College Alcohol Use: A Full or Empty Glass?

Abstract

Data from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (1993) were used to describe weekly alcohol consumption and its associated problems among a representative national sample of college students. The median number of drinks consumed/week by all students, regardless of drinking status, was 1.5. When students were divided by drinking pattern, the median number of drinks/week was 0.7 for those who did not binge drink and 3.7 for those who did so infrequently. For frequent binge drinkers, the median was considerably higher: 14.5 drinks/week. Nationally, 1 in 5 five college students is a frequent binge drinker. Binge drinkers consumed 68% of all the alcohol that students reported drinking, and they accounted for the majority of alcohol-related problems. The data indicate that behavioral norms for alcohol consumption vary widely among students and across colleges. Therefore, it may not be possible to design an effective “one size fits all” approach to address college alcohol use.

Key Words:

• alcohol abuse
• alcohol
• binge drinking
• college students
• substance abuse

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John S. Baer

Henry Wechsler is Director of College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health. Department of Health and Social Behavior, where Beth E. Molnar is a doctoral candidate and Andrea E. Davenport is a research specialist. John S. Baer is a research associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington and Education Coordinator with the Center of Excellence in Substance Abuse Treatment and Education, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington.