Alcoholism In College Students

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Alcoholism in College Students
Introduction
The issue of alcohol abuse in schools and in particular among the colleges and universities is being addressed now and then. It is evident that the matter is either running out of hand as more students are becoming addicts. Not even the institutional policies, counselors or parental guidance have been able to halt the process. Most of my peers are either immersed in this culture where some have become all-time alcoholics. In most cases, this happens during the weekends where they go out as a group to clubs, parties or organized drinking events in one of the peer quarters. It is even worse with the people at higher grades who have been in the system for long. This has a clear understanding of the policies, the police hours and joints not to hang out when drunk. They have devised methods to dodge any policies enacted. With time many have been unable to continue with their studies due to either addiction or use of the money meant for school fees on buying alcohol. This is what has inspired me to conduct this research delving into the question is alcoholism more common in colleges? While this may seem obvious, some schools do not entertain alcohol and hence the possibility of alcohol abuse in colleges is not even. This research will help identify the trend in alcohol consumption and abuse, the factors that promote the culture, the consequences and what could be done to minimize or prevent alcoholism in schools.

Research Process
The research on the issue of alcohol use among the college student was done both on the ground, through the peer reviewed materials, governmental agencies reports, health data and institutional statistics on the roll out. The first method of data collection was just observation. This was done by making friends with different groups within the colleges. It was thus possible to follow them and observe their drinking behaviors when within the school and during weekends when they go out in clubs. This gave me a firsthand experience on the issue helped me interact with the different individuals. The second source of information was the previous research. One of such was the research by Abar et al. (71-79). This delved into the association between the parents’ perception of alcohol and drugs and the college drinking behaviors. This journal discussed more in the cases of alcohol among the students, the probable causes, the parents and the community role in promoting and instigating the culture. Most of the statistical data was obtained from the designated governmental and private research agencies such as The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These presented timely data on the actual statistics regarding college populations and the percentage of students who engage in the consumption of alcohol. However, not all the respondents who I faced were willing to give substantial information. Many were primarily cautious about their drinking habits and would not allow one to know more about their traumas. It so happened that some were totally addicted and regretted their life. However, the information from the agencies websites was readily accessible and well organized. With continued assessment and inquiry, it was revealed that alcohol is prevalent in a higher percentage of the institutions. There are however differences in the quantity and rate of consumption as well as the issue policies abiding.
Findings
Taking alcohol among the college students is regarded as an initiation to adulthood in most parts of America. With time, this develops into a culture where at every level there are beliefs and customs mainly dictated by the students’ environment. The customs have been handed over to incoming generations who continue the belief that alcohol is the vital ingredient for social cohesion. The culture is promoted through public events such as sports and entertainment functions. However, the more the students continue to engage in these activities, the more they get addicted to alcohol. Their relationship with other students, the community, and management, deteriorates bit by bit. This is because they try to derive their expectations of alcohol from one another and the environment, an insecurity that drives them into a new social milieu. Many students engage in binge drinking where a person consumes at least five bottles of beer at a go. Most of the students who take alcohol reported to have squandered some of their pocket money or fees and ended up regretting later. Some have been forced to take academic leaves while others have continued to record poor performances at school due to incoherence or inconsistency in their studies.
According to Kagan et al., drinking is a highly sociable behavior and is entirely employed by students who when sober cannot pull themselves to do certain activities (842). To be embraced by groups that are seemingly free and experienced in the partying lifestyle within the institutions, the students associate themselves with this groups. The findings indicate that students find alcohol drinking as a social norm instead of potentially destructive and unhealthy behaviors. There is, however, no particular reason behind excessive consumption. The research referenced associate drinking at the college level to the transition period for the youths that involves changes in one’s identity, living arrangements and social relationships. It was observed that many of the alcoholics were never drunkards before they joined college. This is because they were closely monitored by their parents when in the high school. As such, they were answerable to their guardians for any misconduct including alcohol consumption. Enrollment in the colleges and universities gives them the room and freedom to exercise things they had been denied. They want to make new social groups and break even from their teenage to adulthood. Other factors such as independence and freedom, involvement dating and social relationships as well as a break from the family responsibilities are intricately associated with alcohol consumption involvements. It was however asserted that these transitions affect not only the college students but also the non-college peers. It is currently attributed to some biological and social processes that characterize the period between the ends of adolescent and introduction of adulthood.
One of the reasons behind this is the feeling of maturity and sense of belonging. Colleges are institutions meant to transform the young people to the next generation of responsible citizens and employees. They are therefore a breeding field where the developmental problems at this stage in life and hence unfolding the issue of alcohol abuse. However, some of the resources indicate that the alcohol drinking is also carried on from an earlier indulgent while at the high school. When they emerge later at the ages of 18 or 19 years, they are then labeled college problems. This means that the college is only used to amplify the rather excessive drinking in high schools and middle schools. Researchers suggest some aspects college environments that could encourage alcohol drinking. This differs across different institutions, gender, and race. Studies indicate that male students are more involved in alcohol than their female counterparts. Further, white college students drink more than the Hispanics and the Afro-Americans. At the same time, members of the sororities and fraternities, as well as groups, are more likely to participate in alcohol drinking than individuals and people who are not part of the groups.
