Category Archives: College Drinking

Alcoholism in College

Posted on by
1

Alcoholism in College

College drinking is extremely widespread: about four out of five college students drink alcohol. About half of college students who drink, do so by binge drinking. The first 6 weeks of freshman year is an especially vulnerable time for heavy drinking and alcohol-related consequences because of student expectations and social pressures at the start of the academic year.

College Drinking: Trending Toward Alcoholism in College Students?

A new study shows that 6% of college students meet criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence or alcoholism and 31% meet the clinical criteria for alcohol abuse. The study also found that more than two of every five students report at least one symptom of these conditions, putting them at increased risk of developing a true alcohol disorder.

More than 14,000 students at 119 4-year colleges were surveyed by researchers who then based their findings on these responses. Researches included questions that are based on criteria for the diagnosis of alcohol disorders as set forth by the American Psychiatric Association. Alcohol disorders include alcohol dependence, the most severe, to alcohol abuse, a less advanced, although still serious disorder.

Binge Drinking and Alcoholism in College

Binge drinkers (heavy episodic drinkers) and especially those who frequently binge drink, are at an increased risk of developing one of these alcohol disorders. Heavy episodic drinkers are defined as men who had five or more—or women who had four or more—drinks in a row at least once in a two week period before completing the survey questionnaire. The definition of a frequent heavy episodic drinker is someone who has consumed these amounts at least three times in the previous two weeks.

Further Findings of Alcoholism in College

Students who attend colleges with heavy drinking environments are more likely to be diagnosed with abuse or dependence. Male students are at greater risk than females. Nearly one in 10 college men under age 24 met a 12-month diagnosis of alcohol dependence compared to one in 20 college women under age 24.

Community Impact of Alcoholism in College

Each year, drinking affects college students, as well as college communities, and families.  And it’s clear that there is a relationship between alcohol and crime. The consequences of drinking include:

Death: 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries.

Assault: More than 690,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.

Sexual Abuse: More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

Injury: 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 receive unintentional injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

Academic Problems: About 25% of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall.

Health Problems: More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem.

Suicide Attempts: Between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use.

Drunk Driving: Each year an estimated 3,360,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 drive under the influence of alcohol.

Prevention: Alcoholism in College

Research strongly suggests that prevention strategies geared towards particular groups, specifically individual students, the student body as a whole, the college itself and its surrounding community, can help reduce the frequency and quantity of college drinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

http://alcoholism.about.com/

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

 

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Will urinalyzers cut down on DUI’s?

Posted on by
Reply

Will urinalyzers cut down on DUI’s?

We all know how and why breathalyzers work. You blow into a tube and it can accurately detect your blood alcohol content (BAC). If you have ever seen a breathalyzer hopefully it was because you owned one that you used to keep an eye on your own BAC and it wasn’t because you are drunk driving. If it was because you were drunk driving, at least you and the rest of the people on the road are safe. Drunk driving is dangerous and causes thousands of accidents a year. Many people needlessly die due to drunk driving and law enforcement as well as groups such as MADD; have been trying to combat it for years now. Finally there may be an answer to the drunk driving epidemic: urinalyzers.  

Few people actually have the extra cash to spend on a portable breathalyzer and even fewer people who have a portable breathalyzer with them, actually use it. The drunker people get the less responsible, shall we say, they get. This is where the urine-analyzer rightly dubbed the “urinalyzer”) comes in. A urinalyzers is a new device which measures your BAC when you go to the bathroom after a few drinks, a lot of drinks, or you can’t even walk to the bathroom in a straight line amount of drinks. These urinalyzers are the newest thing in nightclub technology created by a marketing agency DDB and Zouk, a popular night club in Singapore.

The urinalyzer is a creative and clever device that is meant to stop drunks before they ever become drivers. Therefore the urinalyzer is meant to stop drunk drivers. So how does a urinalyzer work?

  • First off, when you enter the nightclub you hand over your car keys in exchange for a special RFID card from the valet.
  • Second, you have a few drinks.
  • Third, you go to relieve yourself and the card will pair with the urine analyzer which then provides instant feedback on a screen above your urinal. 

If you have gone above the limit and don’t listen to the warning that you just got from your urinal, the RFID card will warn the valet pretty much not to let you drive. The valet will then offer you many other ways to get home that don’t involve you getting behind the wheel of a car. They may offer to call you a cab or pitch to you their own drive-home service.

The urinalyzer is a new proactive technology so it has plenty of room to develop and fix any minor inconveniences or problems; the biggest one right now being the fact that women don’t use urinals. It won’t be surprising if eventually the urinalyzer finds its way into the women’s restroom too. But in the meantime the urinalyzer has stopped 573 people over the legal limit; in only two weeks. The sad news about that is only 342 took the valet up on the cab or drive-home service but those numbers could improve and include every person over the limit with police involvement.

