Encouraging Healthier Drinking Habits
Four out of every five college students drink alcohol to some magnitude.
There are several factors that make student drinking dangerous, but the two most prevalent risk drinking activities are: underage drinking and binge drinking.
And, when an underage student begins to binge drink – the ramifications can be severe, and even deadly.
To fully understand alcohol abuse and how to encourage healthier behaviors on campus, it’s important to make sure campus officials are aware of the terminology used.
Unhealthy alcoholic drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence.
A pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL.
An individual, within the United States, under the age of 21 consuming alcohol beverages.
In a recent study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 60 percent of teens, by age 18, have had at least 1 drink.
Underage drinking, as well with any type of alcohol abuse, is dangerous and can result in significant health issues in a student’s life on campus and throughout the rest of their life.
It poses significant risks to the following if a student below the age of 21 abuses alcohol:
Speaking with campus staff about underage drinking on your campus and how to address it is the first step – it’s been helpful for some universities to invite students across campus to weigh in on the issue of underage drinking and how to confront it.
Whatever method chosen to alleviate rates of underage drinking on your campus, remember that campuses have the ability to guide students down the correct path and should have resources available to help students who suffer from the effects of underage drinking.
An activity that has made its name known nation-wide on campuses is binge drinking, or high-risk drinking, which is a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL.
In a student’s mind, it may be seen as a way to fit in or to “be cool,” but it can lead to very frightening consequences.
Here are 5 quick and helpful facts about alcohol abuse to keep in mind while assessing binge drinking on your campus:
As the statistics show, binge drinking is a wide spread health problem on college campuses and it can affect more than just the student partaking in the alcohol use.
Administrators should speak with appropriate campus staff to understand the drinking culture on your campus and what actions you can take to reduce the rates of binge drinking.
It’s time to look at ideas to reduce the rate of binge drinking on your campus and to promote safe, responsible drinking to students, so if they do decide to partake in alcohol use, they can make smart decisions.
The SafeColleges Training System includes a variety of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention courses for students, such as Alcohol and Other Drugs, Alcohol and Other Drugs – Sanctions, and Alcohol and Other Drugs (Refresher). These courses educate students on the realities and misconceptions of alcohol and drug use as well as successful strategies for handling dangerous situations related to these substances. Each provides extensive, research-backed evidence of the detrimental effects alcohol and other drugs can have, and how social skills and interactions can help reduce harm associated with these substances.
The SafeColleges Online Tip Reporting System can be used to prevent and investigate sexual assault, hazing, discrimination, threats of violence and more on your campus. Alert lets students, faculty and staff anonymously report tips to your administration 24/7 from any web-enabled device. Users can submit tips through the phone, text, email and website. A SafeColleges Alert Mobile App will be available soon for students, faculty, and staff
