Cause & Effect of Binge Drinking

What do failing grades, frequent memory lapses, fights, brutal hangovers and unplanned sexual activity all have in common? They are all frequent results of binge drinking by college students. On a typical Friday or Saturday night you can find the average college student out drinking and having fun. Normally partying with friends at a party, bar, or club; most of these college students are underage consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, or as its better known, “binge drinking.”The term binge drinking is defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in a row by men and four or more drinks in a row by women, at least once in a two week period. “One” drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or one shot of liquor. Alcohol abuse has taken part on America’s college campuses since the first colleges recorded and is considered to be the most serious of all problems on campuses in America. According to College Heath, “binge drinkers are more likely to be men, white students, attend school in the Northeast part of the country, to be associated with fraternities, sororities, and athletic activities, and to also live in frat or sorority houses or dorms, as opposed to living off campus.” CSPI, a survey conducted by Harvard University’s School of Public Health, found that 44% of U.S. college students who took their survey had participated in binge drinking two weeks prior to the survey; 51% of the males drank five or more drinks in a row and 40% of the women drank four or more drinks in a row. The same Harvard School of Public Health survey showed that, the percent of binge drinkers was almost uniform from freshman year to graduation, regardless of the students being under the legal drinking age or not.

We know what binge drinking is and who engages in binge drinking, but the question of why still remains. Drinking to socialize, drinking as culture, drinking as a right of passage, and drinking to relax are all reasons why college students binge drink.