effect on the body that are not formed, gradually destroying it. The harm of alcohol abuse is evident. It is proved that when alcohol is ingested inside the body, it is carried by blood to all organs and has harmful effect on them until destruction. Systematic use of alcohol develops a dangerous disease such as alcoholism. Alcoholism is dangerous to human health, but it is curable as other diseases. The big problem is that most of the alcohol products which are made in private places contain many toxic substances, defective products often leads to poisoning and even death. All this has negative impact on society and its cultural values.