Drugs And Alcohol On College Students

Aly’ssa Brown
Ms. Rodriguez
11011-703
4 November 2015
The Effects of Drugs and Alcohol On College Students
College is a whole new experience for teenager’s right out of high school, but with it, comes higher levels of drug and alcohol use. People enrolled full time in college are twice more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol than those who do not attend college at all. This is partly due to stress, and also experimentation. College students are one of the heightened at risk groups by binge drinking and drug use and it has worsened over time. (Addiction Center). Colleges and universities should encourage students to enroll in campus alcohol and drug prevention programs that educate them about adverse effects of alcohol and drugs so they can

This often leads to peer pressure to get involved with alcohol and drugs. Students who surround themselves with people who party and do drugs are more likely to do it themselves than students who do not surround themselves with that crowd. The Social Identity Theory helps explain why students may be more susceptible to give in to peer pressure. The social identity theory says that a “significant portion of an individual’s self-concept is formed through their peer groups, with the in-groups being viewed more positively than the out-groups.” In college, students feel that they to be associated with the in-group in order to be socially accepted. Out-groups, non-drinkers, do not fit into the in-groups because they do not partake in those acts. “Students who enter college determined to remain non-drinkers often give into peer pressure in order to become a part of the in-group” (Borsari & Carey, 2001). The experience of feeling like an out-group is prevalent in freshmen college students. Freshmen are highly at risk for alcohol consumption because they are adapting to the college lifestyle and attempting to develop new friendships (Bosari & Carey, 2001). Freshmen and non-drinkers will give in to peer pressure in hopes to be socially accepted and have a successful transition to college. (NYU). Borsari and Carey (2001) found that college students who were exposed to heavy-drinking peers, consumed more

Students would rather go out and party than stay in and get their homework finished. Some students go to parties and then wait until last minute to do projects and end up doing poorly on them, which hinders them from doing their full potential on their work. 25% of college students are earning lower grades, doing poorly on exams and papers, missing class, and falling behind due to this.(U.S Department of Edu). Students with a lower grade point average drink more alcohol than students with a higher grade point average. Students with an A grade point average generally consume 3.4 drink per week, and B average students consume about 4.5 drinks, C average students consume about 6.1 drinks, and D or F average students consume about 9.8 drinks. (Higher Edu. Center). College professors report high dropout numbers each year due to alcohol and drug use interfering with students academics. Also, other students who don’t abuse drugs and alcohol have reported that they are affected by their classmates who do use them. In a study, 60.5% had study or sleep interrupted, 53.6% had to take care of a drunken student 29.3% had been insulted or humiliated, 18.6% had a serious argument, 13.6% had property damaged, and 9.5% had been pushed, hit, or assaulted. (U.S. Department of