The Issue of Binge Drinking - Essay Example

? Outline I. Introduction II. Definition III. Effects of binge drinking A. Negative impact on academic performance B. Indulgence in dangerous stunts and unsafe actions IV. Risk Factors A. Youth specific aggressive behavior B. College environment V. Conclusion Introduction Binge drinking has become on of the major problems in world. It has created more concern as studies have found that students in schools and colleges are indulging in binge drinking on large scale. Researchers like Wechsler et al. (1994) have found that binge drinking was widespread in college campuses and was a cause of various problems in students (Tischler 29). The effects of binge drinking are harmful not only to the social and professional life but also to the physical health of a person. Hence, preventing young people from developing the habit of binge drinking is extremely essential. It is important to note that the study of risk factors have shown that binge drinking is more of a lifestyle related problem. Binge drinking is considered as a ‘courageous’ and ‘macho’ thing to do and hence, is taken as a challenge by aggressive young people. It is the desire to live a thrilling life that leads to binge drinking. Hence, if binge drinking is to be reduced or prevented among adolescents and young adults, then immediate and essential steps are needed to be taken by authoritative bodies to make changes in the college environment, and form some strict rules as it is the desire of enjoying a rash and dangerous lifestyle that leads young people to indulge in binge drinking. Definition Throughout the world, binge drinking is defined differently (Tischler 29). In Sweden, binge drinking is defined as “drinking a half bottle of hard liquor or two bottles of wine on one occasion” (Tischler 29). For Italians, having even eight drinks a day is not binging (Tischler 29). English people think that a person can be called a binge drinker only when he has 11 or more drinks on one occasion (Tischler 29). This shows that the definition of binge drinking differs on the basis of the amount of alcohol consumed on one occasion. In 1994, social psychologist Henry Wechsler defined binge drinking as “five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women” (Watson 98). According to Wechsler, when men take five or more drinks in one sitting and women take four or more drinks in one sitting, then they are said to be indulging in binge drinking (Watson 101). However, some groups refused this definition as they say that the factor of amount of time over which the drinks were consumed is not reflected in the definition (Watson 101). This definition was modified to include the factor of short time in binge drinking. According to the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, binge drinking is defined as “5 or more drinks for males and 4 or more drinks for females in a 2-hour period” (Kearney and Trull 249). From the definition, it is clear that when alcohol is consumed in large amount on one occasion, then it creates fatal results. The effects of binge drinking are extremely dangerous. Effects of binge drinking Studies have shown that binge drinking affects young people in very serious way. It not only affects their performance at schools, colleges or work, but also prove to be life threatening. Binge drinking is known to kill people as it has the potential to affect the functioning of the body in serious ways. Some of the negative effects of binge drinking are discussed below. Negative impact on academic performance One of the wrong understandings that lead to binge drinking is the idea of ‘occasional drinking.’ Young people tend to forget that it is by getting into a trap of ‘occasional drinking’ or ‘few drinks’ that one usually becomes addicted to binge drinking. People lose control and never realize when they crossed the limits of ‘few drinks’ or ‘once in a while’ (Alagna 29). It has been found in one of the national studies that the rate of educational, social and health problems are higher in students who binge drink than in their peers who do not binge drink (Alagna 29). Moreover, during a school year, five or more alcohol related problems are reported being experienced by half of the frequent binge drinkers (Alagna 29). That is, binge drinkers experience “twenty times the number of those problems reported by students who drink but do not binge” (Alagna 29). Sadly, binge drinking is also known to affect the school performance negatively. A national survey revealed that more than third of the binge drinkers fell behind in their school work (Alagna 29). Also, lower grades are more likely to be found in binge drinkers than in non-binge drinkers (Alagna 29). This shows how badly binge drinking affects the young people’s personal and educational life. Binge drinking has a potential to destroy the future scope of a person. Sadly, along with negative impact on academic performance, binge drinking is also known to be the cause of more serious problems related to physical and emotional health of a person. Indulgence in dangerous stunts and unsafe actions Binge drinking affects not only the important areas like work, school, relationships, emotional health etc., but also the physical and psychological health of a person (Watson 42). This is mostly because binge drinking makes people to do things that they would not do if sober, and hence, will regret later (Watson 42). For example, binge drinking leads people to fights, indulging in risky behavior, trying dangerous stunts etc (Watson 43). As people who binge drink are too hung-over and tired to work, they find it difficult to stay at school or keep a steady job (Watson 43). Binge drinking can also prove to be fatal for life. The chances of someone getting hurt or killed in a road accident are multiplied when a person drives after drinking (Watson 43). Drinking and driving can also lead to arrest as it is against law (Watson 43). Studies have shown that 66 percent of suicides among students and 60 percent of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, occur due to alcohol (Alagna 29). Also, alcohol use is known to be a reason of deaths in one out of four students (Alagna 29). However, one of the most dangerous effects of binge drinking is the experience of blackout. Blackouts can be caused when a person drinks too much at once (Watson 43). People do not remember what they did during the episodes of blackouts (Watson 43). Many of binge drinkers found out that they had participated in dangerous activities when they experienced blackout (Watson 43). They found that they had indulged in harmful and violent activities such as “vandalism, drunk driving, or unprotected sex” (Watson 43). ‘Blackout’ is a clear sign that person is drinking too much and it indicates that person