New Fact Sheet on College Drinking from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has released a new fact sheet on college drinking for parents before the fall semester begins. It is important to note that the college drinking fact sheet is available in English and Spanish. Recognizing the evolving demographic of student populations, the NIAAA ensures that a more significant percentage of the population is represented. The purpose of the fact sheet is to help parents start discussions with their kids about the dangers of underage and binge drinking.
The Dangers of College Drinking
Without question, underage college drinking is not just fun and games. As a provider of alcohol use disorder treatment services for youth and young adults, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) understands the adverse consequences of underage drinking. Since 33% of college students engage in binge drinking, these negative consequences often spiral out of control on college campuses.
Beyond alcohol poisoning and bad hangovers, college drinking often leads to sexual assaults that involve the consumption of alcohol. In situations where alcohol is present on campus, the safety of young women becomes compromised. Moreover, college drinking also results in physical assaults, vandalism, and petty criminal acts.
The Reality of Binge Drinking
Binge drinking is more common than most parents would like to believe. In the NIAAA Fact Sheet about college drinking, the following information is frightening:
“According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 52.5 percent of full-time college students ages 18 to 22 drank alcohol in the past month, and 33.0 percent engaged in binge drinking in the past month. NSDUH defines binge drinking as 5 or more drinks on an occasion for men and 4 or more drinks on an occasion for women. (NIAAA defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration [BAC] to 0.08 percent—or 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter—or higher. “
Given these statistics, parents need to warn their kids about the dangers of alcohol misuse. Often, parents believe that a drink here or there is no big deal. However, if underage kids drink without knowing the risks, the consequences can be permanent. For example, college drinking in general and binge drinking, in particular, is driven by peer pressure. Many kids are drinking to excess because they desire to be accepted. However, binge drinking is not an intelligent way to make lasting friendships and social connections.
Tarzana Treatment Centers and Prevention Efforts
At TTC, we believe in prevention efforts to prevent a problem before it becomes a problem. Thus, talking to kids about alcohol misuse and abuse is a positive step in the right direction. We fully support the NIAAA’s efforts to build awareness through education in English and Spanish. Ultimately, college drinking is never going to stop. Still, kids might be more careful if they know the dangers, reducing binge drinking and other dangerous consequences.
If you are worried about a family member’s drinking or drug use, please do not hesitate to reach out for help. By contacting the recovery team at TTC, you take the first step in a positive direction.