Either way it seems more than hopeful that yes, urinalyzers will cut down on DUI’s.

http://www.thefix.com/content/urinalyzers-tag-drunk-clubgoers91941

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

5 best college drinking games

Posted on by
Reply

College Drinking Games

Every college student on every college campus would argue what the best college drinking games are. Not only that but for every college drinking game there is a different variation depending on how you were taught to play it and how you are now passing it. Needless to say though, there are definitely some drinking games that are better than others. Here are the 5 best college drinking games and we think you probably already know what is number one.

5.) Beer pong: Beer pong requires a ping pong table, ping pong balls, some red solo cups and quite a bit of alcohol. Beer pong will probably always be THE BEST college drinking game. In beer pong, opposing teams, usually two, stand at opposite ends of the ping pong table with nine cups set up in a triangle in front of them. Each team tries to bounce pin pong balls into the opposing teams cups filled with beer forcing the opposing team to drink. Beer pong is fast paced and is fun for the “audience” too. The rules of beer pong vary slightly but this is definitely number one of the list of the 5 best college drinking games.

4.) You may know it as circle of death, waterfalls or ring of fire: This college drinking game has so many names but for the sake of keeping it simple we are going to call it Ring of Fire. Ring of fire requires a deck of cards and a lot of alcohol. Players sit in a circle and draw cards that are spread out in the middle of the circle of players; that’s why its name the ring of fire. Each card has a corresponding rule the players must follow. For example when a 6 is drawn it means all the chicks have to drink. “Six, chicks.” Then the next person will draw a card with a corresponding rule. This is the one of the best college drinking games because the rules can be changed to fit whatever and it can become totally hilarious. Only reason it doesn’t beat out beer pong as THE BEST is because it isn’t that great for onlookers.

3.) Quarters: Quarters is a quick and simple way to get drunk. This is what makes it one of the best college drinking games for those looking to get messed up quick. The point is to try and bounce a quarter into a shot glass and assign drinks. If you miss the shot you take a drink. Quarters is one of the best college drinking games, but it does take practice.

2.) Asshole: Asshole is one the best college drinking games but it is complicated and frustrating. A deck of cards is dealt out to players. In the first round the goal is to be the first player to get rid of all their cards. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the President next round, the last player to get rid of all their cards is the Asshole. The President creates hilarious moments for players and onlookers. The goal is always to become President next the round. Asshole can go on for a long time which makes it one of the best college drinking games.

1.) Never Have I Ever: Never have I ever mixes drinking, low inhibitions and sharing of personal information. Players take turns making “never have I ever…” (Example: Never have I ever been to France-they are usually more sexual in context when actually playing) statements and players who have done those activities have to drink. This is one of the best college drinking games because it can be really hilarious and you can learn some occasional disgusting facts about your friends. The only time this best college drinking game gets dull is when you run out of “never have I ever…” statements.

For more about college and drinking, check out the Top 5 Party Schools or Florida’s Hottest Spring Break Destinations

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Alateen and Al-Anon Resources

Posted on by
Reply

Alateen and Al-Anon Resources

Alateen and Al-Anon Resources

Addiction is known as a “family disease”. This is because it doesn’t just affect the addict or alcoholic. Loved ones of the addict/alcoholic are often caught up in the destruction as well. Luckily there are groups that address the family members of an alcoholic or addict specifically. Alateen and Al-Anon resources can be very helpful to the families of recovering alcoholics.

The family group idea is nearly as old as Alcoholics Anonymous. Early AA members and their wives visited AA groups around the country. The visiting wives often told the mates of the newer members of Alcoholics Anonymous about how they benefited from trying to live by AA’s Twelve Steps, and how it had helped to improve family relationships that often remained difficult after the alcoholic had become sober. Al-anon was founded in 1951, and the Twelve Steps were adopted as guiding principles.

Teenage children in the families of alcoholics soon realized that their problems differed from those of adult members. In 1957, Alateen grew out of this need. There are now over 1,700 Alateen groups worldwide.

Alateen and Al-Anon Resources: On the Web

Local Alateen and Al-Anon resources can be found through the website at http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/. The website can tell you about group meetings, what you can expect, and where to find a meeting in your area. Group members share their experience, strength, and hope with each other. Anyone who has been affected by another person’s drinking or drug use is welcome to join. There are no dues or fees in Alateen and Al-Anon meetings.

There are also a number of on-line meetings that can be used to supplement attendance at regular face-to-face meetings.

Alateen and Al-Anon Resources: On the phone

Alateen and Al-Anon meetings can also be found by calling the hotline at 888-4AL-ANON (888-425-2666) from 8 am to 8pm ET, Monday through Friday. There are also phone meetings which, like the online meetings, can be used to supplement regular face-to-face Alateen and Al-Anon meetings.

