Drinking Problem in the US Colleges - Research Paper Example

Drinking in US colleges Introduction: Drinking is a serious problem which makes society under a great threat. This crisis has been aroused not withina month or a year but it has been exist even before a long year. This practice of drinking is deep-rooted among the college students and it has increased largely in US. The college students are of the view that alcohol is an essential component for the accomplishment of a welfare community. The great increases in the use of alcohol among the college students were to show the adults that they also became a grown up one and also of the belief that it can make use to reduce the mental stress which they suffer in their adult hood. This wrong notion makes the students to have a powerful influence over drinking habit. Background: Students start to use alcohol as a result of certain influences and these influences generate a drinking habit among the young children. “Students derive their expectations of alcohol from their environment and from each other, as they face the insecurity of establishing themselves in a new social milieu.” (College drinking is a culture, 2005, para.3). There are various factors which support drinking in colleges. When one passes through the sports stadium in a college, he can view that the stadium is covered with the advertisements about different brands of alcohol. Sometimes the alcohol marketing company is the sponsor of college programs. All these surely attract the students to consume alcohol. The public do not object to selling beverages or alcohol near the college campuses; they do not have the concern that this will attract the young students towards using alcohol. Parents are also responsible for their children using alcohol. When the parents use alcohol in front of their children, they will also have a tendency to taste it. If the parents tell to their children about their college days and how they used to drink with their friends, this will surely make the children think that college is a better place to start drinking habit. Significance: Drinking in colleges is a serious problem which our society faces today and our growing children are under the bad influence of drinking alcohol for their enjoyment. And the reason which they give for the over-addiction of alcohol is to overcome their mental tension. In this modern world, drinking alcohol has become a common practice among the college students and the threatening truth is that their habit of drinking starts from the school itself. The continuous use of alcohol causes a serious problem among the children and a large number of students die as a result of the abuse of alcohol. The alcohol related injuries and consequent deaths are widely increasing. One can see that each year, thousands of college students are involved in road accidents. Even though the concerned authorities are seeing this great tragedy, they are not concerned of the tragic situation and are not bothered to realize that these are the result of alcohol abuse. The use of alcohol among the students within the age group of 18-23 is increasing rapidly. The women students are not ashamed to use alcohol and they want to win over men in all areas. So, they start to use alcohol to achieve the same status which the men have. While comparing to other countries, it is in US that one can see a large increase in the use of alcohol in colleges. Binge drinking is more widespread among the college students while comparing to others. The after-effect of this binge drinking is severe as it changes the psychological, behavioral and environmental attitudes of the students. They destroy the materials around them; they do not have interest to attend the class; they fight with their teachers or mates; and they show great interest in sexual affair. Heavy drinking of alcohol causes depression and anxiety among the students. A large number of students are becoming the victims of health problem as a result of the over addiction to alcohol and some show the tendency to commit suicide. The alcohol abuse among the students will make them deprived ones. They will not be able to do or fulfill their responsibilities in schools, colleges, as well as in their homes. Due to this bad habit, their mood will change in each and every moment. The young children who become addict of alcohol are not aware that by the continuous use of alcohol, they will have to suffer great threat in life; they will lose everything in their life, and will not have a better future. Environmental Dimensions: Etiology - There should be proper environmental strategies to reduce drinking of students in college campus. “Several recent studies suggest that these strategies, particularly combined strategies, also may be effective in decreasing alcohol-related problems among college populations.” (Toomey, Lenk, & Wagenaar, 2007). The three recognized strategies are given here. 1- Reducing alcohol use and the alcohol-related problems between juvenile college students: The most important strategy to reduce drinking in colleges is reducing the alcohol- related problems among the students. A strict law has to be put into practice in the colleges so as to reduce the use of alcohol. For instance, a law can be enacted for awarding severe punishments to a student who is intoxicated. Measures like preventing him from attending the class, isolating him from the companionship, charging a huge amount of fine to him, etc will reduce the drinking among the students, to a great extent. 2- Reducing dangerous alcohol use and related problems among all college students: The strategy to reduce the dangerous ways of using alcohol and alcohol-related problems will have a great effect to solve the problem of drinking in colleges. There is a need for strict law to reduce the usage of alcohol and the best way is to award maximum punishment to those who violate the law. The punishment should include huge amount of fine and also expulsion from the college for those who regularly use alcohol and create troubles. 3- De-emphasizing the role of alcohol and creating positive expectation on campus: For the identification of the role and effects of alcohol among the abusers, there is need for conducting classes by some great persons, such as professors, doctors, lawyers, and so on. The words of such persons will have a great influence among the students and it will make them create a right attitude towards drinking and it also will create a positive expectation on campus. These strategies are appropriate to reduce drinking in colleges, to a great extent, and effective to create better persons. The correct strategies to reduce drinking are very influential because if the drinking habit is reduced from college itself, the person will never be an addict of alcohol. (Toomey, Lenk, & Wagenaar, 2007). Expression- The students often behave impolitely and inadequately mainly due to the intoxication of alcohol. There is no value for environmental and communal norms among them and they always contempt such standards and values. Prevention- The intensely drinking college students risk the life of themselves as well as others. The reason for most of the traffic injury deaths is excessive drinking of alcohol and most of them are alcohol-related injuries. So, there should be a restriction for using alcohol by college students. There are various prevention methods available to reduce drinking by college students. Conducting a program of medication group and health care professionals about the danger of drinking in the campus will be effective to reduce the drinking, to a certain extent. The program should focus on the students either collectively or individually. “The recent report on college drinking (57) and its background reports (23) and the National Academy of Sciences Report on Underage Drinking (52) identified numerous individually oriented counseling approaches to reduce drinking and related programs among college students.” