We cannot, however, rule out the possibility that unmeasured third-variable confounds (e.g., neighborhood alcohol availability, IQ, other personality traits) may underlie associations found here. A replication of our results using techniques to account for a broader range of covariates is therefore needed. Proximity score matching, for example, would strengthen conclusions drawn from samples in which a wide array of potential confounds were assessed. Participants’ perceptions of descriptive drinking norms for members of their social group were assessed using a modified version of the Drinking Norms Rating Form (DNRF; Baer et al., 1991). Participants separately estimated the number of standard drinks male and female members of their social group (i.e., “the principal group of friends with whom you interacted and spent time”) consumed on each day of a typical week during the past 3 months. Because “typical” peers may often be construed as male in the context of drinking, same-gendered descriptive norms exert greater influence on alcohol use than do gender-neutral norms, particularly for women (Lewis and Neighbors, 2004).
Additional bullying and mental health awareness resources:
These eating disorders have a serious impact on young adults, including potentially life-threatening side effects. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to admit or even recognize that you have an eating disorder as a new college student. For example, consider how the concept of the “freshman 15” normalizes binge eating disorder, or of how unrealistic beauty standards in the media may support anorexia and bulimia. Addiction is similar to other mental health issues in this guide because it’s the result of an inability to balance self-care with other concerns. Most medical organizations define addiction as a disease because it, like any other disease, is caused by biological, behavioral, and environmental factors.
The impact of alcohol consumption on the quality of life of college students: a study from three Slovak universities
Additionally, students who drank at the HED-only level more often spent more time on schoolwork on weekdays. Additionally, during semesters where students have difficult classes that require more time on schoolwork, or for students with a more demanding academic experience across college, academic stress may lead to increased heavy episodic drinking. There may also be a subset of college students who are able to balance spending time on schoolwork with heavy episodic drinking behavior, such that they are able to deliberately plan their drinking based around academic demands. Data from NSDUH and MTF suggest that roughly 65 percent of college students drink alcohol in a given month (see figure 1 for data from MTF), and Harvard CAS all suggest that a large percentage of college students who drink do so to excess. Excessive, or “binge,” drinking is defined in NSDUH, MTF, and NESARC as consuming five or more drinks in an evening, although the instruments vary in the specified time frames given (i.e., once or more in the past month for NSDUH, past 2 weeks for MTF, and multiple time periods for NESARC) (Johnston et al. 2001a; SAMHSA 2011). The Harvard CAS was the first national study of college students to utilize a gender-specific definition of how does alcohol affect relationships binge drinking (i.e., four or more drinks in an evening for females or five or more for males in the past 2 weeks) to equate the risk of alcohol-related harms (Wechsler et al. 1995).
Is students’ heavy episodic drinking associated with academic achievement?
- Of those who had consumed alcohol during the 2 weeks before the survey was administered, 9 percent reported blacking out.
- Fortunately, however, our large, diverse sample enabled us to account for demographics in all analyses, raising our confidence that differences between the groups were a product of the personality and environmental effects of interest.
- In order to delineate cause and effect, prospective study designs are needed to examine the relation between drinking and academic performance.
- This can be worsened by preexisting mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- On days prior to weekends (Friday-Saturday), students reported no alcohol use on 69% of days, moderate drinking on 9% of days, HED-only on 13% of days, and HID on 8% of days.
Wechsler and colleagues (2002) reported that binge drinkers consumed 91 percent of all the alcohol consumed by college students during the study period. Frequent binge drinkers, a group comprising only 1 in 5 college students, accounted for 68 percent of all alcohol consumed (Wechsler and Nelson 2008). These students were demographically diverse and likely had heterogeneous motives for attending the university. Importantly, however, the social environment varies across universities, and it is possible that personality influences the types of schools into which students matriculate (e.g., urban vs. suburban vs. rural, academic vs. social reputation, strong vs. weak athletic reputation). Although we are aware of little research in this area, given the strong association between academic achievement and self-regulation (Duckworth and Seligman, 2005), it drug addiction is likely that selection into universities with elite academic reputations is even more biased on this trait than was demonstrated in our sample. Other traits may influence selection as well, with more extroverted students, for example, preferentially selecting into schools with social reputations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) utilizes the same four or more/five or more gender-specific measures but specifies a 30-day time period (Chen et al. 2011). NIAAA uses the four or more/five or more gender-specific measure but specifies a time frame of 2 hours for consumption, as this would generate blood alcohol levels of roughly 0.08 percent, the legal limit for driving, for drinkers of average weight (NIAAA 2004). Finally, despite drinking more on average, students experienced fewer alcohol-related problems, even after accounting for personality. Several studies have tested for student-status differences on other measures of the consequences of drinking, such as alcohol use disorders (Dawson et al., 2004; Slutske, 2005).
- Spring break is a roughly weeklong recess from school that takes place in the spring at colleges throughout the United States.
- All participants willingly agreed to participate in the study and prior to their involvement.
- Further, schools that implement Good Samaritan or Amnesty policies, which allow students to get help for overly intoxicated peers without fear of sanctions, could create the false impression that overdoses are on the rise.
- These students were demographically diverse and likely had heterogeneous motives for attending the university.