An extensive review of the literature on college students' drinking patterns and problems since the mid-1930s revealed no radical changes over the past several decades. However, during the past 10 years, drinking and problems related to drinking and driving have gradually decreased among college students. Results of a study of students at the same 56 colleges and universities throughout the United States (3,145 in 1982-83, 2,797 in 1984-85, and 3,375 in 1987-88) revealed few changes in collegiate drinking patterns and problems attributable to the nationwide increase in the minimum age for alcohol purchase. There was a decline in the proportion of students who drank in the period during which the law changed. However, the proportion of students categorized as heavy drinkers remained constant over time and the proportion of underage students (81 percent) who drank was higher than the proportion of legal age students who drank (75 percent). Of 17 problems related to drinking, all but 5 remained stable over the time periods. Three of the problems represent the continuum of an established trend of fewer students to indicating drinking and driving-related problems. As discussed in this paper, creative alcohol programming can assist in controlling alcohol abuse among college students.
The Public Health Service and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration share the responsibility for problems related to injury prevention and control regarding the alcohol-impaired operation of motor vehicles. NHTSA activities have evolved ...
Prospects for research advances in alcoholism are very promising, because of the explosion in the neurosciences and advances in epidemiology and typology of the disorder. For example, the field is now ready for molecular genetics studies of the early...
Historically, mankind has at least suspected that alcohol was somehow connected with undesirable effects on progeny. In the 18th century, physicians became aware that maternal alcohol consumption resulted in excess fetal and neonatal mortality, low b...
From 1980 through 1985, considerable progress was made across the Nation in reducing drunken driving and fatal automobile crashes. More than 400 chapters of local citizen groups concerned with reducing drunken driving were formed. New media coverage,...
Substantial scientific evidence has accumulated that both genetic and environmental factors predispose the development of alcoholism in certain individuals. Evidence has accumulated to indicate that alcoholism is a heterogeneous entity arising from m...
Sensitivity to gender issues in the research community has generated a modest but growing amount of data on the biological effects of alcohol consumption on women. Data generally indicate that the same amounts of alcohol have greater effects on women...
Alcoholism is an often overlooked health problem because alcoholics usually do not seek treatment for their drinking problems. They do, however, seek general medical care for other health reasons, and a number of screening techniques have proven usef...
During fiscal year 1987, expenditures for alcohol and drug abuse services in facilities receiving at least some funds from State alcohol and drug agencies totaled $1,809,749,013. Of this total, approximately 51.1 percent was contributed by State gove...
Williams, G D; Grant, B F; Stinson, F S; Zobeck, T S; Aitken, S S; Noble, J;
Published Date:
1988 Nov-Dec
Source:
Public Health Rep. 103(6):592-597
Description:
Two major trends regarding alcohol use and consequences of alcohol abuse in the United States are showing significant improvement. Continued declines are evident in age-adjusted rates of liver cirrhosis mortality, and per capita alcohol consumption i...
The economic effects of alcohol abuse are as damaging to the nation as the health effects, affecting the family, the community, and persons of all ages. Underaged drinking is interfering with children's development, affecting the nation's ability to ...
An empirical biobehavioral research approach to the conditions generally identified as alcohol abuse and alcoholism emphasizes the temporal ordering of participating biochemical, physiological, and behavioral events that provide an operational basis ...
A discriminant analysis of the 806 suicide victims in Erie County, NY, from 1972-84, compared those with alcohol in the blood to those without. Thirty-three percent of the victims had alcohol in their blood. Those with blood alcohol present were more...
Johnson, E M; Amatetti, S; Funkhouser, J E; Johnson, S;
Published Date:
1988 Nov-Dec
Source:
Public Health Rep. 103(6):578-586
Description:
The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) was established to initiate programs to provide prevention and early intervention services for young people, especially high-risk youth. OSAP's s...
There are 28 million children of alcoholics in the United States--1 of every 8 Americans. They are more likely than others to suffer from alcoholism and a wide range of physical, emotional, and mental health problems. It is probable that an inherited...
From 1980 through 1985, considerable progress was made across the Nation in reducing drunken driving and fatal automobile crashes. More than 400 chapters of local citizen groups concerned with reducing drunken driving were formed. New media coverage,...
Wagenaar, A C; Finnegan, J R; Wolfson, M; Anstine, P S; Williams, C L; Perry, C L;
Published Date:
1993 Jul-Aug
Source:
Public Health Rep. 108(4):459-464
Description:
Patterns of acquisition of alcoholic beverages by underage youth were studied, using focus group methods with a sample of midwestern youth. Results showed that the alcohol initially used by those in their early teens is obtained from parents' stocks ...
Johnson, E M; Amatetti, S; Funkhouser, J E; Johnson, S;
Published Date:
1988 Nov-Dec
Source:
Public Health Rep. 103(6):578-586
Description:
The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) was established to initiate programs to provide prevention and early intervention services for young people, especially high-risk youth. OSAP's s...
Current data on efforts to prevent alcoholism indicate that we are better able to prevent some of the consequences of alcohol misuse, such as alcohol-related car crashes and fetal alcohol syndrome, than chronic alcohol dependence itself. A review of ...