Alateen and Al-Anon Resources: Starting your own group

If there is no Alateen or Al-Anon group in your community, you may want to start one, along with one or two other people who need and want help. Any two or more relatives or friends of alcoholics who meet to solve their common problems may call themselves and Al-Anon or Alateen group, provided they have no other affiliation is a group.

You must decide on a group meeting place, day, and time. Then contact the World Service Office at Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. announcing your decision to start a group. You will be given registration information and instructions on how to complete it. The form can be downloaded from the website. When your group is registered, a group number is assigned and a packet containing introductory materials will be sent to the group’s current mailing address. After the registration process is completed the group contacts the local district or Al-Anon Information Service (AIS) to be included in the local meeting directory and the area web site.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

The Other Hangover

Posted on by
Reply

The Other Hangover

Everyone knows what a hangover feels like. The parched mouth, aching muscles, and splitting headache are all unfortunate consequences of a hard night of drinking. “The Other Hangover” is less easily explained. It sometimes starts with a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. You wake up and realize that something is wrong, but you can’t remember what it is. Slowly, flashes of what you did the night before begin to play in your head. Maybe you got in a fight; maybe you danced topless on the bar. Whatever it was, you begin to realize that your overindulgence the night before may have cost you a lot more than your bar tab.

This is what’s known as “The Other Hangover.” It’s the embarrassment, guilt, or shame you feel due to the dumb decisions you made under the influence of alcohol.

The Other Hangover: Anti-Drinking Campaign

“The Other Hangover” is a concept developed by University of Minnesota undergrads. This semester, the campus has been plastered with posters and ads that try to convince students not to overdo it at the bar.

The idea came from a group of advertising students tasked with creating a responsible-drinking campaign for a national competition last year. The students surveyed their peers and found that the threat of most negative consequences (DUI, alcohol poisoning, and death) was not enough to scare them into drinking responsibly.

The ads feature things like women dancing provocatively at a bar with the caption “Reputations Aren’t Drunk Proof”  and a guy with an arm around a girl and the other hand holding a drink which read “Before you got wasted, you weren’t known as ‘The Creep’”.

Some have praised The Other Hangover Campaign for relating to college students on a level they understand. Since young people tend to think they are invincible, traditional campaigns focused on the dangers of drinking don’t seem to do much good.

Critics of the campaign call it “drunk shaming” and say that it reinforces sexist stereotypes (i.e. if you are a woman and you make out with a guy at a bar, you’re a slut.) The message, they say, is don’t get to drunk, or you’ll do something stupid and everyone will hate you. They claim that there are better and more effective ways to teach college kids responsible drinking.

However, maybe the ad will work where others have failed. It is no secret that campaigns like “The Faces of Meth,” which show the physical deterioration of people who have been arrested for multiple charges of possession, has been more effective on teenagers than more traditional campaigns. Some think this is because it shows teens something that they actually care about – i.e. the erosion of their physical appearance, rather than something that they think could never happen to them-i.e. car crashes or overdoses. Similarly, The Other Hangover ads play on the social consequences of drinking rather than the physical or legal consequences. According to its creators, it targets the things that young people “truly care about.”

http://www.theotherhangover.com/

http://jezebel.com/the-other-hangover/

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Movie: Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

Posted on by
Reply

Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

Hangover Movie: Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is a classic hangover movie that every college kid and stoner has seen. It is very much a remake on the very classic Cheech and Chong movies with its ridiculous antics, drug use, sex, and drinking.

Harold Lee and Kumar Patel play the parts of two stoners who end up getting the munchies and decide they want to go to White Castle. Harold is the more introverted awkward character and Kumar is the more outgoing and spontaneous one setting this hangover movie up for some interesting situations. Harold and Kumar’s journey to find a White Castle because of the relocation of the old one; turns into an entire movie.

Harold and Kumar set out to get White Castle and in the process of trying to get some delicious hamburgers to satisfy their munchies, Harold gets bitten by an animal and ends up in the hospital. After getting out of the hospital Harold and Kumar continue their hunt for White Castle and then the car breaks down. After their car breaks down they meet a nice man named Randy who takes them with him to his house to fix their car. At Randy’s house, Randy offers to let Harold and Kumar sleep with his beautiful wife Liane. After this debacle, Harold and Kumar end up picking up a hitch-hiker, who when they stop at a gas station steals their car. So now Harold and Kumar are walking and end up jay walking. After jay walking they get stopped by a police officer who just likes to pick on minorities and ends up arresting Harold and holding him in a cell. Harold and Kumar escape and both run to hid in the bush and come face to face with a cheetah. And the antics go on and on.

