Janelle
Kanovich, 22, of Harrisburg, Pa., drinks free tequila at a nightclub
during her first night of spring break in Cancun, Mexico. A new
report shows that drinking among college students needs to seen as a
major health concern, experts say.
April 9 —
The consequences of
college drinking are more destructive than commonly thought,
suggests a new study that finds an estimated 1,400 students aged 18
to 24 are killed every year in alcohol-related accidents.
“HALF THE World
Trade Center casualties are happening every year in our colleges,”
said one researcher, Mark Goldman, a psychology professor at the
University of South Florida.
The study, which the researchers call the most comprehensive
look ever at the consequences of college drinking, also estimated it
contributes to 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of sexual assault
or date rape. And 400,000 students between 18 and 24 years old
reported having had unprotected sex as a result of drinking.
Additionally, more than one-fourth of college students in
that age group have driven while under the influence in the past
year, the report said.
The researchers say the figures show that college drinking
needs to seen as a major health concern.
“Historically, I think there has been the view that whatever
college students are doing, it’s not that serious a problem, it’s a
rite of passage,” said another researcher, Kenneth J. Sher, a
psychology professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The report was one of 24 studies commissioned by federally
supported Task Force on College Drinking, a panel of college
presidents, scientists and students convened by the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The institute is part of
the National Institutes of Health.
Most of the papers will be published in the forthcoming March
issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
Study sheds light on dangerous
drinking
April 9, 2002 —
A major new study reveals disturbing details about the dangerous
drinking habits on college campuses across America. NBC’s Robert
Hager reports.
Researchers
integrated various databases and survey results to reach their
findings.
Motor vehicle
fatalities were the most common form of alcohol-related deaths. The
statistics included college students killed in car accidents if the
students had alcohol in their blood, even if the level was below the
legal limit.
Students who died in other alcohol-related accidents, such as
falls and drownings, were included. Those who died as a result of
homicides or suicides were not.
Chief researcher Ralph Hingson of the Boston University
School of Public Health said he believes the estimates are more
likely to be too conservative than overstated.
“I think actually getting the numbers out will help the
public understand that this is a very large problem, perhaps a
larger problem than people might have otherwise thought,” he said.
MANY JUST SAY NO
Though common on many campuses, alcohol abuse does not run
rampant among all university students, the panel said. Previous
studies have shown that most students drink moderately or abstain,
with the proportion of teetotalers increasing from 15 percent to 19
percent from 1993 to 1999.
In general, drinking rates
are highest among incoming freshmen, males, members of fraternities
or sororities and athletes, the task force said. Students who attend
two-year institutions, religious schools, commuter schools or
predominantly or historically black colleges drink the least.
The big problem: Binge drinking, defined as five or more
drinks in a row for men and at least four for women.
About 40 percent of students binge drink, according to
background data in the report, about the same percentage as in the
early 1990s.
And in a recent survey, about 20 percent of students reported
bingeing more than three times in the last two weeks. That group
accounts for nearly 70 percent of all the alcohol consumed by
college students, the panel said.
“Although a minority of college students engage in high-risk
drinking, [all] suffer its negative consequences,” said Reverend
Edward Malloy, president of the University of Notre Dame and
co-chair of the Task Force.
Hingson and other panelists say studies have shown what works
- and what doesn’t - in deterring alcohol use.
What Colleges Can Do!
Among the steps that universities can take to create a healthy
environment on campus:
- Enforce existing age 21
laws on campus.
- Help students understand
that they have the right not to drink and to have negative
feelings about its consequences.
- Communicate alcohol
policies to students and parents.
- Limit the availability of
alcohol on campus.
- Use brief motivational
interventions, such as giving feedback on students' personal
drinking behavior and negative consequences.
- Increase screening and
outreach programs to identify students who could benefit from
alcohol-related services.
- Avoid educational efforts
focused primarily on facts about alcohol and associated harm. They
have proven to be ineffective.
- Use educational
interventions that provide new information such as informing
students about drinking-and-driving laws and explaining how to
care for peers who show signs of alcohol poisoning.
Goldman said
general messages warning of the dangers of alcohol do not appear to
be effective with college students, at least by themselves. What’s
more effective is teaching students how to resist peer pressure.
“Many of the students don’t want to do it, but they don’t
know how to say no,” he said.
Communities and colleges need to work together as well to
prevent underage drinking and limit the number of stores that sell
alcohol, he said.
“The university can’t do them by themselves because even if
they did effective things, it might just squeeze it off into the
community,” Goldman said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Truth About Booze- part 1 (Pastor Jeff Owens)
The Truth About Booze- part 2 (Pastor Jeff Owens
The Salvation of a Nation (by Pastor Jack Hyles)
Hear Billy Sunday's "Booze Kills!" (MP3)
Hear Billy Sunday on Prohibition (MP3)
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