Between now and Halloween, college professors and administrators will be apprehensive about alcohol use among college freshmen. Administrators note that there is always a jump in student alcohol or drug related accidents at the beginning of each semester, and this fall, college drinking has taken quite a spike among college freshmen.
Experts attribute it to first-day jitters, lack of rigorous coursework since it is early in the semester, and clever marketing. College is often portrayed as a party lifestyle revolving around alcohol, so freshmen come in expecting it to be that way.
According to Harvard School of Public Health surveys, 44 percent of all college students binge drink. Many experience blackouts due to heavy drinking. It is estimated that an average of three out of ten college students drove after drinking in a 2001 study, and research indicates that drinking and driving increases in direct proportion to binge drinking.
Alcohol use also tends to become more concentrated at this time of year, with higher amounts of alcohol being consumed in shorter periods of time. Freshmen are inclined to “move up” to higher categories of drinking–that is, non-drinkers become light drinkers and light drinkers start binging.
A Heavy Price To Pay
According to the College Task Force report to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, college drinking leads to over 1800 deaths among students age eighteen to twenty-five every year. Alcohol also contributes to nearly 600,000 injuries, 700,000 assaults, and 97,000 cases of date rape on college campuses each year.
College drinking not only costs lives, but money. For each college with 40,000 or more students, visits to the ER for alcohol-related blackouts cost nearly half a million dollars per year. Experts urge fellow students not to hesitate when calling 911 if a friend has blacked out from alcohol. If someone is simply sleeping, they can be roused–but if a person doesn’t respond after drinking too much alcohol, he is in a coma.
Parent Intervention
Parent involvement is key. Studies show that kids who consistently learn about the risks of experiment with drugs and alcohol from their parents are half as likely to ever try them. In fact, the number one reason teens give for not wanting to be caught using drugs is that they don’t want to disappoint their parents. Experts encourage parents to talk to their children about drugs and alcohol, and to keep talking to them, even into college.
Peer Involvement
Peer pressure plays a large part in drug and alcohol use. It can come in the form of overt offers of alcohol, modeling alcohol use, and social standards. Alcohol can be offered politely or with loud goading and commanding. It can hold more sway in early college years, as there is a pronounced shift from parents to peers in the environment. Studies show that peer influence during the first few months of college has a large effect on drug and alcohol use.
On the other side of the coin, studies also show that positive peer involvement can lower drug and alcohol use, especially with freshmen. When older students counsel incoming students on the effects of alcohol on their academic goals, drinking rates decrease.
To learn how to educate your kids on the effects of drugs and alcohol contact Narconon today. Narconon offers drug prevention and education lectures that are free of charge to those that need them.