College Binge Drinking Unaffected by Law
Here’s another study that proves what college housing officers–and anyone who works at a college or university–likely knows already. Establishing the national drinking age at 21 twenty years ago has not prevented or limited underage binge drinking among college students. The study was conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis by a team headed by Richard A. Grucza, Ph.D. The results appear in an article in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
There is good news; binge drinking has dipped substantially among other groups. Males 15 – 17 years old binge drank 50 percent less in 2006 than they did in 1979. Males 18 – 20 years old in all groups (both college-going and otherwise) binge drank 20 percent less, and males 21 – 23 years old binge drank 10 percent less.
Now the not-so-good news: Men and women in college both binge drink at considerably greater rates than their non-college-attending brethren. Men ages 18 – 20 who were not in college binge drank 30 percent less during the study period. The rates of men the same age who were in college were unchanged. Similar results played out for men 21-23; men not in college binge drank 10 percent less during those 20 years; the rates for men in college were steady.
For women, the story is even less encouraging. For all females aged 15 – 20 years old, binge drinking was unchanged since 1979. Women 21 – 23 years old binge drank 40 percent more than they did in 1979. Male minority members binge less than they used to, but female minorities do so more. Overall, males make up the majority of binge drinkers but rates of female binge drinking has been increasing.
Researchers speculate that a higher drinking age has made it harder for high school students to obtain alcohol, thus driving down binge drinking among that group, while college students are more likely to mingle with those 21 and over. Non-students in their early 20s may also be more likely to have responsibilities that take precedence over partying, such as spouses, a full-time job, or children. Overall, they feel that while the result isn’t ideal, binge drinking is down among the population in general and teenagers especially, so a higher drinking age should be maintained.
