SATURDAY REWIND: Young adults getting drunk before going out to get drunk

Every September, alarmed parents are clobbered with news of campus alcohol-related arrests at the universities attended by their sons and daughters.  This year, the numbers have been quite staggering.  For example, reports out of Tempe, Ariz. had more than 1,367 alcohol-related arrests just in the first three weekends of school at Arizona State University.

The following article from the alcohol research news archive demonstrates how as many as three-fourths of college students "pre-funk" or "pre-drink," ramping up their alcohol consumption before they even head out for the evening.

The alcohologists call it pre-drinking: Getting a buzz on before going to parties to get more intoxicated. A study released Tuesday which will be cited in the February 2013 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, reports that 65-75 percent of college-age students drink up before heading out rather than waiting to arrive at their destinations before starting to drink alcohol.

The pre-drinking leads to absence from school or work, hangovers, Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), violent behavior, risky sex and other drug use more than just drinking at the event would, according to researchers. Not earth-shattering news for many young adults who came to with a little regret the next day, but for the first time scientists have quantified the differences in alcohol consumption between pre-drinkers and those who waited until they got out.

Researchers found that when students drank prior to going to a bar or club, they consumed seven drinks, and students who drank only at a bar or event consumed just more than four drinks. This led to 24 percent of those who pre-partied getting involved in something that had consequences, versus just 18 percent of those who waited until going out to begin drinking.

Pre-drinking does not automatically mean a young adult has the disease of alcoholism. It seems to be part of the rite-of-passage for college-age people, more so in the United States where the drinking age is 21 compared to Switzerland, where the study was conducted. The drinking age in Switzerland is 16. What the study points to is one of the warning signs of alcohol use disorders: Alcohol use prior to use in a social setting.
-- from examiner.com

To put the pre-drinking into context... a male weighing 180 lbs. drinking seven drinks over three hours would be at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .107 and over the legal limit for driving.  If the same guy went out without pre-drinking, four drinks over three hours would instead put the BAC at around .039, well below the .08 legal standard.  A 120 lb. female, using the averages from the study, would have a BAC of  .214 with seven drinks in three hours and .10 with four drinks in three hours.  (A drink being a 4 oz. wine, a 12 oz. beer or a 1.5 oz. shot.)
www.alcohologist.com

 

SATURDAY REWIND: Social media can give clues to college drinking

Hundreds of thousands of college students have returned to campuses for the fall semester, many of them first-timers getting accustomed to campus life.  And for some young adults, it is an exposure to binge drinking that keeps their parents on edge miles away.  Having a college student is a chance to cut the cord a little and let them discover a few things.  With the dangers of alcohol being what they are especially for young adults (see related underage drinking research here), concerned parents can still get a glimpse into the sides of the university living in which their sons or daughters voluntarily enroll.  According to this October article from the alcohol research news archive, social media can provide clues if alcohol is more of a priority than books.


Eleven students were hospitalized for alcohol poisoning in Houston over the weekend after an on-campus Halloween party. Organizers said more than 1,000 students attended the dorm party, which has been an annual rite of passage since the 1970s.

No parent of a college-age man or woman sleeps well with such headlines. But they don’t need to go much beyond their son’s or daughter’s social media pages to get a glimpse at what’s happening on campus. A recent study published in the quarterly Spectrum by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that 83 percent of college students’ social media profiles refer to drinking. These profiles could help target problem drinking patterns before they include at trip to the hospital, as the bash at Rice did early Sunday morning.

Colleges and universities already spread college safety prevention information about alcohol misuse on campus, however the NIAAA study indicated that students would rather hear from their peers if their social media pages indicated a lot of drinking. Parents could also intervene, but students are likely to be more responsive when the parents reply to the posts in nonjudgmental and respectful ways.

A separate NIAAA study indicates that only 10 percent of students drink in a safe manner (e.g. pacing themselves), 30 percent engaged in high-risk drinking activities and the remainder engaged in what they claimed were a mix of safe and risky activities. A look at the social profiles online could give a glimpse into activities past and whether a student is likely to be among the 10 percent or the 30 percent.


My own campus experience is decades behind me.  (The drinking age was lower, and nobody had cell phones... there was such a time.)  My children are years away from jetting out of the nest and onto some campus.  The practical takeaway advice in the story is to be respectful.  These are young ADULTS, and are eager to explore life on their terms and even make their own mistakes, but parenting doesn't end with the emptying of the nest.  Regard their boundaries, but keep them safe. It's a fine line.
www.alcohologist.com