Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to Prevent It - Research Paper Example

Contents Contents 1.0 Alcohol Abuse among College and Programs to prevent it 2 1 Introduction 2 2.0Alcohol Abuseamong College Students 2 2.1 The Role of Parents in the Care of Their Children 3 2.2 The Scope of the Problem 4 2.3 Programs for Preventing Alcohol Consumption among College Students 5 3.0 Conclusion 7 1.0 Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it 1.1 Introduction Alcohol abuse is a big problem in the United States of America. Alcohol and tobacco remain to be the most abused drugs in US. Although alcohol consumption has dropped since the 1980s, it still costs the government lots of money in maintaining alcohol related illnesses. Majority of US citizens start drinking at the age of fourteen and this is the main reason why alcohol remains to be a serious problem. A research conducted by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) revealed that alcohol related deaths among college students has been on the rise in the United States (Reinberg). This implies that underage drinking is seriously affecting the country mainly because of premature deaths. Alcohol has its health problems but heavy drinkers have a higher probability of engaging in other risky behaviors such as drank driving and engaging in unprotected sex among others (Hanson). All new undertakings are exciting and this is the reason why college students are faced with challenging environments as they start living away from home. It is worth noting that college students have very many challenges because most of them are living away from home for the first time. College students suddenly realize that they have become their own masters because their parents’ vigilance is no longer there. After they realize that they are independent, most of them are tempted to test the things, which they have never done. Moreover, the pressures associated with college education drives many students into engaging in alcohol and other drug abuse (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). 2.0 Alcohol Abuse among College Students According to Reinberg, it has been established that in excess of thirty percent of Americans have had problems with alcohol at a certain stage of their lives. 17.8% have abused alcohol while 12.5% are alcohol dependent. Alcohol abuse leads to daily living problems, financial problems and interpersonal problems that are caused by excessive drinking. It has been established that majority of the people start to drink when they are very young. Although the government has put in place measures to control underage drinking it has been very hard to implement it because of technological advances, which enable underage people to buy alcohol via the internet. Those who sell alcoholic beverages via the internet should come up with ways of establishing the ages of their customers (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). Studies have established that higher education drinkers are heavy drinkers and they are supposed to be responsible. Despite the measures that the government has taken to reduce college drinking, studies have established that annually, more than one thousand and four hundred college students die from alcohol related events, which are mainly associated with road accidents. Researchers have established that around two million students in college drive under alcohol’s influence occasionally and in addition, about three million of them ride with colleagues who are under the influence. This is the leading cause of deaths among young people in the United States because they do not care about what happens when they are drank (Monahan et al 290). 2.1 The Role of Parents in the Care of Their Children Parents have a leading role to play when it comes to reducing binge drinking among their children. This can be attributed to the fact that parents are the best people who are in a position to understand their children’s behaviors. Heavy episodic drinking is a problem that is common across the world. Although it varies from one place another, it is important to acknowledge that it is affecting the lives of very many people across the globe. It does not only affect the lives of the drinkers, but it is a problem to their families (Monahan et al 295). Many young people especially teenagers engage in drinking without knowing the health problems that are associated with it. However, studies have been conducted on whether skill based counseling can help teenagers in quitting drinking, and many have shown that there is hope. Scholars have shown that with the right counseling, young people are able to stop drinking before they become addicts. It is of paramount importance to note that no conclusive research that shows that teenagers are able to stop taking alcohol after such counseling sessions, but studies have shown that teenagers reduce the frequency of heavy episodic drinking once they are successfully through with counseling. Compared to those teenagers who do not go for counseling, it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel (Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission 34). Some parents have ignored their roles as the principal caretakers of the welfare of their children and they have left this responsibility to teachers and other adults. This gives the teachers a hard time because they do not understand the adolescents as well as the parents. This implies that parents have a responsibility of ensuring that drinking among college students is minimized in the United States. Many people do not realize the importance of keeping young people away from alcohol abuse. This is despite the fact that numerous researches have established that people who start drinking at a young age have a higher risk of contracting alcohol related illnesses (Hanson). 2.2 The Scope of the Problem Binge or episodic drinking is the modern way of drinking alcohol-based beverages in a short time with the sole purpose of getting intoxicated (Renaud, 2001). Binge drinking, which is also referred to as heavy episodic drinking refers to drinking more than five drinks in men and in excess of more than four drinks in women (Labrie, Pedersen & Tawalbeh 25). Heavy drinking among young people is on the rise as noted by scholars on the subject and it has been going up in Canada over the last few years. It reached an all time high in 1999 when it was twenty eighty percent when compared to eighteen percent in 1993 (Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission 34). Some people engage in drinking when they are relaxing with their friends or family but others take in order to intoxicate themselves. It has to be noted that majority of these heavy drinkers are pressure or have depression and they hide their frustrations in alcohol. These are the type of drinkers who need counseling and other programs, which would take them away from the bottle. Although college life comes with many pressures students should not be allowed to engage in heavy drinking because it has more severe effects on one’s health. (Monahan et al 292). 