Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among College Students
A new study from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) indicates that nearly half of all full-time college students in the United States abuse drugs or binge on alcohol at least once a month.
An article published in the student newspaper of the College of Eastern Utah highlighted these and other disturbing statistics. A 2005 study conducted about Utah found that although teen drivers represent 7 percent of licensed drivers in the state, they were involved in 27 percent of all motor vehicle crashes and 18 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes. Drug and alcohol abuse are implicated in many of these crashes. Studies have also found that teen drivers with teen passengers are at even higher risk of being involved in a serious motor vehicle accident.
(Source: eagle.ceu.edu)
Labels: college-drinking, teen-alcohol-abuse, teen-drug-abuse
College Binge Drinking
In light of all of the high school graduations coming up in the next week or so, it seems appropriate to bring up some interesting information about drinking and alcohol abuse in college.
Most people have heard the stories of the binge drinking and hazing at parties in college, and most people just chalk it up to the folly of youth. And really, isn’t half the fun of college; being able to go out and have a good time, making your own mistakes without having to answer to your parents? Even though all of the parties and all of the drinking might be fun, there are some pretty serious consequences to these patterns of drinking in college.
In high school, alcohol is definitely present, but in college, around half of the students are legal drinking age, which makes alcohol even more accessible. But if everyone is drinking, then what’s the big deal?
According to this study that I found on another blog, drinking in college can increase the risk for alcoholism in people who are already at risk for becoming an alcoholic.
Even if you are not predisposed to alcoholism, there is a whole set of dangers that are a consequence of alcohol abuse. Teens and college aged students who abuse alcohol are more likely to have unsafe, unprotected sex, are more likely to drive drunk (which we all know is not a good idea), and are more likely to have health problems as a result of their alcohol use. The bottom line is that no matter what, alcohol abuse has serious consequences and should be taken seriously.
A good way to prevent the consequences of alcohol abuse is to stay away from situations and that might encourage you to abuse alcohol. An interesting tool that might help you to do that is a set of questions for parents and students about the level of drinking (specifically binge drinking) on a college campus.
Understandably, most of us are looking to have fun in college, but there are definitely limits that should be placed on that fun.
Labels: binge-drinking, college-drinking, teen-addiction, teen-alcohol-abuse, teen-drug-help, teen-rehab, teen-substance-abuse
