How Can Student Alcohol Training Prevent College Binge Drinking?

Why Do College Students Binge Drink?

There are many reasons a college student may drink. The reasons vary from students trying to experiment and explore limits to students self-medicating due to stress or other factors.

Social Settings and Self Exploration

For many college students, entering a higher education setting is their first time venturing away from home. Many young adults in a college setting explore who they are while living independently. Some of that exploration involves experimenting with alcohol.

These students may not understand their limits or lose track of what they are drinking. Social settings can be especially challenging for many college students due to the pressure to drink.

Self-Medicating

Though social drinking and self-exploration may be why some college students binge drink, many use alcohol to self-medicate. With the freedom of being away from home for the first time, there is also added responsibility.

Students are now balancing their schedules, classes, transportation, finances, social life, and activities. For the first time, many of these students are not receiving support from their families. Due to the added stress, students may turn to binge drinking to cope with the new stressors within their lives.

College Binge Drinking Statistics

Among college students aged 18 to 24:

• 3,360,000 drive under the influence of alcohol
• 696,000 are assaulted by another student who is under the influence of alcohol
• 599,000 are unintentionally injured while under the influence of alcohol
• 22,219 are hospitalized for an overdose of alcohol

• In 2018, a reported 19 million undergraduate students consumed alcohol. A total of 9 million of those students were under the age of 21.
• College students who drink while underage have an increased risk for an alcohol use disorder. A total of 104,000 college students at the age of 18 met the criteria for an alcohol use disorder in 2019. The number more than doubled to over 230,000 college students meeting the criteria for an alcohol use disorder by the age of 21.
• Alcohol-related incidents cause a total of 1,519 deaths of college students per year.

These stats were sourced from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking.

What Are the Risks of Binge Drinking for College Students?

High blood alcohol content and impairment levels associated with binge drinking place college-aged students at significant risk. Those who binge drink place themselves and those around them at a substantially elevated danger of negative consequences, such as traffic accidents, violent crimes, injury-related deaths, physical assault, alcohol use disorder, reduced academic performance, and sexual assault.

What Is Student Alcohol Training?

Student Alcohol Training programs, such as TIPS® for the university, are designed explicitly for College & University (C&U) students to empower them with the knowledge and skills to manage potential alcohol-related issues on and off campus.

Students learn the dangers of drunk driving, underage drinking, and intoxication. The course provides students with real-world situations and solutions to make alcohol consumption responsible and safe for all.

By taking the course and having alcohol consumption knowledge available, students can make informed, responsible decisions about drinking while at college. Students become safer by learning strategies to use to avoid alcohol-related harm. Student Alcohol Training is recommended for all students attending a higher education institution.