Does college cause heavy drinking?

Now, more than ever, students on college campuses across the nation are consuming alcohol on a regular, sometimes unhealthy, basis. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism states that “’about half of college student drinkers engage in heavy episodic consumption,” commonly defined as downing five or more drinks in a row for men and four or more drinks for women at least once in a two-week period’”. This is a serious problem as in the Fall of 2012, more than 21.6 million Americans were enrolled in college, which is more than the population of New York City. However, studies have shown that when high school students are surveyed on alcohol consumption, 22 percent of high school Seniors reported having drank heavily episodically and 40 percent reported having drank in the previous 30 days. Therefore, it can be concluded that while the statistics regarding college students are alarming, there may be prior exposure to alcohol before college that impacts their heavy drinking habits. 

Sources:

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov

http://www.forbes.com/sites/collegeprose/2012/12/17/a-sober-assessment-of-high-risk-drinking-on-college-campuses/

Allison T. H.