|
|
|
National College
Health Assessment
Spring 2001 Findings:
A Social Norms Perspective
Survey Administered: Spring: 2001
Results Reported: 2002
Examined from a social norms perspective, the findings
of the Spring 2001 iteration of the National College Health Assessment
again confirm that the majority of students drink moderately, if at
all. In addition, most students use a number of protective behaviors
to drink safely; as a result, serious harm as a consequence of drinking
is uncommon. Not surprisingly, then, students report that alcohol is
not among the major impediments to academic performance.
Thirty-two U.S. post-secondary institutions self-selected
to participate in the Spring 2001 National College Health Assessment
and 17,308 surveys were completed by students on these campuses. Only
those institutions that used a random sampling technique were included
in the analysis, yielding a final data set consisting of 16,813 students
on 31 campuses.
Key findings reveal that:
- Students
Drink Moderately: The Drinks per Party Measure
- Most
Students Consume One Drink per Hour
- Heavy
Drinking is Not the Norm
- Most
Students Remain Legally Sober: Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Below
.08
- Students
Care About Themselves and Others: The Use of Protective Behaviors
- Serious
Harm as a Consequence of Drinking is Uncommon
- Most
Students Do Not Let Alcohol Affect Their Academic Performance
- Students
Are Unaware of Their Moderation: Actual vs. Perceived Consumption
Spring 2001 Findings
I. Students Drink Moderately: The Drinks per Party Measure
The last time they "partied" or socialized:
- 62% of
students consumed 4 or fewer drinks
- 70% of
students consumed 5 or fewer drinks
(Note: One drink
or alcoholic beverage was defined as "a 12 oz. beer, a 4 oz. glass of
wine, a shot of liquor, or a mixed drink.")
Return to top of page
II. Most Students Consume One Drink per Hour
- For students
who drank, 3.98 hours was the average length of time they "partied"
or socialized the last time they went out. Given that most of these
students consumed 4 to 5 drinks (mean = 4.27) the last time that they
partied, the rate of consumption for the majority of students was
one drink per hour (1.07 drink/hour = 4.27 drinks/3.98 hours).
Return
to top of page
III. Heavy Drinking is Not the Norm
What is variously described as "heavy drinking," "heavy
episodic drinking," or (inappropriately) "binge drinking" is measured
in the NCHA by the consumption of 5 or more alcoholic drinks at a
sitting over the last two weeks. Results show that:
- 66% of
students did not consume 5 or more drinks in a sitting over
the last two weeks.
Return
to top of page
IV. Most Students Remain Legally Sober: Blood Alcohol Concentration
(BAC) Below .08
- 64% of
students had an estimated Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) level
below .08 the last time they "partied" or socialized. In other
words, 64% of students remained legally sober the last
time they socialized.
Return
to top of page
V. Students Care About Themselves and Others: The Use of Protective
Behaviors
When students "partied" or socialized during the last
school year:
- 72% used
a designated driver
- 61% kept
track of their drinks
Additionally, 95%
of students usually or always employed one or more of the following
protective behaviors when drinking alcohol during the last school year:
- Alternate non-alcoholic
with alcoholic beverages
- Determine in
advance not to exceed a set number of drinks
- Choose not to
drink alcohol
- Eat either before
or while they drank
- Have a friend
let them know when they've had enough
- Pace drinks to
one or less per hour
- Avoid drinking
games
- Drink an alcohol
look-alike
Note: Students
responding "N/A, don't drink" were excluded from this analysis.
Return
to top of page
VI. Serious Harm as a Consequence of Drinking is Uncommon
Within the last school year:
- 83.4%
of students were not physically injured as a consequence of
drinking
- 94.8%
of students were not injured by another person as a consequence
of drinking
- 92.2%
of students were not involved in a fight as a consequence of
drinking
- 97.8%
of students did not have someone use force or the threat of
force to have sex with them as a consequence of drinking
Return
to top of page
VII. Most Students Do Not Let Alcohol Affect Their Academic Performance
Reflecting on their experience within the last school
year, students were asked to indicate the extent to which a broad range
of health conditions and behaviors adversely impacted their academic
performance. Adverse impacts were specifically defined as:
- Received a lower
grade on an exam or important project, or
- Received a lower
grade in a course, or
- Received an incomplete
or dropped a course
As the table below
reveals, alcohol is not a major impediment to academic performance.
