Underage Drinking Among College Students: Causes and Solutions

Introduction

The establishment of age 21 as the minimum legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages has resulted in substantial decreases in alcohol-related traffic accidents. Nevertheless, alcohol consumption by underage students remains a prevalent problem on college campuses. Furthermore, alcohol consumption remains problematic even after students reach the legal drinking age, as statistics indicate that alcohol-related fatalities on college and university campuses are not uncommon. It has become culturally embedded among numerous student bodies that excessive alcohol consumption is an expected rite of passage.

While the consequences of this behavior are typically short-term for the vast majority of students, it can also produce long-term consequences by establishing patterns of behavior, addiction, and dependency that disrupt adult life and ruin promising futures. The following review of literature explores the research question: What are the factors and characteristics associated with underage drinking among college students, and what effect do these features have on promoting this social behavior? The primary purpose of this investigation is to identify how the factors associated with underage drinking influence the behavior, and how those factors may be addressed through effective alcohol intervention programs.

Prevalence and Consequences of College Drinking

In 2001, statistics indicate that roughly 1,700 college students died due to alcohol-related injuries (Brown, Matousek, & Radue, 2009). This trend suggests that binge drinking is increasing on college campuses, as over one-fourth of all college students report being intoxicated at least three times during the previous month, and 12.8 percent report sustaining alcohol-related injuries (Brown, Matousek, & Radue, 2009). Research statistics also indicate that roughly 50 percent of male students and 36 percent of female students can be categorized as heavy episodic drinkers (Linowski & DiFulvio, 2012). Recent statistics support the finding that heavy drinking among college students is widespread (Kazemi et al., 2011). A Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study reported that 44 percent of the college population can be classified as binge drinkers (Kazemi et al., 2011). Binge drinking is associated with a range of negative consequences, including increased rates of rape, violence, suicide, academic failure, and sexually transmitted diseases (Kazemi et al., 2011). The literature also reports that underage drinkers consume alcohol on fewer occasions than legal-age drinkers, but when they do drink, they are more likely to drink to excess (Wechsler & Nelson, 2010).

Consistent misuse of alcohol has been shown to lead to long-term health complications, such as cirrhosis of the liver, hypertension, and cancer (Kiernan, Fhearall, & Coyne, 2012). Additional negative consequences include "academic difficulties, legal problems and unsafe sex" (Brown, Matousek, & Radue, 2009, p. 611). Secondary effects include "property damage and vandalism, fights, sexual violence, and reduced quality of life" (Brown, Matousek, & Radue, 2009, p. 611). The economic cost of underage drinking has been estimated at $53 billion annually (Brown, Matousek, & Radue, 2009).

Problem Analysis: Causal Factors

There are numerous causal factors influencing underage drinking. The tendency for adolescents to engage in risk-taking behavior increases the incidence of underage drinking due to immature brain development (Kiernan, Fhearall, & Coyne, 2012). These risky behaviors include "dangerous driving, unplanned or unprotected sex, violence, crime and self-harm" (Kiernan, Fhearall, & Coyne, 2012, p. 474). Another causal factor is that college and university environments — and the surrounding business establishments — typically offer ample opportunity for students to purchase low-cost alcoholic beverages. Institutional policies restricting this access are often few and infrequently enforced (Wechsler & Nelson, 2010).

Additionally, alcohol consumption is culturally embedded in campus life, with upperclassmen who can legally purchase alcohol providing beverages to underage freshmen and sophomores. Brown, Matousek, and Radue (2009) investigated the prevalence of this behavior by analyzing data gathered from focus groups consisting of 130 legal-age students. The majority of participants reported supplying alcohol to younger students, yet denied responsibility for any negative consequences those students suffered (Brown, Matousek, & Radue, 2009). This cultural dynamic makes the problem difficult to address and highlights the urgent need for interventions capable of targeting the multiple factors that promote underage alcohol consumption.

Living arrangements have also been identified as an influential factor in drinking behavior. Research shows that the highest incidence of alcohol consumption occurs in fraternity and sorority housing (Hoogeveen, 2014). Students living in on-campus housing showed the next highest consumption rates. Students who live off-campus and commute have the lowest rates of high-risk drinking, and students living with their parents were the least likely to engage in excessive drinking (Hoogeveen, 2014). Certain institutional characteristics also play a role: schools located in the Northeast or those with dominant Greek systems or athletic programs were found to have higher rates of excessive alcohol consumption, while religious schools, two-year colleges, and historically Black institutions recorded the lowest rates (Hoogeveen, 2014).

Another dimension of the problem is that college and university administrators have come to perceive student drinking as an "intractable" problem that cannot be effectively addressed (Hoogeveen, 2014, p. 63). This perception appears to stem from the repeated implementation of ineffective programs. In a report to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Task Force on College Drinking noted that, in general, "colleges and universities have not applied the methods, techniques and findings from alcohol prevention research to the problem of college student drinking" (Hoogeveen, 2014, pp. 63–64). The NIAAA report identifies the entrenched cultural environment — encompassing everything from alcohol advertisements in campus publications to alcohol-serving establishments near campuses — as a principal causal factor, one that collectively conveys the message that social success depends on alcohol consumption (Hoogeveen, 2014).

The social ecological model used by Paek and Hove (2012) to analyze the determinants of college student drinking suggests that this behavior is shaped by both personal choices and environmental conditions. Public health research indicates that the social ecological model provides valuable support for understanding the personal dimensions of public health determinants (Paek & Hove, 2012). Paek and Hove applied this perspective in assessing the efficacy of four major alcohol reduction strategies: "alcohol education programs, social norms campaigns, alcohol counter-marketing, and alcohol policy" (Paek & Hove, 2012, p. 660).