College Students, Alcohol Use and Abuse

It is well documented that college students demonstrate high rates of alcohol use and abuse. For example, the annual Monitoring the Future survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that in 2006, 65.4% of college students had consumed alcohol in the past month. Furthermore, over 40% of college students had five drinks or more in the previous 2 weeks during one drinking episode. This rate was higher than for similar age individuals who were not attending college.

Increased alcohol use during the college years is to a large extent a developmentally based phenomenon that occurs as young adults begin to adjust to heightened levels of personal freedom and easier access to alcohol. Many students are able to successfully avoid developing maladaptive alcohol use. ...