Alcohol:
Not a Major Impediment to Academic Performance
| Factor |
Percentage
of
Students Affected |
| Stress |
29% |
| Sleep
difficulties |
21.3% |
| Cold,
flu, or sore throat |
21.2% |
| |
| Concern
for a troubled friend or family member |
15.8% |
| Relationship
difficulty |
14.4% |
| Depression,
anxiety disorder, seasonal affective disorder |
11.3% |
| |
| Internet
use or computer games |
9.8% |
| Sinus
infection, ear infection, bronchitis or strep throat |
8.2% |
| Death
of a friend or family member |
8.1% |
| Alcohol
use |
7.7% |
| |
| Allergies |
4.4% |
| Attention
deficit disorder |
4.2% |
| Injury |
3.6% |
| |
| Drug
use |
2.9% |
| Learning
disability |
2.9% |
| Chronic
pain |
2.4% |
| Chronic
illness |
2.2% |
| |
| Pregnancy
(yours or your partner's) |
1.5% |
| Mononucleosis |
1.4% |
| Eating
disorder/problem |
1.3% |
| |
| Assault
(physical) |
0.8% |
| Assault
(sexual) |
0.7% |
| Sexually
transmitted disease (STD) |
0.4% |
| HIV
infection |
0.2% |
Note: Items have
been tabulated here in decreasing order of incidence. In the survey instrument,
however, the items were presented in alphabetical order. Thus, "Alcohol
use" was the first item that respondents encountered and "Stress" was
the last. (The very last category provided was the open-ended "Other,"
where respondents could indicate an item of their own choosing.) The gaps
that appear in the table were inserted to accentuate statistical groupings.
Return to top of page
VIII. Students Are Unaware of Their Moderation: Actual vs. Perceived
Consumption
As the table below indicates, students consistently
underestimate the extent to which their peers drink moderately, if at
all.
Alcohol: Actual
vs. Perceived Consumption
Number
of Drinks |
Actual
Consumption |
Perceived
Consumption |
| 3 or fewer |
53% |
22% |
| 4 or fewer |
62% |
34% |
| 5 or fewer |
70% |
57% |
In other words,
the majority of students (53%) consumed 3 or fewer drinks the last time
they "partied" or socialized, but they estimated that only 22% of the
typical students at their institution did so. Similarly, 62% of the
students surveyed consumed 4 or fewer drinks the last time they partied,
but they estimated that only 34% of their peers did so.
Interestingly,
students also overestimate the extent to which their peers use tobacco
and other drugs:
Tobacco and Other
Drugs:
Thirty-day Prevalence, Actual vs. Perceived Use
| Substance |
Actual
Use |
Perceived
Use |
Magnitude
of Misperception |
| Cigarettes |
25% |
93% |
3.7x |
| Marijuana |
17% |
82% |
4.8x |
| Amphetamines |
5% |
56% |
11.2x |
| Cocaine |
1.7% |
40% |
23.5x |
| Rohypnol, GHB,
etc. |
.7% |
37% |
52.8x |
A Note
on the National College Health Assessment:
Initiated in 1998
by the American College Health Association, The National College Health
Assessment is a survey designed to measure a broad range of health,
risk and protective behaviors, consequences of behavior, and perceptions
among students. The survey also assesses illness and the effects of
selected health conditions on academic performance. Thirty-two U.S.
post-secondary institutions self-selected to participate in the Spring
2001 National College Health Assessment and 17,308 surveys were completed
by students on these campuses. Only those institutions that used a random
sampling technique were included in the analysis, yielding a final data
set consisting of 16,813 students on 31 campuses.
Most of the statistics
referenced above are from the American College Health Association's
National College Health Assessment: Reference Group Summary, Spring
2001. Additional statistical findings were provided based on specific
requests.
For additional
information, see the National
College Health Assessment.
Contents of this site include:
- An Order Form
for the Spring 2001 Reference Group Summary
- A Sample of the
NCHA Survey
Return
to top of page |