College Students: Living for the Nights They Won't Remember

All through the media college is depicted as a time to party like it is 1999.  When that time finally comes for students to attend college students go in with the mindset that they are going to have endless nights they do not remember. Which may or may happen, depends on the student. However studies show that students who go in with the presumption that alcohol will make them more outgoing or they will finally be able to make friends are the students most likely to over indulge.  According to Dr. James Murphy, college students are generally more impulsive when there is no alcohol, so add that to the mix and they can be considered somewhat reckless. However only 11% of college students admitted to damaging property after a night of drinking just for fun.

Dr. Clayton Neighbors said if you can determine why a student drinks, then you will be able to determine how problematic his or her alcohol use may become.  Students who drink to be social, or fit in are less likely to have a substance problem than those students who start drinking as a coping mechanism at a young age.  Excessive alcohol use in a young age may impair brain development in including cognition in memory (NIAAA).

While some people think of college as a time to learn and excel in life, others think of it as a time to party and make friends.  Not that there is anything wrong with students wanting to party and make friends. At the same time the Journal of American College Health shows that 25 percent of college students get sidetracked from their homework due to alcohol, and hangovers.

Most of the research on student drinking in college is developed from mainly full time students in 4-year colleges and universities.  Students who are most likely at risk at these universities are incoming freshman, college athletes, and students involved in Greek life. While college drinking is sometimes swept under the rug, because college is suppose to be a time of experimenting and drinking is expected of college students studies show that college students consume more alcohol than any other demographic group. Up to the 1990s schools would have campus awareness on alcohol in freshman seminar classes but found it ineffective. Today campuses all over are starting programs to reduce the amount of alcohol consumption among students.

Abstract

Miller, A. (2013). New Insights on College Drinking. American Psychological Association,44(9), 46-46.