Binge Drinking Issue among Canadian Undergraduates Thesis

Introduction

According to Demers et al (2002) drinking is an important component of Canadian social life and likewise its presence in the campus premises is also inevitable. Every campus has its own rules related to the use of alcohol in its premises. Researchers have defined the campus environment as a “wet culture.” On the other hand the style of alcohol consumption by the university students has been defined as heavy drinking or “binge drinking”.

Pedersen and Labrie (2008) are of the view that binge drinking is growing as a serious social problem among undergraduates and there are numerous reports of students being affected by its consequences. In this paper I intend to review the fact that binge drinking is a growing problem among Canadian undergraduates. I intend to explore the relevant literature to find out the causes. I will also evaluate the reasons and how it controls the level of alcohol consumption among the undergraduates.

Discussion

Demers et al (2002) is of the view that there are five factors behind students’ binge drinking attitude. They have been mentioned below:

• Socio demographic characteristics such as race, gender, religion and marital status.
• Psychological factors such as beliefs, expectations, motivations, attitudes and personality.
• Family background and upbringing.
• Peer influence
• Individual perceptions related to campus life, culture and social activities.

Demers et al (2002) have identified another factors that influence students to drink. It is mentioned below:

Drinking Settings

It has been studied that student drinking to also related to the drinking environment such as with whom, where, why and when do they consume alcohol. Situations where students are found drinking heavily include bars, in group especially same sex groups and in large parties. Binge drinking is more common on Saturday nights, with friends, in the absences of spouses or partners, on dates, in private parties and in bars. Women are more likely to drink in family and restaurant environments whereas men drink on various occasions (Demers et al. 2002).

Binge drinking is found to be more common among students living in campuses as compared to students living with their families. The general perception among students is that drinking per occasion is positively associated with “the importance of involvement in recreational-oriented activities.” On the other hand it is considered to be negatively associated with importance of “involvement in academic oriented activities.”

For that matter it has been observed the binge drinking is more common among those students who give importance to “recreational oriented activities” and less common among those students who give more importance to “academic oriented activities.” The presence or absence of a drinking partner or someone influential for either case also plays an important role in binge drinking behavior of the students. The more the students believe drinking to be a norm on campus the more they indulge themselves in drinking. The statistics show that 51% students drink due to situation and 49% drink at their own individual level (Demers et al. 2002).

Students’ Perception

Pedersen and Labrie (2008) have highlighted another factor that influences the amount of alcohol consumption among undergraduates. It has been observed that drinking is more frequent on occasions such as 21^st birthday celebrations, prepartying, home football games and spring break etc. It has been observed that several norms have been associated with college parties. Usually prepartying and drinking games compel the students to drink more.

Prepartying includes drinking heavily before leaving for a certain destination such as a concert. Students often get involved in heavy drinking simply because they do not want to feel to be the only one not drinking. At the same time it is also believed that heavily drunk individuals also attract the opposite sex. Another reason for binge drinking is that men want to prove their drinking abilities to their peers.

Currently women have also been noticed participating in drinking games. The reason behind this behavior is almost the same. Women are of the view that men are more attracted towards women having similar drinking habits. This reason also influences their level of alcohol consumption (Pedersen and Labrie, 2008).

Drinking games also compel many men to indulge in binge drinking. It has been observed that male members participate in such games simply to show their ability to “hold the liquor”. They may also indulge in such games in order to impress the opposite sex. Research has shown that students are more influenced by same sex norms so women usually keep themselves away from such activities (Pedersen and Labrie, 2008).

Various Reasons for Alcohol Consumption

Another article discusses the reasons for binge drinking among students in detail. Kairouz et al. (2002) is of the view that reasons for drinking and setting both play an important role in identifying the alcohol consumption level among students. The survey showed variety of reason for which students took to drinking.

• 24.9% of the sample students stated that they drank for aesthetic purposes simply to enjoy its taste and to enjoy the meal.
• 21.3% consumed alcohol of social reason such as to celebrate.
• 16.9% stated that they wanted to be sociable or polite.
• 0.6% of sample students stated that they drank to support others.
• In all 63% students stated that their primary reason for drinking was for social reasons (Kairouz et al., 2002).

Some students stated that they consumed alcohol for psychological reasons:

• 7.5% felt they wanted to relax.
• 6.4% wanted to feel good.
• 2.1% wanted to forget their worries.
• 2.1% stated they wanted to feel less shy (Kairouz et al., 2002).

Another very common reason given by students was that they consumed alcohol because they wanted to get drunk (Kairouz et al., 2002).

Over all it is believed that the various reasons that the students disclosed for getting drunk was directly linked with the level of alcohol consumed. Students seem to drink differently in different situations and their level of alcohol consumption also varied according to the situation. Men are more likely to drink heavily for various reasons such as to celebrate, to support the company or when they wanted to get drunk. Men drank more to relax and to feel good as compared to women with similar reason. However there was no gender difference noted among those who wanted to drink simply to shun away the negative feelings (Kairouz et al., 2002).

Conclusion

To conclude the review of the article is indicative of the fact that binge drinking is a growing problem among Canadian undergraduates. Students indulge in heavy drinking for various reasons. Effective measures need to be taken by the administration of the educational institutions to control the use of alcohol on campus. Binge drinking has led to various mishaps which need not to be ignored. Only through effective policies, education and parental support can the problem be solved effectively.

References

Demers, A. Kairouz, S., Adlaf, E., Gliksman, L., Taylor, B., Marchand, A. “Multilevel Analysis of Situational Drinking among Canadian Undergraduates.” Social Science and Medicine, 55, (2002). Pg. 415-424.

A peer reviewed article with discusses the common factors behind the student behavior of binge drinking. Apart from socio demographic, family, psychological factors, drinking situation and drinking partner also influences the student behavior. The findings have been supported by research done on campus students and occasionally comparison has been made on drinking attitudes of day scholars and boarders.

Kairouz, S., Gliksman, L., Demers, A.., Adlaf, E. “For All These Reasons, I Do… Drink: A Multilevel Analysis of Contextual Reasons for Drinking among Canadian Undergraduates.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol, (2002). Pg. 600-608.

A peer reviewed article which discusses the various reasons for alcohol drinking among college students. The article also discusses the fact that alcohol consumption varies according to the reason for drinking. Men are more likely to drink for getting drunk as compared to women. The article discusses the survey conducted to support the hypothesis.

Pedersen, E. R., Labrie, J. “Normative Misperceptions of Drinking Among College Students: A Look at the Specific Context of Prepartying and Drinking Games.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, (2008). Pg. 406-409.

A peer reviewed article supported by research findings. The article discusses the fact that students’ perceptions of various campus norms play an important role in influencing their drinking behavior. Men and women have their own perceptions which motivate them to drink heavily.