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Essay Subject: Incidence, change from pre-college drinking, role of peer group, academic & criminal problems, social aspects, colleges' responses, alcohol education.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Incidence, change from pre-college drinking, role of peer group, academic & criminal problems, social aspects, colleges' responses, alcohol education. Paper Introduction: Alcohol use by college students is serious. It affects the individual drinker and other students around them. The level of usage is generally set in the pre-college adolescent years during high school. The adolescent's peer group in high school largely determines his drinking behavior. This is also true when the adolescent enters college. The problem of alcohol abuse in college needs to be addressed before the high school years when drinking patterns become entrenched. The transitional period between high school and college should be a window of opportunity for students to change their behavior patterns with respect to alcohol use. This paper will examine the role of peer relationships on drinking behavior, some effects that drinking can have on college students themselves and on other students, and possible intervention strategies which have been tried. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. As afreshman student enters the college campus to live and study, it has beenshown that he will gravitate to new friends with like values. The alcohol education programs which are effective acknowledge thatalcohol use patterns are generally established before entrance into collegebut that the transition to college is an opportunity for students to breakthose patterns if they wish. Journal of Studieson Alcohol, 56, 58 -588. Journal of Drug Education,24, 369-383. In the last two decades, the colleges have begun to recognize theproblems associated with college students drinking habits. One possible reasonis lack of commitment from college administrations. A student's increasedscores show that the student is developing the ability to handle complexmoral decisions. They often use alcohol with the express purposeof becoming intoxicated (Wechsler, Moeykens, Davenport, et al., 1995, p.628). (1995, November 1 ). References Leibsohn, J. Lack of sleep, and studyinterruptions, as well as the other problems which heavy drinkers cancause, impact on the non-heavy drinkers' academic potential. 19 ). It is harderfor students to succeed when they are unable to concentrate on their schoolwork due to the actions of the heavy drinkers around them. Six percent of the students who quitdrinking in college described themselves as getting drunk in high school.One-third of this six percent could be classified as heavy drinkers, andone-third admitted being drunk one or more times each week of their senioryear (Leibsohn, 1994, 185). Fraternal organizations are recognized for their drinking behavior.Eighty-one percent of males belonging to these societies also arelibertarian in their belief system (Reis and Chamberlain, 1994, p. That is, ifthey used alcohol and drugs with their friends in high school, it is likelythat the friends that they choose in college will also share the samevalues about how much and when to drink or use drugs. The students' choice of peer group has a great impact on the level ofalcohol use. Up to twentypercent of college alcohol drinkers are borderline alcoholics (Thomas andSeibold, 1995, p. This peer group can be influenced by the choice of college.The level of alcohol use on the campus can be low or high (Wechsler,Moeykens, Davenport, et al., 1995, p. 189). Some administratorstake a laissez-faire attitude with student drinking because theadministrators feel the only damage the drinker does is to himself and thatthe drinker will learn from his mistakes. (1995). A33). In both of these cases, the students scores were raised onthe Defining Issues Test (DIT) (Shulman, Sweeney, and Gerler, 1995, p. Thesepercentages of freshmen who are drinking heavily are often a concern toadministrators. 37 ). As many as 3 percent drive while intoxicated between three and ten times per year. Theproblem of alcohol abuse in college needs to be addressed before the highschool years when drinking patterns become entrenched. This can be face-to-faceinteraction, such as interviews in a bar, or can be more removed, as in thecase of designing part of an alcohol abuse curriculum for another class orgrade level. 629). Alcohol policies and freeto be foolish: an analysis of college students. Considerable variation exists in thestandards of acceptable amounts, type, place, and timing of the consumptionof alcoholic beverages. A. It affects theindividual drinker and other students around them. This is also true when the adolescent enters college. Administrators and othercollege students need to be made aware of the consequences of heavydrinking students on the rest of the campus population. Rutgers University has the only dormitoryspecifically designated for recovering addicts of alcohol and drugs(Witham, 1995, p. In non-alcohol abusesituations, the students friendship was cited as the tantamount reason tointervene. 371). (1994). Other options, for colleges which chose to make the decision toassist their students to use alcohol wisely or to abstain, are the use ofalcohol free dormitories or recovery dorms which do not allow the use ofalcohol or other drugs. The majority (65 percent (Leibsohn, 1994, p. Students, entering college as freshmen, tend to choose friends withthe same values that their peer group held in high school. Current alcohol users were morelikely to be libertarian than are abstainers. Recognition of the problems faced by non-heavy drinkers on campus asthe result of the heavy drinking needs to be acknowledged by the collegestaff. 