ALCOHOL AND ITS EFFECT ON HEALTH

Parties, Pub Night, bars—everyone knows that alcohol is essentially part of the university culture, however, do we really know the extent to which it affects the university student’s overall health? The following information is meant to inform university students in this subject in order to help them make more informed decisions.

Alcohol and Stress

It is a well-known fact that many university students drink in response to the high levels of stress they experience from school. For example, it is common practice for many students to go drinking on a Friday night following a stressful week of studying. Many studies have found that animals exposed to greater stress will consume more alcohol than those animals not exposed to the same level of stress (Hilakivi-Clarke, L., & Lister R.G. 1992). In human research it was found that humans may increase alcohol consumption in anticipation of stress and during times of stress (Brown, S.A.; Vik, P.W.; Patterson, T.L.; Grant, I.; & Schuckit, M.A. 1995). This last study definitely relates to university students since most university students will tell you that the stress never stops in university. This is not to say that every university student who experiences stress goes out and drinks, the point here is that many of the students who do drink do it as a means to relieve the anxiety that comes from the demands of university.

Studies have shown that low doses of alcohol may reduce the response to a stressor. For example in a study done by H. Kalant, it was found that low doses of alcohol actually improved the ability of individuals to complete a complex mental task under stressful conditions vs. those individuals who had no alcohol in them. However, very rarely do university students consume small amounts of alcohol if they are to have any at all. It was found that larger doses of alcohol actually induces the stress response by “stimulating hormone release by the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands” (www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa32.htm0). From these results it seems paradoxical why individuals would consume alcohol in order to relieve themselves of stress, even though it is found to induce stress. One interpretation of this behaviour is that stress responses may not always be unpleasant, in other words the arousal associated with stress may be rewarding to the individual (www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa32.htm0). Therefore the assumption that stress is always a feeling that is unpleasant may not be completely accurate, since the increased stress response after consuming alcohol may have a euphoric effect on the individual. This is not to say that this is healthy, it is simply one possible explanation as to why people drink with the intention of reducing stress even though it has been shown that biologically it has the reverse effect.

The Transition form high school to university

Many students going into university view this as a time in their lives in which they can be independent and have much more freedoms. However, the transition from high school to university often comes with many misconceptions and perceived norms that are often misled. Because university represents an opportunity to increase interaction with those your age, much more emphasis is placed on these perceived norms. One of these beliefs is that drinking in university is something that is expected and is part of the whole “university experience.” Much research has shown that university aged drinkers often perceive friends or other students their age as drinking much more than did the respondents, and they often overestimate the actual amount of alcohol consumed by peers as well as problems arising from alcohol among these peers (Read, J.P., Wood, M.D., Davidoff, O.J., Mclacken, J., and Campbell, J.F. 2002). This perception of what the norm is regarding drinking among students entering university is thought to be one possible cause as to why first year students may drink. Studies seem to suggest that drinking is on the rise in university. In a Study done by Jennifer P. Read et. al., it was found that drinking among first year students seems to be on the rise. In surveys done in this study, it was reported that 86% of respondents reported alcohol use in 2001, while in 1998 the number was 78.1%. Also, among the students who did report drinking, the average amount of drinks consumed in one week was 5.1 as opposed to 4.4 in 1998.

This study also looked at negative consequences that alcohol may have had among these students. The day after a night of heavy drinking many side affects are felt that often prevent the student from going about their daily routine, such as attending classes, handing in work on time, extracurricular activities etc. This study showed that 55.6% of the students who reported drinking admitted to experiencing hangovers as a result of alcohol. This strengthens the point mentioned earlier that many (in this case over half) first year students drink to the point of getting drunk which is evident by the fact that many of them experience hangovers the day after alcohol consumption. This study found that almost 30% of the students surveyed admitted that they had missed work or classes due to drinking, a hangover, or an alcohol-related illness.

These results suggest that alcohol consumption in university can have very detrimental affects on students. If for example a student is missing many classes due to alcohol, it can generally be said with confidence that this will not help their education. The problem may be that many students abuse the new freedoms they have upon entering university since many of them live on their own and no longer have the authority of their parents preventing them from doing things they would normally be stopped form doing. Once students get a feel for this new found freedom it is often very difficult to go back and sacrifice things that may be viewed as fun, such as parties, in order to fully concentrate on one’s studies. Furthermore, common misconceptions that students coming out of high school and going into university may have about what is normal for a university student regarding drinking, often fuel the negative affects that alcohol can have on first year students.

References

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. [http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa32.htm]

Kalant, H. Stress-related effects of ethanol in mammals. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 9(4):265-272, 1990.

Hilakivi-Clarke, L., & Lister, R.G. Social status and voluntary alcohol consumption in mice: Interaction with stress. Psychopharmacology 108(3):276-282, 1992.

Brown, S.A.; Vik, P.W.; Patterson, T.L.; Grant, I.; & Schuckit, M.A. Stress, vulnerability, and adult alcohol relapse. Journal of Studies of Alcohol 56(5):538-545, 1995.

Read, J.P., Wood, M.D., Davidoff, O.J., Mclacken, J., and Campbell, J.F. Making the Transition From High School to College: The Role of Alcohol-Related Social Influence Factors in Students’ Drinking. Substance Abuse 23(1):53-65, 2002.