Alcohol Abuse in College Students

Generally, in most colleges, drinking alcohol is considered a common and regular social activity. However, excessive drinking among college students has caused adverse effects on students, families, society, and even in colleges.

There are many consequences caused by alcohol abuse directly and indirectly. They include:

Poor performance in academics: One of the immediate adverse effects of alcohol abuse among college students is poor performance in classes. Alcohol as a depressant is a habit-forming substance. What starts social drinking may lead to dependence and uncontrollable alcohol as time goes on.

As you drink regularly, your body will likely build tolerance for alcohol, meaning you will need to drink more alcohol than before to experience similar effects. After an increasing amount of alcohol, you quickly become dependent on alcohol.

With heavy drinking, students are likely to prioritise drinking alcohol over attending classes. Without effort, students may not study for exams, do assignments, and post poor grades. About 1 in every 4 English college students have admitted to performing poorly in academics due to their drinking habits.

Due to poor results, some students end up spending a lot of money as they retake the failed courses and may end up having their graduation pushed back to allow them to put their grades in order.

Health problems: Other than immediate symptoms of alcohol abuse, you may experience health problems after heavy drinking for an extended length of time—for example, high blood pressure, pancreas problems, liver damage, and other health complications.

Usually, after a night out of heavy drinking, students may wake up in the morning with a hangover. Also, excessive alcohol can cause health problems such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In some cases, excessive alcohol use can cause alcohol poisoning, leading to life-threatening effects such as coma and death.

In the UK, almost 150,000 college students are taken ill for alcohol-related health problems every year.

Assault cases: Alcohol abuse impairs your judgments hence unable to make rational decisions. Students who take excessive alcohol are likely to engage in violent activities. With an inhibited brain from alcohol abuse, students may be unable to solve differences peacefully and logically, hence resorting to violent acts. Also, verbal abuse is common with students under the influence of alcohol.

Reckless sexual activities and sexual assault: Intoxication affects the proper functioning of your brain. Therefore, students under the influence of alcohol are likely to make poor decisions and engage in reckless sexual activities.

Further, many students have experienced sexual assault and date rape when intoxicated. Mostly among girls, students under the influence of alcohol are vulnerable to sexual assault, especially at parties or when heading back to their apartments at night.

Even in consensual sexual activities, intoxicated students are likely not to take necessary precautions and easily engage in unsafe sex. Practising unsafe sex can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and the spread of HIV.

Drunk driving: As dangerous as it is, drunk driving is a significant cause of road accidents in the UK. Alcohol impairs your judgement and coordination, making it difficult to control a car or operate a machine carefully. Chances of fatal accidents are high if students drive while drunk, and the accidents may leave them with deadly injuries and sometimes death.

Criminal activities: Alcohol increases the likelihood of students involving themselves in criminal activities. Conversely, there are things that students do while drunk that they cannot do when sober. While drunk, students are more likely to be involved in aggravated vandalism, violent protests, and petty theft than when they are not under the influence of alcohol.

To fund their drinking habit, students may steal money and other valuables from their parents or friends.

Dependence and addiction: Alcohol is a depressant that is habit-forming. As students drink high amounts of alcohol regularly, their bodies tend to grow tolerance resulting in increased alcohol intake for similar effects.

After some time of regular drinking, your brain and your body may become dependent on alcohol. As dependent on alcohol, students will intensely crave alcohol, thus prioritising drinking over anything else. Alcohol dependence is a disease that should be treated in rehab.

Body injuries: Generally, once you take too many drinks, your coordination and bodily movements are affected. As you walk staggering, you may hurt yourself as you fall to the ground due to instability. Students under alcohol abuse tend to have facial and body injuries frequently.

Deaths: As a long-term effect, excessive alcohol consumption among college students can cause chronic health problems such as liver problems that can lead to death. Still, if college students overdose on alcohol, they may suffer from severe effects of alcohol poisoning such as coma and death.

In the year 2020, UK authorities reported over 7,400 deaths as a result of alcohol abuse. The risk of death is high among students after binge drinking.