182). Controlling the ability of students to drink to excess and bedrunk on campus can be accomplished by the administration with theassistance of the students. (1994). The University ofMaryland offers alcohol and drug free housing for students and does notlimit it to recovering addicts. Shulman, H., Sweeney, B., and Gerler, E. The level of usage isgenerally set in the pre-college adolescent years during high school. This would highlight the generallyunconscious method of how a freshman determines his peer group at this timeof transition. It is critical thatpeer group relationships be involved or altered when a college wishes tochange the behavior of its students. Eighty-four percent of high schoolnonusers of alcohol who started to drink in college reported becoming drunkone or two times during the month (Leibsohn, 1994, p. Colleges can encourage responsible use andabstinence of alcohol with environmental interactive education, providinghousing which is free of alcohol use, regulating the availability ofalcohol on campus, and training students in effective ways to intervene insituations where alcohol abuse is occurring. R. The secondary effects of heavy drinking can transform an academic,congenial, college environment into a place where the quality of lifedeteriorates to the point where students endure humiliation and degradationby other students, and where scholarship is undermined. It is obvious that a student willhave an easier time finding drinking companions at a school where themajority of the students are heavy drinkers. These students face problems of blackouts, memoryloss, needing to drink in the morning, and altering their schedule in orderto drink alcohol. The DIT measures moral and cognitive development. This education can be made moreeffective when it contains an environmental interaction component (Shulman,Sweeney, and Gerler, 1995, p. Many students believe that college is a place toparty; recovering alcoholics say that the college environment is designedto lure them back into alcohol (Witham, 1995, p. The average freshman consumes alcohol 5 times amonth and almost three out of four drink at least once a week (Leibsohn,1994, p. It is interesting to note that all of the students surveyed wereunder twenty-one years of age. Over two-thirds of those students, in Leibsohn's study, whodrink reported becoming drunk. Alcohol use can be adetermining factor in the choice of new friends (Leibsohn, 1994, p. Chronicle of Higher Education, 42, A33.----------------------- 12 634). Reis and Chamberlainsurveyed college students on their life philosophy toward alcohol and foundthat 71.7 percent of freshmen could be classified as libertarians (373).Libertarian students were opposed to any external controls on behaviorregardless of the source of authority (Reis and Chamberlain, 1994, 379). W., and Seibold, D. They are either directed at crisis management or at prevention.These interventions are usually helpful but inadequate and occur after theuse of alcohol is habituated. Otherfactors in the students decisions to intervene were the students'friendship with the drunk driver, and the physical safety of others and forthemselves (Thomas and Seibold, 1995, p. A computer-assisted approach to preventing alcohol abuse: implications for the middleschool. Some peer groups in college tend to have more members with alibertarian view of life than others. 58 ). These programs follow two courses ofaction. A person is influenced so strongly, by their peer group, that toimpact on the rates of alcohol consumption of freshmen, their peer group'svalues, or the peer group itself should be altered. It would allow the opportunity for freshmen to become awareof their own behavior and possibly give them greater choice and controlover their choice of friends (Leibsohn, 1994, p, 19 ). 75). This paper will examine the role of peer relationships on drinkingbehavior, some effects that drinking can have on college studentsthemselves and on other students, and possible intervention strategieswhich have been tried. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 3 , 63-77. 583). Thirty-three percent of these high schoolnonusers of alcohol, who began to use in college, report drinking three tonine times the preceding month. Mostorientations (97 percent in 1991 (Shulman, Sweeney, and Gerler, 1995, p.64)) for freshmen include information on responsible drinking habits andalcohol/substance abuse education. Thomas, R. This is especially truewhen the heavy drinker chooses to drive while intoxicated. Ninety percent of freshmen admit to drinking alcoholic beverages.Seventy percent of freshmen confess to getting drunk (Leibsohn, 1994, p.187). The eight percent of students who began using alcohol in college areoffset by three percent who stopped using alcohol when they enteredcollege. 186). Wechsler, H., Moeykens, B., Davenport, A., et al. College students'decisions to intervene in alcohol-related situations. Environmental interaction happens whenstudents are required as part of the course-work to interact with peopleoutside of the university or college campus. (1995). The transitionalperiod between high school and college should be a window of opportunityfor students to change their behavior patterns with respect to alcohol use. One researcher(Leibsohn) has jokingly suggested that signs be placed around the gymnasiumat orientation with drinking and drug preferences listed. 185). One-third, of these students, acknowledged drinking to the pointof intoxication one or more times a week since entering college. 371). Most (86 percent) of these students who abstained from alcoholuse in college were light users in high school drinking only once or twicea month (Leibsohn, 1994, p. A33). 