Eventually Harold and Kumar find themselves at a raging party that they stop by for a minute and they also in the end make it to White Castle after being up all night losing their car, walking, hitting a party and going through everything they have to get it. While at White Castle the hitchhiker returns the car. And while Harold and Kumar are eating the White Castle it is an epic moment for them because what was supposed to be a quick trip to White Castle had turned into an all-night debacle of sex, drugs, music, and drinking. The classic hangover movie: Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

Hangover Movie: Old School

Posted on by
Reply

Hangover Movie - Will Ferrell

Hangover Movie: Old School

Parties, drinking, and college life is the back drop for the Hangover Movie, “Old School”. Only difference between this college life and reality is that the main characters are well out of college and much older. Old school stars Luke Wilson as Mitch Martin, Juliette Lewis as Heidi, Vince Vaughn as Bernard and Will Ferrell as Franks.

The movie begins with Mitch, Luke Wilson, breaking up with his girlfriend. In the midst of this breakup he goes house hunting and finds a house located near the campus of the fictional school Harrison University. The first big party of scene of this hangover movie is thrown by Mitch’s friends Bernard and Frank (Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell). Frank ends up streaking through the neighborhood and Mitch ends up making a fool of himself in front of an old friend Nicole (Ellen Pompeo).

When Mitch wakes up from this party he realizes that he slept with an underage girl who is played by Elisha Cuthbert. Soon after Mitch gets himself together he meets the dean of students at the college who is onto Mitch and his friend’s antics. So Mitch makes the house he is living in a fraternity for the college. From this point forward it is just a mess of drunken parties, failing marriages, and hilarious jokes. Eventually the dean tries to revoke the fraternity’s charter. Towards the end of the movie the dean’s attempt to get rid of Mitch and his friends fails because he ends up getting fired due to a bribery scandal.

In the end everything works out and Mitch ends up with the girl from the very beginning, Nicole. Mitch and Bernard leave the fraternity they started and Frank who has now lost his marriage due to his incessant drinking decides to stay on as an authority figure for the fraternity.

College is the place for parties and this is one of the classic stories of college binge drinking. It is almost socially acceptable to be binge drinking in college and this is a perfect example of it. Except the men in this movie are older, are married, and have kids. It shows the consequences due to drinking but it also is one of the slapstick funny comedies that only Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughan, and Luke Wilson could do. This is the perfect example of drunken nights, crazy antics, and their consequences.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.

College Drinking Statistics

Posted on by
1

College Drinking Statistics

College drinking statistics have rarely wavered since it became apparent that most college kids were drinking. The college drinking statistics may seem high to you if you have never seen them before but the truth is, as most of us know, a majority of students drink in college.

Drinking is a continued problem for most colleges. Nearly 73% of the students drink every now and then. That is nothing in comparison to the college drinking statistics that say 1 in 4 aged (18-34) students binge drink which means they drink four or more alcoholic beverages in a few hours.

Frightening Freshman

The average male freshman consumes 7.39 drinks-which can mean a bottle of beer, glass of wine, shot or mixed drink-per week. The average female freshman has an average of about 3.86 drinks per week. This is better in comparison to some of the binge drinking statistics in the past for college students.

College drinking statistics affecting grades

31% of college students miss a class due to drinking and 22% have failed an exam or essay due to drinking. Around 159,000 of the nation’s college freshmen will drop out of school because of drinking or using drugs.

Sex

Also when it comes to college drinking statistics, alcohol and sex go hand in hand. College drinking has been involved in 90% of all campus rapes, where either the rapist or the victim was intoxicated. It is heavily involved with one night stands and most hook ups on college campuses. Around 70% of college kids say that they had unplanned sex when they otherwise wouldn’t have because they were drinking. While under the influence of alcohol or drugs 20% of college students didn’t take any precautions even though they may do so normally while sober.

Underage Drinking

College drinking statistics don’t only apply to those of drinking age either. College begins when young adults are 18. This gives way to the college drinking statistic that 63% or 2 out of 3; the underage college students reported drinking in the past 30 days and 42% had five or more drinks.

Part of the problem with college drinking and the reason college drinking statistics are so high is because of the availability of alcohol to those of age and underage. Also many places market their drinks to the college audience, making it cheaper and easier to get it. Another part of the problem is that college students underestimate their drinking. It’s easy to not think you are drinking a lot when everyone around is drinking the same amount. It’s automatically assumed that drinking and college go hand in hand. College drinking statistics also are saying that college student’s supersize their alcoholic beverages meaning that the volume of the alcohol is increased with the cup size. The college student’s idea of one drink is much larger than it actually is. For example if a college student drinks out of a keg they may consider one cup, one drink, regardless of its size.

Either way college drinking statistics are not slowly declining but are rather staying the same or climbing upwards and this has a significant impact not only on the students health but also their education.

If you need help with your addiction give us a call now at 1-800-984-4003.