Alcohol consumption among the college students has some adverse consequences. According to the resources, these could be severe or mild depending on the level of addiction. Personal effects range from academic difficulties, cases of missed lectures, problems with handling relational issues with friends and roommates and at times termination of education. With time and especially for ladies who consume alcohol to large extents may end up being raped or engaging in unprotected sex. The results are diseases and mostly unwarranted pregnancies. Most of the alcoholics encountered were either aggressive or showing long-term results of either having constructed a deadly disease, having engaged in vicious activities or having multiple records or police arrests. All these lead to long-term emotional devastation if not counseled by qualified psychologists. According to research, alcohol lowers information processing and reasoning abilities hence impairing cues to action. Also, data indicates that those institutions with a high rate of alcohol abuse also registered higher cases of suicides, drowning, and homicides. This is because alcohol is also associated with the use of other drugs like cocaine and heroin. Upon consumption, the students may end up an addict, and hopeless. These are some of the leading factors to suicidal thoughts. The reported secondary effects are noise disturbances and property damage. This happens after the alcoholic loses control and becomes rowdy. Others are involvement in fights, sexual assault cases, and post-traumatic disorders.
According to the report by the US department of health and human sciences, there are many commonalities in college experiences. It was revealed that only about 13 percent of the students reside in the colleges and campuses while more than 35 percent are part-time. Although there is the influence of the boarding students, it is evident that a higher percentage of the alcoholic students live outside the school premises. As a result, the school policies may not hold once they are outside the perimeter. Further, the internal prevention programs do not target the introduction of the first-year students whose first few weeks into the school determine their subsequent fate. It was revealed that some organizational factors also play a major role in students’ drinking behaviors. This varies from the type of institution, the history of alcohol and drug use. Cultural Black and women’s colleges have a history of low rates of alcohol consumption. Further, commuter colleges and where courses take two years or less record lower rates. Other external factors that impacted alcohol drinking in colleges include alcohol pricing and some outlets. Students indicated that they have specific points where they could get the liquor at affordable prices and without too many regulations as required by the state. These tend to be unmonitored retail outlets around the colleges.
Reflections and Applications
The information accessed will help me realize my objectives. The first was to assess whether alcohol consumption is common among the colleges. Having verified this hypothesis, I will use the information to evaluate the possibility of indulgent, the trends and retrace back the major causes of the issue. It is possible to organize the causal factors from the most prevalent to the least significant. This can then be used to make a recommendation concerning how we can instigate the problem. From the analysis, there are some methods that if adopted could help lower the rate or prevent consumption altogether.
The first approach would be to create an all-round critical community psychology that delves into social change, liberation, social action, peer pressure as well as the adoption of cultural, social-economic and political make-ups that can impact positive changes. Implementation of this should go hand in hand with having drug education and awareness. America’s education system does not recognize drug education as a statutory requirement. Its incorporation depends on the will of the institution. One of the strategies would be reenacting the teenager’s focused guidance developed by the US Department of Skills. It guides the institutions in conducting education on drug use. However, for it to be an efficient program, it calls for a partnership between the students and staff who include tutors, psychologists, and youth workers. The awareness could be organized and delivered in a broader health promotion framework. Secondly, social norms medications ought to be promoted. In most cases, students are reported to underestimate the rate of drug and alcohol among them. According to Ringwalt, Paschall, and Gitelman (105), the young will always take as much as their friends and engage in group guided subsequent behaviors. Such conducts can be associated with the social marketing that mainly targets the school students and children. The first step to stop this is by changing the students’ beliefs and drinking norms. All programs that sensitize the youth on the importance of taking alcohol should be banned and any succeeding perpetrator punished. At the same time, modified normative feedback interposition should be emulated so as to provide students with positive information on the risks associated with binge drinking and group customs (Dotson, Dunn, & Bowers 5). Thirdly a motivational interviewing could be used to prevent drug and alcohol dependency amongst the school children. This is a direct client based non-confrontational style of interviewing addicts. Research indicates that the method has previously been very effective in treating those addicted to alcohol. It can similarly be used to deal with the young during the early stages of alcohol misuse. In the secondary prevention, it can be used to lower consumption and facilitate conscious decisions.
The research opened me up to the use some new methods of inquiry and how to successfully engage an individual in an interview without creating a negative perception. It dawned on me that some required one to consider the respondent’s privacy as so and refrain from exploiting them. These are the major concerns and causes of the interviewees not being friendly. However, upon creating a good rapport, then it becomes easier to access any information. I have learned first to use preliminary skills such as observation and background search before engaging anyone into an interview. This helps understand if they are free, vicious or open to discussions.
Works Cited
Abar, Caitlin C. et al. “Investigating Associations Between Perceived Parental Alcohol-Related Messages And College Student Drinking.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 73.1 (2012): 71-79. Web.Dotson, Keri B., Michael E. Dunn, and Clint A. Bowers. “Stand-Alone Personalized Normative Feedback For College Student Drinkers: A Meta-Analytic Review, 2004 To 2014”. PLOS ONE 10.10 (2015): n. pag. Web.Kagan, Elana R. et al. “Accommodation And Treatment Of Anxious Youth.” Depression and Anxiety 33.9 (2016): 840-847. Web.Ringwalt, Christopher L., Mallie J. Paschall, and Amy M. Gitelman. “Alcohol Prevention Strategies On College Campuses And Student Alcohol Abuse And Related Problems.” Journal of Drug Education 41.1 (2011): 103-107. Web.U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, High-Risk Drinking In College: What We Know And What We Need To Learn. National Institutes of Health U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 2002. Web. 20 Dec. 2016. Final Report Of The Panel On Contexts And Consequences.