Binge Drinking is Up Among College Students, pt. 2
Yesterday, we looked at a study which found that men who are in college are more likely to engage in binge drinking that men who are the same age, but do not go to college When you are in college, you do not have to reach the legal drinking age to get access to alcohol. (The same is true before students reach college-age, but usually there are more restrictions, be they from parents or some other source.) The mix of ages on a college campus means that someone who is of legal drinking age can get alcohol that those who are not yet 21 can drink. The easy access to alcohol, combined with the feeling of freedom and independence that young people have because they are no longer under their parents rule, can contribute to excessive drinking. They may think that binge drinking is just something they are doing on a temporary basis, without considering the consequences of alcohol abuse.
Some people think that we should lower the legal drinking age and that the freedom to purchase alcohol will make it less attractive, thereby lessening the likelihood that young people will engage in binge drinking. Others think that the ability to get alcohol whenever they want will just result in even more excessive drinking among young people.
No matter where you stand in this debate, so far the federal government has not been interested in lowering the drinking age. In order to “encourage” states to have a legal drinking age of 21, the government started to withhold funds for highways for states that let young people drink at ages younger than 21. This began in 1984. As you can imagine, states wanted the probable much-needed funding, so sooner or later, they all complied. There are experts who feel that making the legal drinking age 21 decreased the chances that young people would be drunk behind the wheel and made those very highways a lot safer.
If you are the parent of a young person who has gone away to college, you cannot be with them every moment. Yet, as a parent you do not have to be with your child to get some sense of what is going on with that child. If you suspect that your child has been drinking excessively, talk to them about it. Ask them to be honest if their drinking habit has gotten out of hand. Transitions Recovery Program can help if you and your child decide that alcohol rehab is necessary.