186). College students need to know how to intervene with their friends andpeer group when they see these problems occurring. This can be true even if thecollege student drinker is under the legal age for drinking (Wechsler,Moeykens, Davenport, et al., 1995, p. The rest of the schools werelabeled "mid-level drinking schools". (1995). Non-heavy drinking students experience increased levels of assault,property damage, unwanted sexual advances, study interruptions, sleepinterruptions, arguments, insults, and the need to baby-sit a drunkenclassmate when the levels of heavy drinking on campus are higher (Wechsler,Moeykens, Davenport, et al, 1995, p. Recovery in the dorm: Rutgers U.offers special housing for students struggling to over come addictions todrugs or alcohol. They only used alcoholone-to-two times per month. Alcohol use by college students is serious. Most alcohol educationprograms in place at colleges do not address the difficulty of making adecision to intervene in another student's decision to drink. These are all symptoms of a major problem with alcohol. R. Approximately 8 percent of college freshmen, who didnot report drinking alcohol in high school, reported its use in college(183). One thing which contributes to the attitude on campus, in regard todrinking, is society's ambivalent stance toward alcohol consumption (Reisand Chamberlain, 1994, p. Reis, J., and Chamberlain, E. General reasons cited for not intervening werepowerlessness, lack of responsibility, relational distress, lack ofcompetence, misperception of the person's competence, affect, and thesituation was not right (Thomas and Seibold, 1995, p. The schools need to be concerned because heavydrinkers' behaviors can impact on other students and on the college as awhole. The majority of freshmen (89.4 percent) in college use alcohol(Leibsohn, 1994, p. Standard alcohol/substance abuse education has not had a significantimpact on the drinking behaviors of college students. Many of theseperceived reasons for non-intervention can be eliminated through training. Theadverse impact of heavy episodic drinkers on other college students.Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 56, 628-634. Students can be shown to have this opinion formed before thecompletion of high school. Two-thirds of college students who commit suicide are legally intoxicated atthe time of their death (Thomas and Seibold, 1995, p. These include drunk drivingaccidents, DUI arrests, rape, violent incidents, and property damage(Leibsohn, 1994, p. Between 33percent and 59 percent of college students who drink drive while drunk atleast once each year (Thomas and Seibold, 1995, p. 185). Theadolescent's peer group in high school largely determines his drinkingbehavior. 583). Freshmen in college tend to have more liberalviews on alcohol and life than other students. 374). Campuses with over 5 percentof students reporting heavy drinking (five drinks in a row for males andfour in a row for females) were classified as "high drinking levelschools". Alcohol education can help students identify inappropriate behaviorsin their own and other students' lives. Seventy-two percent, of the students, whoreported becoming drunk did so at least once during the month preceding thesurvey. Americans have a longstanding love affair with theright of individuals to conduct their lives as they choose. Although the majority of students, in the survey by Leibsohn,increased their use of alcohol in their freshman transition period, theydid not show any significant increase in the number of times they reportbeing drunk (183). 631). Most people do not like to have whatthey view as a right curtailed. The enteringfreshmen would be helped to make new friends by standing under the signwith their personal preferences. Oneadministrator at a large public university on the East coast has observedthat "alcohol use and membership in the academic community havetraditionally both been linked with the concepts of privilege and freedom"(Reis and Chamberlain, 1994, p. Current drinkers did notwant to have their liberties curtailed. Approximately half of high school seniors donot feel that public drunkenness should be illegal; 8 percent did notfeel that inebriation in private should be prohibited by law (Reis andChamberlain, 1994, p. College students', who choose to drink, experience the same types ofproblems which other alcohol abusers face. 584). 185)) of thesestudents can be classified as experimental users. 179).College students are not usually choosing to lower their level of alcoholconsumption upon entering the freshmen class; instead they are oftenincreasing their use of alcohol. This would be expected. A little more than 3 percent of colleges surveyed by Wechsler,Moeykens, Davenport, Castillo, and Hansen, fell into this category.Likewise a little less than 3 percent of the schools were classified as"lower level drinking schools" where only one to thirty-five percent of thestudents reported heavy drinking levels. 58 ). 373).This is consistent with the finding that the heavier drinkers did not wantenforcement, or regulations, placed on drinking behavior. Most of these college students (92.8percent) found new friends with which to engage in drinking behavior(Leibsohn, 1994, p. 67). Some students did not acknowledge being drunk, even though, theywould admit to consuming 5 or more drinks in a three to five hour timespan. The right, of thenon-heavy drinking students, to be able to study in peace needs to berecognized and asserted. A second set of complex decisions which students are forced intomaking happens when they are faced with other students who drink heavily.Heavy drinkers can endanger themselves and others. Heavy drinkerstend to drink often, 1 or more episodes in thirty days, and be drunk atleast three times a month. The relationship between drug and alcohol useand peer group associations of college freshmen as they transition fromhigh school. 58 ). Students who did not use alcohol or drugs in high schoolwere less likely to use in college and were less likely to be libertarian(Reis and Chamberlain, 1994, p. Responsible alcohol usage falls into this category ofmaking complex decisions. The mainmotivating factor, for a student, to intervene with an intoxicated studentwho wanted to drive is the concern for the individual's welfare. Alcohol anddrug usage are major predictors of how friendships will form (Leibsohn,1994, p. Journal of Drug Education, 24, 177-192. Administrators have to acknowledge and ensurethat these non-heavy drinkers are not penalized by their association withthe college. At least once, during the course of the year, the students weresurveyed, 26 percent of the students chose not to intervene in a drunkdriving situation and 25 percent in an alcohol abuse situation (Thomas andSeibold, 1995, p. Witham, D. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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