Young Adult Drinking : College Students, General Population

by National Institute of Health

(Page 2 of 3)

Alcohol Control Policies: College Students

In recent years, an increasing number of colleges have implemented policies to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among their underage as well as legal-age students. Examples of these institutional policies include establishing alcohol-free college residences and campuses, prohibiting self-service of alcohol at campus events, prohibiting beer kegs on campus, and banning sales or marketing of alcohol on campus.

Several studies have examined the effect of such college policies on the drinking behavior of college students. Large studies of nationally representative samples of college students have shown that students living in substance-free residences are less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting for men, four or more for women), and underage students at colleges that ban alcohol are less likely to engage in heavy episodic drinking and more likely to abstain from alcohol. College alcohol policies are less likely to have effects on students who live off campus than on, however, and are not likely to have any effect on the many young adults who do not attend college.

One limitation of the research on college alcohol policies is that students typically are surveyed at only one point in time - that is, these are cross-sectional studies, which offer little information as to cause and effect. Thus, this research cannot adequately address whether college prohibitions of alcohol use affect student drinking rates, or whether students who drink less choose residences and campuses that prohibit alcohol use. Longitudinal research is needed that specifically evaluates how changes in college policies affect drinking and alcohol problem outcomes on college campuses. One such longitudinal study which has been reported recently examined the effects of an intervention designed to change alcohol policies affecting the college environment. This study showed no significant effects when all treatment sites were compared with comparison sites, but found some evidence that the intervention affected drinking and related risks at the five high-implementation colleges.

Alcohol Control Policies: General Population

Alcohol control policies intended to affect the drinking behavior of the general population - including but not specifically targeting young adults - include, among other strategies, raising taxes on alcoholic beverages, limiting the number of alcohol establishments per geographic area, training the staff of alcohol outlets, and restricting alcohol marketing and advertising.

Raising Prices

Of these policies, the effects of raising alcohol prices have been studied most intensely. The most common method of raising prices is to increase Federal, State, or local taxes on alcoholic beverages. Many investigators, using various designs and analytic methods, including high-quality longitudinal designs, have shown that as alcohol prices increase, alcohol consumption declines. Studies show that underage youth are particularly sensitive to increased price, decreasing their alcohol consumption by a greater amount than older drinkers when prices increase.

A few studies have examined the effects of alcohol prices specifically on college students and young adults. One analysis showed that college students who faced higher alcohol prices were less likely to transition from abstainers to moderate drinkers and from moderate to heavy drinkers. Another study found that low sale prices were associated with higher heavy episodic drinking rates among college students.

Limiting the Number of Alcohol Outlets

States and cities often place a legal limit on the number of alcohol establishments in a neighborhood, town, or city as a strategy to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among the general population. Recent studies using advanced analytical methods show that a higher density of alcohol outlets is related to increased rates of homicides and assaults. Treno and colleagues evaluated how density of alcohol outlets affects driving after drinking among 15- to 20-year-olds, finding that higher alcohol outlet density is associated with greater prevalence of driving after drinking. Research also indicates that colleges with more neighborhood alcohol outlets experience more drinking and drinking-related problems. Because most studies of alcohol outlet density are largely cross-sectional, it is not certain that higher numbers of alcohol outlets actually cause increased alcohol consumption and related problems, and each individual study has limitations. Nevertheless, the increasing methodological sophistication of density studies, longitudinal studies of effects of sudden changes in density, and repeated findings of relationships between outlet density and alcohol use and alcohol problems provide growing evidence that outlet density may cause increased alcohol use and problems.

Training the Staff

Some alcohol control policies that are aimed at the general population may have a greater effect on the drinking behavior of young adults than on drinking by older adults or underage youth. For example, policies that specifically target bars and nightclubs may affect young adults more than the rest of the population because young adults make up a greater proportion of bar and club clientele.

About the Author

NIH is the nation's medical research agency - making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.