2.3 Programs for Preventing Alcohol Consumption among College Students It has been realized that alcohol consumption among the young people is a problem that needs to be addressed. The prevention staff and college administrators are faced with a daunting task when it comes to preventing alcohol prevalence consumption among college students. This can be attributed to the fact that unlike other drugs, it is socially acceptable and legal. This means that it is readily available in campuses and because of peer pressure, many students are tempted to try it. Binge drinking is the persistent and pervasive among students in colleges because they go out as a group and try to drink high amounts of alcohol (Monahan et al 295). Young people need to have access to alcohol information and the negative effects it has on the drinker. The drinker might be unaware of the health risks that he or she is exposing himself or herself to through over drinking. Although most alcohol brands promote responsible drinking, the effects that alcohol has on the brains of a drinker are enormous and in most cases, one is unable to control himself of herself. This implies that administrators in colleges should be encouraged in having sessions with their students in which they tell them the need to avoid alcohol. In addition, they should impart skills on students, which they can employ instead of engaging in drinking. This is because in most instances students engage in drinking because of idleness. When the students have skills that can keep them busy, they would not be tempted to go into a drinking spree because they will be in a position to engage in positive activities (Monahan et al 293). Nonjudgmental and personalized feedback is important because it gives students the courage to sit down with administrators and discuss their problems. College students should not be made to feel that they are irresponsible because of engaging in drinking. What they need most is encouragement and been shown the way forward, which would enable them to quit the habit before they become alcohol dependent. The above-mentioned measures are effective when applied to groups or individuals because the students realize the importance of leading alcohol free lives. Victimizing those who take alcohol only makes the problem worse because they start avoiding the people who can help them (Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission 34). Studies have revealed that most college students drink because of alcohol expectancies. Administrators and prevention staff should implement interventions that challenge alcohol expectancies because they ensure that one is able to understand the negative effects of alcohol consumption. Law enforcement for prevention of drank driving is very important for it would ensure that the accidents related to it are minimized. Publicity ensures that all the people are aware of the dangers of becoming alcohol dependent. In most cases, people are unaware of what to expect when they are drank because some believe that they are superior (Monahan et al 292). Excise taxes ought to be raised because they would result in increased prices on all alcoholic beverages. This acts as a deterrent to alcohol drinking because of the fact that many college students are jobless, which means that they have lesser financial muscle. In addition, parents should be encouraged to ensure that they do not give their children excess pocket money. Commercial and social settings should have responsible service policies on alcoholic beverages and they should not just portray the positive effects of alcohol consumption. The media plays a critical role in the way many people understand alcohol. Studies have revealed that most media houses do not take the responsibility of educating the people on the dangers associated with drinking. Media houses should take responsibility and tell the masses all the facts of alcohol (A Wiley Periodicals 8). Institutions have a role to play in ensuring that they prevent binge drinking and other risky and violent behaviors associated with alcohol consumption. This is achievable through formation of organizations with some being faith based. These organizations would be used to encourage students to stay away from alcohol and other drugs because they are close to the people. Holding open sessions with students in which alcohol abuse would be discussed and everyone given time to air his or her views is helpful in reducing alcohol drinking. The organizers of these open sessions should not be the only ones who speak but all parties ought to be given humble time (Monahan et al 292). Moreover, the government needs to increase funds to programs that would result in reduced college drinking. Counseling plays a critical role in reducing drinking among young people. On the other hand, the young should be involved in developing the solution, which would help them in quitting the habit as opposed to other types of counseling in which the counselor proposes the methods to use. This type of counseling gives the drinker a chance to develop methods, which are best applicable to his or her condition (A Wiley Periodicals 8). 3.0 Conclusion College drinking is a problem that is affecting majority of United States’ students and it needs to be addressed before it ruins the lives of the young people. Majority of institutions have realized the problems and have developed programs of tackling it. Most of the institutions try not to victimize students who drink but they employ methods for helping students to learn the negative effects of drinking. The media, on the other hand, should be encouraged to educate the people about the negative effects of alcohol consumption because it has been telling them only the positive effects. Law enforcement officers should be on the lookout to ascertain all regulations are followed in order to help the students. Works cited Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. Preventing Heavy Episodic Drinking among Youth and Young Adults: A literature review. AADAC Research Services, 3.2 (2005): 1-48. A Wiley Periodicals. "Grants for college drinking prevention." Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 18.3 (2006): 8-8. Hanson, David J. “Alcohol Problems and Solutions." Alcoholic Beverage Consumption in the U.S.: Patterns and Trends. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. Labrie J., W., Pedersen, E. R. & Tawalbeh, S. Classifying Risky-Drinking College Students: Another Look at the Two-Week Drinker-Type Categorization. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 22.9 (2007): 23-28. Monahan, Christopher J., Bracken-Minor, Katherine L., McCausland, Claudia M., McDevitt-Murphy, Meghan E., Murphy, James G. "Health-Related Quality of Life Among Heavy-drinking College Students." American Journal of Health Behavior, 36.3 (2012): 289-99. Reinberg, Steven. “The Washington Post." Third of Americans Have Alcohol Problems at Some Point. 02 July 2007. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. Read More