According to a new article in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, based on a study led by the University of Buffalo, many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they’re in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault. The college years are notably associated with drinking. But little was known before this study about how young women change their high school drinking habits once they start college.
This study’s research team followed 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college. They found that of the women who reported that they had never drank heavily in high school (if at all), nearly half admitted to heavy episodic drinking — commonly called binge drinking — at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who were already engaging in binge drinking in high school continued that pattern when in college.
More importantly, binge drinking was linked to students’ risk of sexual victimization — regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.
Of all young women whose biggest binge had included four to six drinks, 25 percent said they’d been sexually victimized in the fall semester. That included anything from unwanted sexual contact to rape.
And the more drinks those binges involved, the greater the likelihood of sexual assault. Of those women who’d consumed 10 or more drinks in a sitting since starting college, nearly sixty percent were sexually victimized by the end of their first semester. Though young women are not at fault for being victimized – the blame lies squarely with the perpetrator — if colleges can make more progress in reducing heavy drinking, they may be able to prevent more sexual assaults in the process.
The study also underscores the fact that even kids who don’t drink in high school are yet at risk of heavy drinking once they head off to college, Maria Testa, lead researcher of the study, from the University of Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions, said.
For parents, the bottom line is to talk with your kids about drinking before they go to college — whatever you think their drinking habits have been in high school, according to Testa. And after they’ve left for college, keep talking. “Parents still do have an impact on their kids after they go to college,” Testa said. “Parenting is not over.”
But what if your child, or other family member of any age has already walked down the road to heavy or binge drinking? How to get them turned around and get them out of alcohol addiction is a dilemma faced by many parents and other members of the family. Once someone has gone into heavy drinking you may wonder if you are dealing with an alcoholic.
The characteristics one may use to identify alcoholism include:
- Alcohol consumption has become so strong that the person has cravings, or a strong urge or need to drink
- Person losing control; unable to impose discipline on his or her drinking
- A physical dependence and symptoms of withdrawal if the person quits consuming alcohol
Developing a tolerance and thus needing to drink greater amounts to get the same effect as lower amounts gave before.
If these characteristics describe someone you know or love, Narconon may be the answer you’ve been looking for. Narconon has successfully been helping alcoholics and drug addicts to get and stay clean and sober since 1966. There are no Narconon meetings to attend but, there are Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers on six continents of the world that can help with alcohol abuse.
If you or someone you needs help with alcohol abuse, contact a Narconon drug rehab center today..
Resources:
NIH, NIAAA Alcoholism References
Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, World Health Organization, 2011.
The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration definition of alcoholism.
The World Health Organization also adds that when the drinker tries to cut down on use, he or she is unable to, even when the habit is having a destructive effect on their life.