Martinez, J. A., Sher, K. J., & Wood, P. K. (2014). Drinking consequences and subsequent drinking in college students over 4 years. Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 28(4), 1240–1245. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038352

Reference for Consequences of Alcohol Use

In an experimental study by Martinez et al., researchers found that consequences of heavy drinking were associated with more frequent heavy drinking episodes. Particularly, there was a consistent relationship between consequences of regretted sexual experiences and blackouts with heavy drinking behavior. Researchers believe the reason behind this relationship is due to "protective behavioral strategy-related and cognitive interventions."

College Students Continue to Drink Despite Known Consequences

Heavy drinking among college students is associated with an increased risk of physical, mental, social, and legal consequences.

Heavy drinking is binge drinking once a month or more over the span of a year.

Creighton University

Google

Alcohol consumption and binge drinking are highly prevalent among college students. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more alcoholic beverages for women, and five or more for men, on the same occasion (Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2021).

Alcohol Use among College Students

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Binge drinking for women is considered to be four or more drinks, while binge drinking for men is five or more drinks.

Male college students drink MORE OFTEN than female college students, but females consume more alcohol when they do drink.

Gender Differences with Alcohol Use in College Students

According to The Reason For Drinking Scale (Cronin, 1997) there are three areas of reasoning for drinking.

Mood Enhancement, Tension Reduction, and Social Camaraderie

Reason for Drinking

Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH-2021-DS0001) public use data file. Past-month alcohol use: a drink of an alcoholic beverage (a can or bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a wine cooler, a shot of distilled spirits, or a mixed drink with distilled spirits in it), not counting a sip or two from a drink in the past 30 days. Past-month binge alcohol use: five or more drinks on the same occasion for males or four or more drinks on the same occasion for females on at least 1 day in the past 30 days. Available from: https://www.datafiles.samhsa.gov/dataset/national-survey-drug-use-and-health-2021-nsduh-2021-ds0001. Accessed July 28, 2023.

Alcohol Use with College Students Study Reference

Consequences of Alcohol Use

Alcohol consumption among college students is highly correlated with social settings such as bars and parties. Research involving 2,646 college students found that one in four reported an aggressive incident in these locations. Furthermore, more severe aggressive altercations were correlated with higher levels of alcohol consumption.

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