Binge Drinking: What Is it

Binge Drinking: What is it and Who is Doing it?

Once a year, the citizens of the small Belgian city of Binche don large white masks, dance in the streets and drink copious quantities of good Belgian beer in a festival that can last several days and which gave the English language the word, "binge." In sharp contrast to the camaraderie and good-natured fun that characterizes the annual event in Belgium, though, when people engage in binge drinking episodes elsewhere, the outcomes are typically much more serious and can even be life-threatening. Unfortunately, there is an increasingly tendency among many young Americans to engage in binge drinking to the extent that it has drawn attention from law enforcement authorities as well as policymakers who are searching for ways to address this growing problem. To shed some light on the problem and determine its prevalence, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning binge drinking in general and its impact on young people in particular, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

By definition, both young people and older adults can engage in binge drinking from time to time whenever they sit down with a six-pack of beer, a practice that would appear to be commonplace. For example, Durkin, Wolfe and Clark (1999) advise, "Binge drinking has been defined as the consumption of five or more drinks in a row" (450). Although it is reasonable to suggest that people can engage in risk-taking behaviors after just one such episode of binge drinking (i.e., drunk driving, getting into fights, etc.), it is when people engage in binge drinking on a frequent basis, though, that most problems tend to occur. In this regard, Hensley (2001) reports that, "Frequent binge drinking is characterized as engaging in binge drinking on three or more occasions during the past 2 weeks" (100). While both young and older adults engage in binge-drinking practices, the problem of binge drinking, though, appears to be much more pronounced among younger people and the majority of the sources reviewed below agree that binge drinking by young people represents a national healthcare problem. This characterization may be related to the fact that when older adults engage in binge-drinking practices they are simply labeled "alcoholics" and a different set of criteria are applied to their behaviors. Nevertheless, the growing consensus that binge drinking is a major problem among young people has been the focus of a growing amount of research in recent years.

Anyone who has survived the experience can readily attest that adolescence is a period in people's lives that is marked by experimentation with news things that may involve risk-taking behaviors. In many cases, such risk-taking behaviors involve experimenting with alcohol and illegal drugs. According to a comprehensive analysis of alcohol abuse by young people, Crockett and Crouter (1999) report, "Although experimentation and occasional use of alcohol can sometimes be problematic, a bigger concern is with adolescents who use alcohol frequently and heavily. Binge drinking can affect adolescents' physical health and impair their everyday functioning, as well as lead to a host of other problems" (p. 223). Likewise, Durkin and his associates emphasize that, "Binge drinking has been characterized as the foremost public health hazard for college students. Students who binge drink are more likely than other students to experience a wide variety of alcohol-related problems, including hangovers, blackouts, missing class due to drinking, engaging in unplanned sexual activity, damaging property, and getting into trouble with the police" (450). In addition, young people who engage in binge drinking episodes on a regular basis are more likely to become alcoholics as a result (Durkin et al. 450). This point is echoed by Hensley (2001) who notes, "The more frequently a student binge drinks the greater the number of problems he or she experiences as a result of alcohol use" (100).

Unlike their older adult counterparts, young people in particular appear to be much more prone to the powerful effects of peer pressure in ways that may compel them to engage in binge drinking episodes. For instance, in his review of Wechsler and Wuethrich's book, Dying to Drink: Confronting Binge Drinking on College Campuses (Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 2002), Reifman (2003) reports that there are a number of environmental factors that contribute to binge drinking among young people attending college, including "alcohol outlet density" and "alcohol-related traditions and rituals on college campuses, Greek activities and parties [and] sports" (893). In addition, although both males and female college students share the same risk of the adverse physical and psychosocial effects that can result from engaging in binge drinking episodes, female students are at higher risk of experiencing sexual assault as a result (Reifman 893). Clearly, binge drinking practices among young people carry a wide range of risks, but the practice continues unabated on most of the nation's college campuses, but it is not only the binge drinkers who are being harmed by the practice.

The point is made in an earlier study by Chaloupka and Wechsler (1996) that not only are they harming themselves, college students who binge drink can also harm other students as well. In this regard, Caloupka and Wechsler report, "Binge drinking students impose considerable costs for other students. Binge drinking among college students is associated with a variety of consequences, including greater probabilities of injury, unsafe sexual activity, health problems, victimization (of assaults or rape), sexual harassment, and impaired sleep and study time" (113). Given these well-documented hazards and adverse outcomes associated with binge drinking, it would seem reasonable to assume that most people would try to avoid engaging in them. Unfortunately, Chaloupka and Wechsler emphasize that, "College students continue to show persistently high rates of binge drinking even as alcohol abuse in most other segments of society has fallen sharply" (113).

In an effort to determine the cause of these persistently high rates of binge drinking among college students in particular, Durkin and his associates (1999) cite the paucity of timely and relevant studies that have examined binge drinking among college students using sociological theories of deviant behavior to help understand why many of these young people engage in alcohol-consumption practices that are known to carry high levels of risks. By way of emphasizing the need, Durkin and his colleagues also cite the results of research that indicate almost half of college students had engaged in binge drinking episodes during the previous 2-week period, and cite demographic variables that appear to contribute to the tendency to engage in binge drinking including the finding that fraternity members have a higher rate of binge drinking than other students, males binge drink more than their female counterparts, and white students binge drink more frequently than other racial groups. To explain these prevalence rates, Durkin et al. applied the constructs of social bonding theory to binge drinking practices among college students in the United States and found that young people who enjoyed higher levels of attachment with their families and the larger college community, higher levels of affiliation with religious institutions and a commitment to academic values were less likely to engage in binge drinking practices. In an effort to expand their application of social bond theory to binge drinking practices among college student, Durkin and his associates also include the results of studies that did not use this theory but contained measures which corresponded to the variables involved in a social bond theory application. The results of these analyses also found that students who maintained higher levels of religious affiliation were much less likely to engage in binge drinking practices as well as a correlation between a commitment to academic values and the likelihood of young people being binge drinkers. According to Durkin et al., "These findings are consistent with the predictions of social bond theory regarding the impact of commitment and involvement on deviant behavior" (450). It should be pointed out, though, that the construct of "commitment to academic values" in one study was conceptualized as "studying less than 4 hours a day," and it is reasonable to posit that many college students who are highly committed to academic values may not study this much every single day of their college careers. Nevertheless, these findings provide some useful insights concerning which college students are most likely to engage in binge drinking practices.