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005, p.269). Giving proper counseling in the rehabilitation centers and finally giving admission in good hospital for better treatment for alcoholism is a method for reducing alcohol drinking. “Efforts can include individually oriented screening and counseling strategies of proven efficiency among college and adolescent populations as well as environmental interventions such as alcohol tax increases, heightened education, and enforcement of minimum legal drinking age and zero tolerance laws” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, n.d., Conclusion, para.4). Thus the habit of drinking can reduce to a certain extent and effort should be applied according to the intensity of addiction and the nature of health condition. Primary- Through counseling, the problem of alcoholism can be prevented from its root. The counseling can be applied to the students either collectively or individually. If it is applied on the students collectively, all the students will have the awareness of the danger, and thus there will be a positive attitude among them against drinking. If the students who have the habit of drinking hesitate to attend the counseling, give them individual counseling. This will make an effective change in their mind and also their attitude towards alcohol. Secondary-When the condition worsens even after the counseling, it will be helpful to give them better psychiatric therapy and medication and there should be no delay to this treatment. The students who experience severe condition will become healthy through the advanced psychiatric therapies, as the tensions and problems in their mind will vanish and there will be positive thoughts towards anything. The therapy and better medications will clean-up the awful feelings of drinking and crimes from their mind. Tertiary- The students who are in dangerous condition and resort to violent behavior should be admitted in an appropriate hospital for better treatment for alcoholism. The condition will improve after the hospital treatment for one or two months and also the love and concern from others. (College drinking is a culture, 2005). Psychological Dimension- There are several factors which influence the students and lead them to drinking or using drugs. Students learn more from their home as the behavior and attitudes of parents greatly influence the children and they have the tendency to imitate their parents. For example, if the parents have the habit of drinking, the children too will develop that habit when they grow up. There are some other factors which lead the students to drinking, especially the personal characteristics such as an escape from loneliness, depression, failures, or escape from stress situations. Most often, the students select some other materials which give them a kind of relief and pleasure, and alcohol is one among them. They feel that drinking or using drugs is a better way to escape from such painful situations. There are a lot of psychological dimensions in a student who has the habit of drinking as it affects the student very badly. “Heavy-drinking college students not only place their own health at risk, but also they jeopardize the well-being of others.” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005, p.269). Alcohol has the major liability of leading a student into some psychological problems such as fatal accidents, suicides, homicides, violent attacks with weapons, sexual assaults, rape and sexual immoralities. The student who has the habit of drinking will have no concern for others’ feelings, response and interests and they have the belief that they are right in all level and they will have no consciousness about their actions. Thus, they involve in risky driving which results in accidents, death and other injuries and even have the tendency of killing others and violent attacks with or without weapons. They also will engage in improper sexual associations between others and also brutally engage to sexual assaults and rapes. “Surveys, both in 1999 and again in 2001 indicate annually, over 600,000 college students nationwide were hit or assaulted by a drinking college student, and in 2001, 97,000 students were the victim of a date rape or assault perpetrated by a drinking college student.” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2005, p.269). Shortly, the students will lose their self-control in all level along with the repeated drinking. Dimensions of health: Drinking in college affects the health of students greatly in their behavioral, psychological and environmental characteristics. “It frequently begins in high school, is sustained by a combination of campus and community conditions, and follows a course affected by an array of personal, behavioral, biological, and genetic as well as social and environmental factors.” (A final word, 2005, para.3). Drinking alcohol affects the health of the female students greatly than the male students, and it damages the internal organs such as brain and liver. Drinking alcohol will have negative consequences on the biological rhythms such as heart rate, blood pressure, body pressure, and hormone level. Behavioral Dimension: There are many factors, such as social, socio-economic and psychological, which influence the students to develop the habit of drinking. A student who lives in bad social surroundings will certainly have the influence of that society’s attitudes and behaviors. “Environmental and peer influences combine to create a culture of drinking. This culture actively promotes drinking, or passively promotes it, through tolerance, or even tacit approval, of college drinking as a rite of passage.” (College drinking is a culture, 2005, para.3). Most often, the socio-economic conditions of the student affect his or her behavior and attitudes towards drug and drinking. According to Tombs, Wolcott and Farkash(1997) “perceptions of close friends’ drinking practices rather than those of more distal groups… are more closely related to (young people’s)own drinking behavior.” (Thombs, Wolcott, & Farkash, 1997). Thus the friends’ practice of drinking has a tremendous influence on students to use