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College Binge Drinking

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Introduction:
One of the most widely used depressants, or drug as some may consider it, is alcohol. Alcohol is a part of many, if not most, of all our lives, and can be seen advertised on almost every street corner. In fact, in 2013, 56.4 percent of people, age 18 and older, reported they have consumed alcohol within the past month, and more importantly, 24.6 percent disclosed they binge drank within the past month as well (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2015). However, alcohol related deaths account for nearly 88,000 people annually, making it the third leading preventable cause of death within the United States (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2015). With close to a quarter of the United States …show more content…

Because binge drinking is so common among the collegiate lifestyle, researchers conducted a study aimed at the relationship between college organizations and binge drinking. Chauvin (2012) hypothesized that college students who belonged to an organization, such as the Greek organization, were at a greater risk for binge drinking compared to non-organization members. Chauvin (2012) used data from a 2001 study that was administered to 119 colleges across 38 states in the U.S. The sample consisted of 215 full-time college students, at each school, who were randomly chosen. The results of the study validated Chauvin’s hypothesis that members of organizations report binge drinking more commonly than those who are not affiliated with organizations (Chauvin, 2012). Though this study had an exceptionally large sample size spread out across 38 states, it used data from an outdated source. With that being said, one may be left wondering if the results have changed over the years due to societies evolving values and new policies on college …show more content…

For instance, another study set out to investigate binge drinking at a single event, where students are encouraged to consume predetermined amounts of alcohol, such as the fourth year fifth challenge. The fourth year fifth is a challenge to fourth year college students, to consume a fifth of alcohol for the last football game. The research consisted of three focus groups with fourth year college students. Out of the 1,205 respondents, a total of 217 students reported they succeeded, or attempted, the fourth year fifth challenge. The respondents stated they participated in the challenge because it was a challenge, sense of accomplishment, wanting to participate in a tradition, and social ability (Foster, Bass, & Bruce, 2011). Much like the other research relating to socializing, this study only focuses on college students, so the external validity is low. In order to gain richer insight into social norms for an entire population, other research should be conducted with an improved representative

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