Alcohol and Special Populations (Essay Sample)

Alcohol Consumption among College Students
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Introduction
The subject of alcohol consumption is attracting attention from scholars and practitioners in different fields. This owes to the reality that authors such as Labrie et al., (2012) and Pedersen (2006) made publications on the subject. It is notable that considerable attention has been paid on alcohol consumption among college students. This is because researchers, college students, administrators, and staff cite alcohol as the most abused substance in colleges. In fact, evidence of alcohol abuse is readily available in hospitals, police reports, and counseling sessions. Further, college students have developed a tendency to participate in Binge drinking. The term binge drinking could be elucidated as at least five or more drinks for men and four drinks for women within a short time. As Rice and Van Arsdale (2010) argue, heavy alcohol consumption in colleges not only affects the behavior of drinking students, but also affects teetotalers. This paper discusses the subject of alcohol consumption among college students, compares the problem to the general population and proposes solutions to the problem.
Unique Problems Associated with Alcohol Consumption among College Students
Alcohol use and abuse is a contributing factor for academic, emotional, physical, legal, and social problems among college students. For instance, studies indicate that alcohol consumption in colleges is a major cause for academic impairment. According to Perkins (2008), 28 percent of the studied population of college students reported having missed classes because of taking alcohol. Further, a national survey of an estimated 94,000 students from different colleges complemented the idea that alcohol consumption among college students has an effect on academic performance. According to the survey, college students recorded an average of 4 weekly drinks, 6 weekly drinks, 8 weekly drinks, and 10 weekly drinks for A, B, C, and D average students respectively. Thus, it is evident that alcohol consumption among college students has a negative effect on the ability of meeting academic responsibilities.
As aforementioned, alcohol consumption among college student not only affects drunkards, but also affects teetotalers. As evidence, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2013) reveals that consequences of student drinking are simultaneously inflicted to other people. A study published by Kuntsche et al., (2007) indicates that 8 percent of college drunkards reported having set off alarms or damaged property. Additionally, littering and vomiting are examples of common complaints that result from college drinking.it is also critical that 30 percent of college drunkards reported having participated in an argument or a fight in their drinking sprees. In most, cases teetotalers are always the recipients of such aggressive behavior. According to The Higher Education Center (2008), intoxicated people are likely to misinterpret sexual intentions of other people. As a result, studies indicate that a small fraction of college students reported having taken sexual advantage of their peers.
Drinking of alcohol in colleges is known to cause institutional damages. Property damage by intoxicated students costs educational institutions considerable amounts of finances. This owes to the reality that surveyed administrators from colleges with high levels of drinking recorded additional costs that result from damages caused by intoxicated students. Moreover, it is evident that alcohol consumption among college students makes them incapable of meeting their academic responsibilities (Ham, 2009). As a result, educational institutions experience damages in the form of loss of tuition revenues. Damages on institutions do not stop there because colleges have to hire personnel to handle problems resulting from drunken students. It follows that educational institutions pay additional salaries to cater for expenses, which are otherwise avoidable.
Drinking in Colleges versus Drinking by the General Population
The college environment is thought to be a factor promoting heavy drinking. This owes to the reality that most social gatherings in colleges always have alcohol present. However, several studies demonstrate that heavy drinking and problems associated with heavy drinking are common in teenagers and people who are in their early twenties. Further, studies reveal that their non-college drink more than students drink. As evidence, Lewis et al., (2007) argues that 3.7 percent of students drink daily while 4.5 percent of non-college students take alcohol daily. Nonetheless, when college students drink over weekends or during parties, they always consume alcohol in larger quantities than compared to their non-college peers. This owes to the reality that 41.7% of college students reported five or more drinks while 37.1% of young adults reported drinking five or more drinks in a study conducted by the National institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2014).
On the contrary, college students report to reduce or quit such irresponsible drinking habits faster than other young adults. This is highlighted by the fact that rates of alcohol dependencies are lower among college students than other young adults. Further, the National institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2014) reveals that people in their thirties and never went to college report drinking more alcohol than people in their thirties who studied in colleges do. Moreover, studies indicate that final year students demonstrate matured drinking habits than other students. It follows that college students take alcohol in large quantities but always mature out of such behavior than non-college citizens. Therefore, the rate of alcohol intake among college students could be attributed to their age group and not because of their studies.
It is notable that alcohol consumption among college students could also be compared to alcohol intake among older adults. As evidence, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) reveals that 60% of binging college men take ten or more drinks per binge. Analogously, college women take eight or more drinks per binge. In fact, the same study cites that seven percent of male college freshmen report to be taking more than fifteen drinks during a binge. Clearly, the amount of alcohol taken by college students during a binge is more than double the defined amount of binge drinking. In contrast, thirteen percent of 45-65 nineteen percent of 35-44 year olds recorded binge drinking in the last month (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). The same prevalence was lowest among Americans who were older than 65 years old.
Treatment Practices for College Drinking
Evidence from published studies indicates that college students consume a lot of alcohol while in school. It follows that solutions to the problem must be established in order to reduce the amount of alcohol intake among college students. To begin with, Norberg et al., (2010) argues that college students who refrained from taking alcohol reported having been influenced by their parents prior to joining college. This implies that parents can help reduce this problem by advising their children on the effects of alcohol. According to LaBrie et al., (2012), research suggests that the use of behavioral protective strategies help in controlling the amount of alcohol consumption. This owes to the reality that counting the number of drinks consumed has been established to reduce the amount of alcohol taken when drinking. Therefore, teaching students on how to use behavioral strategies to control their amount of drinking could help in reducing the problem.
It is also notable that Pedersen and Labrie (2008) argue that some students take alcohol as a remedy to stress. Thus, helping such students by educating them on how to tackle stress will reduce the amount of alcohol intake among college students. Moreover, it is clear that first-year students record the highest numbers of irresp...