is drinking beyond his limits of safety (Watson 43). It has been found that teens make life threatening decisions when they indulge in binge drinking. Their impulsive nature is provoked and given expression when they lose their ability to judge correctly after indulging in binge drinking (Watson 43). This leads them to indulge in life threatening acts like doing driving stunts or having unprotected sex with strangers (Watson 43). These dangerous behavior patterns related to binge drinking have become a cause of major concern as it creates strong threat to female binge drinkers. The rate of rape among the female binge drinkers is more compared to the females who do not binge drink. Compared to 3 percent of female non-binge drinkers, 10 percent of females who binge drink frequently “were reportedly raped or subjected to non-consensual sex” (Kearney and Trull 249). According to a study by USA Today (2006), each year 1,400 college students aged between 18-24 years die from alcohol related incidents (Kearney and Trull 250). It has been found that the risk of developing serious problems like unplanned pregnancy or deadly disease of AIDS are increased in young people due to binge drinking (Watson 44).The three biggest causes of death in people between 12 to 20, i.e. unintentional injury, homicide and suicide, are caused by poor judgment due to binge drinking (Watson 44). According to Boyd, McCabe and Morales (2005), binge drinking relates to many college student deaths and problems due to its harmful nature as it involves ingesting large mounts of alcohol in a short period (Kearney and Trull 249). These statistics show how serious are the effects of binge drinking. Binge drinking should not be taken as a phase related problem. After all, one remains helpless when harm is caused to body or mind of a person. Moreover, nothing can be done when a life is lost to binge drinking, which is a preventable problem. Hence, it is better to make efforts to prevent the problem from growing. Knowing the risk factors in development of binge drinking can help in preventing the problem from growing. Risk Factors Risk factors provide with essential information about who is likely to encounter difficulties and who is not by predicting the likely outcome in advance (Schulenberg, Maggs, Steinman and Zucker 42). By knowing the risk factors of binge drinking, it can be controlled and to some extent, even prevented from developing. The major risk factors of binge drinking are discussed below. Youth specific aggressive behavior Binge drinking has shades of impulsiveness and aggressiveness attached to it. Hence, it is not surprising to find that one of the major risk factors of binge drinking is youth related behavior pattern. Study by Schulenberg, Wadsworth, and colleagues (1996) has found that “gender (male) and the motivation of drinking ‘to get drunk’ at the age of 18 were robust risk factors” (Schulenberg, Maggs, Steinman and Zucker 42). According to the researchers, both the risk factors predicted not only current binge drinking but also the increase in binge drinking behavior during the transition phase from teenage to young adulthood (Schulenberg, Maggs, Steinman and Zucker 42). The same study also revealed that along with these patterns, if young people also lacked self efficacy, then it adds to the risk factors of increase in binge drinking during transition phase (Schulenberg, Maggs, Steinman and Zucker 42). It was found that throughout the adolescence and young adulthood, risk taking is also a strong risk factor in binge drinking (Schulenberg, Maggs, Steinman and Zucker 42). College environment Fraternity or sorority residence membership in colleges was found to be one of the strongest risk factors of binge drinking (Kearney and Trull 249). It is interesting to note that risk factors also include the social status and ethnic background of students. A survey of 14, 941 students at 140 American colleges, conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, found that “male gender, athletic status, European American background and age less than 24 years” were some of the major risk factors for binge drinking (Kearney and Trull 249). This makes it clear that binge drinking is more of a lifestyle and social conditions related problem. It cannot be called as springing from psychological or emotional problems. It is more of a desire to prove the strength and courage by showing how many drinks one can handle. This is a sign of immature and rash behavior which is usually seen in adolescents and young adults. Binge drinking has become one of the major health problems in young people. According to a study by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health, almost half of the college students indulged in binge drinking and 20% were found to be binge drinking on a frequent basis (Tischler 29). Sadly, researchers have also found that binge drinking creates problem not only in lives of binge drinkers but also in lives of students who do not binge drink (Tischler 29). Binge drinkers tend to be violent, pushy and aggressive. They cause problems to their classmates (Tischler 29). Due to peer pressure and aggressive behavior from binge drinkers, students who do not drink also suffer from unnecessary fears and, emotional and psychological pressure. High rates of assault and unwanted sexual advances are common among the problem behavior displayed by binge drinkers (Tischler 29). Conclusion The discussion above shows that binge drinking is done mostly to enjoy the thrill and dangers of life. The risk factors of binge drinking show that it is mostly youth related problem. Hence, to prevent young people from falling victim to binge drinking, the authoritative bodies need to take immediate steps to change the lifestyle of young students. Developing programs to create awareness among the students about the negative effects of binge drinking can also prove to be useful. These steps will not only reduce the prevalence of binge drinking among young adults but will also prevent some of the students from indulging in it. Works Cited Alagna, Magdalena. Everything you need to know about the dangers of binge drinking. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2001. Print. Kearney, Christopher and Timothy Trull. Abnormal psychology and life: A dimensional approach. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Schulenberg, John, Maggs, Jennifer, Steinman, Kenneth and Robert Zucker. Adolescents, alcohol, and substance abuse: Reaching teens through brief interventions. Ed. Peter Monti, Suzanne Colby and Tracy O’Leary. New York: The Guilford Press, 2001. Print. Tischler, Henry. Introduction to sociology. 10th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Watson, Stephanie. Binge drinking. Edina: ABDO Publishing Company, 2012. Print. Read More