Binge drinking common, study says
April 25, 2008
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Drinking heavily on special occasions seems to be a normal activity for college students, according to a study conducted in part by MU psychology professor Kenneth Sher.
Sher helped conduct a study of college students about their drinking habits over the course of their college careers at MU.
He started with a group of students who entered the university as freshmen in 2002, surveying their drinking habits, especially on certain events traditionally celebrated with alcohol.
In 2005, around the time of the students’ 21st birthdays, Sher surveyed them about their drinking habits on this particular birthday.
“We wanted to focus on an event that has been associated with, for some people, very heavy drinking,” Sher said.
Of those surveyed, 80 percent reported using some sort of alcoholic substance to celebrate their 21st birthday. Subjects also reported drinking high amounts of alcohol on this particular birthday — about 12 and one-half drinks on average.
The tradition of taking 21 shots of an alcoholic substance on the 21st birthday was of particular interest to Sher’s study.
About a quarter of women and a third of men stated they finished 21 drinks on their birthday. It was never made clear whether the drinks were straight, standard drinks, although Sher said it seemed likely that some were mixed drinks as well. The statistics also made it clear that a majority of students do not finish 21 drinks.
“It is alarming to see so many people engaging in such a hazardous activity,” Sher said.
Sher said this is not an MU-specific issue because the findings relate campuses across the country. He said he is now working with a colleague in Austin, Texas to collect data.
Sher said this type of binge drinking happens on different types of campuses, but there are differences. He said students at large schools with big athletic programs and residential students tend to be heavier drinkers but that the same trends exist in small private schools. Private, religiously affiliated schools tend to see less drinking.
“I think we certainly have a portion of our students that drink too much and too often,” Wellness Resource Center Director Kim Dude said.
Dude said risky activities that bring about both medical and safety issues happen when people drink until their blood alcohol content is over .06. She said students should drink in moderation up to a BAC of .05, which is dependent upon the sex and weight of an individual, amount of alcohol consumed and the amount of time spent drinking.
The Wellness Resource Center would put a major focus on persuading students to not attempt the 21-on-21 tradition, Dude said.
Sher suggested that students shift their attention from quantity to quality by having a really good bottle of wine at a nice dinner so they can remember their 21st birthday.
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