College Students Not Alone in Reputation For Heavy Drinking
Posted on December 23rd, 2005
When the topic of binge drinking arises, thoughts invariably turn to college students. But students are not alone, according to a recent study.
Reuters reports:
Though getting drunk is often seen as a traditional college pastime, other young adults, particularly men, have similarly high rates of potentially hazardous drinking, new research shows.
In a study of nearly 2,000 young adults who'd been followed since high school, researchers found that by the age of 24, both college graduates and those with no more than a high school diploma had comparably high rates of heavy drinking.
In general, men and women with only a high school education drank more heavily in 12th grade and maintained the habit through early adulthood. College graduates, on the other hand, tended to drink less in high school but "caught up" during college.
Though drinking on college campuses has garnered much attention, it's clear that risky drinking is a problem among all young adults, the study authors report in the medical journal alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
"These results emphasize the need to intervene early to prevent at-risk alcohol use," write Dr. C. Raymond Bingham and his colleagues at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
What's more, they add, the study shows that risky drinking "is neither unique, nor necessarily the highest among individuals who complete college."
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