American's Drinking Habits

American's Drinking Habits

Patient's Perspective

Students' perceptions of binge drinking and risky behaviors are often skewed from the actual reality of drinking behaviors on college campuses. Most college students do not drink heavily. But many do, and they create problems for themselves, their fellow students, and their colleges and universities, and these institutions should play a role in addressing the problem. While a larger percentage of students do not drinks in comparison to those that do, the students who do drink make a larger impact (John & Murrin et al, 2007)? As discussed previously, the perception of binge drinking on college campuses can greatly influence whether or not one decides to drink while in college (Hingson, 2002). If teens are experiencing so many negative outcomes from using alcohol, why do they continue to drink? Recent researchers have found that teens are more sensitive to the positive outcomes from using alcohol than to the negative outcomes.

Cultural Conceptions

College drinking and its adverse consequences on the health and safety of students and those around them are important public health concerns in the USA. To a large extent, the attention on college drinking stems from a behaviorist perspective, typified by public health practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers who deem heavy drinking among college students should be discouraged through education, limiting access on campuses, or punitive measures (John & Murrin et al, 2007). In comparison, there is far less attention on exploring and addressing the cultural dimensions of college drinking and how culture may constitute part of the solution to reducing alcohol-related adverse consequences (Howard, 2007). A small but growing body of research casts college drinking as a cultural phenomenon entrenched within the college experience of many students as they transition from high school into college. From this phenomenological perspective, drinking holds special functional ...