alcohol. There will be a lot of indirect consequences of excess drinking which will affect the behavior of students very badly. One of the effects is the drug consumption as the student who drinks will naturally develop the tendency of using drug for more pleasure. Secondly, the student will develop the inclination of attacking himself or herself when he/she has to face some problem. They behave violently towards everyone and everything as they lack the feelings of patience, tolerance and pity. They even engage in violent sexual unions, sexual assaults inside and outside the campus as they prefer pleasure than anything else, and teenage pregnancies is an outcome of such behaviors. Drinking affects the students significantly as the dunk student will have no concentration in the class, and so he or she will get irritated with the topics. This will make the student behave in a manner which infuriates the teacher and others. When there is no concentration on the subject, the topic will appear to him very hard and thereby he or she will face great learning and retention difficulties. Most often, the development of brain will be affected by the repeated usage of alcohol, and thus, in all level drinking affects the student’s learning and also his or her good conduct dreadfully. Public Health Policy Implications:  College drinking has become a serious problem in US and it has to be rooted out from the campus itself; otherwise it will become a serious threat for the well-being of the nation. Youngsters are the ones who have to build up the nation, and if they do misdeeds like excessive use of liquor, what will be the future of the nation? So, necessary steps have to be taken to overcome from this problem. “Studies were included in this review if they had a control or comparison group and had at least one change in drinking or alcohol consequences outcome.” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, n.d., individually oriented interventions, para.1). First of all, the college authorities should take necessary actions to reduce the drinking habit of students. They should organize camps to make the students aware of the consequences of drinking alcohol. They should be taught about the after-effects of being addicted to alcohol. The students should be guided from the school level itself and guidance should continue in colleges too. The college authorities should not give consent to establish bars near the colleges. If any bars are illegally established near the colleges, the concerned authorities should take necessary action. Society-based programs involving young people, related to the use of alcohol will help to reduce drinking alcohol in colleges. Everyone, including students, parents, officials and even each and every citizen should be included in this program. “Three comprehensive community programs in particular have shown reduction in alcohol problems among college-age youth: the Communities Mobilizing for Change Program (71, 72), the Community Trials Program (35), and the Saving Lives Program (34).” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, n.d., Comprehensive community interventions, para.2). These programs can surely reduce the use of alcohol among the college students. The police should take stern action against the drivers who use alcohol while driving vehicles and they should be punished. Another important action which can decrease the use of alcohol in colleges is by enacting a law that the minimum drinking age should be twenty one. The researchers like Wagenaar and Toomey are of the opinion: “increases in the age of legal alcohol purchase and consumption have been the most successful intervention to date in reducing drinking- and alcohol-related crashes among persons below the age of 21.” (Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, n.d., Environmental interventions: Legal drinking age of 21, para.1). This law will make to save the lives of the youngsters and the traffic accidents will decrease if the law became an uncompromising one. If the authorities take necessary actions like charging fine to those who drive by drinking alcohol, the accident rate will come down. If the price of alcohol is increased, then the young college students will find it difficult to buy it and thereby there will be a decrease in the use of alcohol. These measures will surely make the society a developed one, and the young college students will be free from this bad habit. Reference List A final word. (2005). College Drinking: Changing the Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/TaskForce/FinalWord_00.a College drinking is a culture. (2005). College Drinking: Changing the Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/TaskForce/Intro_01.aspx Hingson, R., Heeren, T., Winter, M., & Wechsler, H. (2005). Magnitude of alcohol- related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students ages 18-24: changes from 1998- 2001: Interventions to reduce college drinking. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 26, (259-79). National Institute of Health Library. Retrieved from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/media/Mag_and_Prev_ARPH_April_2005.pdf Hingson, R., Heeren, T., Winter, M., & Wechsler, H. (n.d.). Magnitude of alcohol- related mortality and morbidity among U. S. college students ages 18-24: changes from 1998- 2001: Individual oriented interventions. College Drinking: Changing the Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/magandprev.aspx Hingson, R., Heeren, T., Winter, M., & Wechsler, H. (n.d.). Magnitude of alcohol- related mortality and morbidity among U. S. college students ages 18-24: changes from 1998- 2001: Comprehensive community interventions. College Drinking: Changing the Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/magandprev.aspx Hingson, R., Heeren, T., Winter, M., & Wechsler, H. (n.d.). Magnitude of alcohol- related mortality and morbidity among U. S. college students ages 18-24: changes from 1998- 2001: Environmental interventions: Legal drinking age of 21. College Drinking: Changing the Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/magandprev.aspx Hingson, R., Heeren, T., Winter, M., & Wechsler, H. (n.d.). Magnitude of alcohol- related mortality and morbidity among U. S. college students ages 18–24: changes from 1998- 2001: Conclusions. College Drinking: Changing the Culture. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/magandprev.aspx Thombs, DL., Wolcott, B J., & Farkash, L G. (1997). Social context, perceived norms and drinking behavior in young people: Abstract. Journal pf Substance Abuse, 9, 257-267. Science Direct. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W5J-45V1P5S-1S&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=980380134&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=a5520d574110bfb0ee913b071bd39bb2 Toomey, T L., Lenk, K M., & Wagenaar, A C. (2007). Environmental policies to reduce college drinking: an update of research findings. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 68(2). 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