College students have always been known for drinking. While some deal with a bigger drinking problem than others, it’s a common issue inside many dorms. A new study, done by Harvard researchers, shows several factors can push a university into a “drinking school.”
The factors
Researchers believe drinking is more common in college environments that, “have a strong drinking culture, few alcohol control policies on campus or in the surrounding community, weak enforcement of existing policies, and alcohol made easily accessible through low prices, heavy marketing and special promotions.”
Binge drinking and its problems
Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for females. These beverages can lead to risky behavior, like an increase in sexual behavior, vandalism and injury.
“Binge drinking among college students varies widely from college to college,” said Nelson. “At some colleges almost no students binge drink, while at others nearly four in every five students do. Interestingly, we found that the levels of binge drinking, and the problems related to it, remain very stable at the same colleges over time,” Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study Director Henry Wechsler said.
The answer
Wechsler believes a college can take back its reputation by creating stricter drinking policies on campus. The study also suggests that if students can easily purchase alcohol, the college is more likely to have problems. Wechsler suggests working with city officials to limit the number of liquor stores near colleges if possible, at the very least curb the amount of deals and discounts that are aimed at young adults.
“A ‘wet’ college environment, one that has many stores where students can buy alcohol, and may be influenced to do so by heavy marketing, low prices and special promotions, creates the conditions for heavy drinking,” said Wechsler. “If colleges can change those conditions, they can reduce binge drinking among their students.”
