<p>They’re not really happier. They just THINK they’re happier because they’re drunk. </p>
<hr>
<p>My thoughts, exactly.</p>
<p>I admit that I was a binge drinker in college, as were many of my friends. H & I raised our kids in such a way that they have made much better choices than we made. Neither is a binge drinker. Interestingly, neither has had as much fun as we had in college … but there is no way to know if that is because of or despite not drinking like fish. We like to think it has nothing to do with their choice to abstain (or, in the case of D, drink responsibly once she turned 21). And we have never had to worry about either kid killing themselves or someone else, doing something they would regret later due to compromised decision-making, etc. If I were to do it all over again, I can tell you that I would not take the chances I took … I was lucky … and I now know I didn’t “need” to drink that much to have a good time (since I can have a good time without the alcohol now).</p>
<p>Why was Williams College even brought up? And if maidenMom, assuming she read the link, knew anything about Williams she’d know it couldn’t have been there - they don’t have a Greek system. Colgate CERTAINLY does - I’d wager it was done there - too much bureaucracy involved to go off your own campus, unless it’s a multisite study.</p>
<p>“People who get invited to parties are more likely to (a) “binge drink” and (b) have an active social life. People who have an active social life are more likely to be happy.”</p>
<p>I was going to say something like that, meaning there is nothing in here that shows the relationship is causal, as opposed to an associated finding. I might say “people who like “the social scene” of college are more likely to be happy in “the social scene” of college.”</p>
<p>"“people who like “the social scene” of college are more likely to be happy in “the social scene” of college.” "</p>
<p>I’d say that goes double for folks at tiny rural campuses. It’s not like a Colgate student bored with the campus scene can just hit the coffeehouses and live music venues of Hamilton, NY.</p>
<p>There’s not really a huge link between alcoholism and binge drinking, oddly. but, there is a massive link between binge drinking and alcohol overdose, which leads, in some cases, to death. </p>
<p>In other words, many alcoholics binge drink, but not all binge drinking is alcoholic. The strongest indicator, particularly at this age, of alcoholism, is a personality change while drinking, and frequently not being able to predict the outcome once drinking begins. In other words, accidental binge drinking, inability to control drinking once drinking begins, etc…</p>
<p>Honestly, this seems like common sense to me. Those who go with the status quo are usually happier because they fit in and somewhat ignore portions of real life that may trouble others who are more focused on their studies and future. (This is all short term, of course.) </p>
<p>I wasn’t shocked at all when I read this title. I mean, look at classic sci-fi/dystopian-themed novels. The majority of the “happy” people follow the crowd blindly. However, they look foolish while doing so. The main character, who sees the flaws in the system and attempts to defy them, is always viewed as the smart, sane one. Are they the happiest? No! Do they manage to stand out and change for the better? Yes! (Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and even The Giver are the kinds of books I’m referencing.)</p>
<p>All in all, I think the study is pointless. It’s not going to affect deep-thinkers in any way, and it may just make the bubble-headed kids think that this is an excuse for them to spend college wasted. If anything, it will be counter-productive.</p>
<p>I would rather be realistic than blind and happy, so I say no to status quo. Who wants to be like the rest & deny the best that I’m meant for?</p>
<p>(If anyone knows what I quoted in the previous sentence * without Googling it * , I love you.)</p>
<p>This study concerns me and I hope it doesn’t get much traction.
We cannot teach young people to pursue happiness to the exclusion of fulfillment, challenge, maturity, and coping strategies.
The post-college years are not addressed–those years when alcoholism often becomes more apparent and problematic.
As someone else wrote, the drinking culture is campus-dependent. This study doesn’t tell us much about 18 to 22-year-olds generally. (It does tell me to keep this college off my children’s radar.)</p>
<p>^^lotsa luck on #3…I think this is more common than not on a LARGE majority of college campuses</p>
<p>Totally agree with #1</p>
<p>Also, I have not read through this entire thread, but can anyone point to a reason why I feel this is a recent phenomena?</p>
<p>Yes, of course, there was alcohol (and drugs) and binge drinking when I went to college…but it was definitely not tied to your “social status” etc as is being portrayed here…I recall we actually poked fun at some of the kids who couldn’t control their drinking habit (and some of them were our close friends)…it wasn’t considered a badge of superiority to drink to oblivion, but rather stupid…</p>
<p>Heavy drinking is common anywhere with an active “Greek” scene. It is glorified in movies aimed at teenagers, and has been around a long, long time. My freshman counselor took a roomate out for his 18th birthday and the group did shots for each year - no one recalls how far they got. We did not know about alchohol poisoning as a potentially serious problem. He spent almost a week by the toilet and we covered for him when his parents called to see how he was adjusting to college life, saying that he was recovering fromthe flu and would call when he felt better.</p>
<p>Alcholism is hardly a new problem arising from heavy partying at Colgate or rural LACs. Frats and sororities at large universities are notorious for drunken bachanals. For those who don’t drink, there is a lot of pot and sometimes harder drugs. A few years ago, weren’t some Columbia frat students arrested for selling heroin? </p>
<p>There are many high functioning alcoholics in all walks of life. A large male college student who drinks 11 beers from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. will probably not exceed the legal limit for driving - though I would hope would not attempt it given the downside of being wrong. A small person trying to keep up, or catch up in less time, will be wrecked. Heavy drinking is often part of a macho culture of leaders - work hard and play hard was the mantra when I was in college. Republican congressmen apparently tied one on last summer and tried to imitate Jesus by walking on water, some clothed, some semi-clothed, and one naked. They sounded pretty happy too, at least until the FBI investigated and the story became national news. I have no doubt that democrats drink just as hard and behave just as foolishly. After all, if Ted Kennedy had driven one of those VW bugs that floated, he might have been president (reference to an old parody of a VW commercial). </p>
<p>As for colleges trying to take a stronger stand against drinknig to the point of intoxication, I would be all for it. Education and punishments for out of control behavior are probably good things. However, efforts to ban drining in college are doomed to fail. History shows that prohibition does not work.</p>
<p>There’s too much binge drinking on most college campuses. Something needs to be done about it. To deal with the problem, you have to understand the causes.</p>
<p>To me, this study suggests that the ways many colleges try to do that are doomed to failure. For example, many campuses try to provide alternative, booze free social events. If this study is right, that approach may help a few not particularly social kids who don’t drink, but it’s not going to change the college culture.</p>
<p>Instead, it might make more sense to focus on reducing binge drinking among white male Greeks, especially athletes. It would seem that if you can change the behavior of this group, the rest of the campus culture will follow. </p>
<p>I don’t know how you do that…but I think that such targeted programs might be more effective than an approach that simply focuses on providing booze free social events.</p>
<p>I hadn’t looked at blood alcohol stats In a very long time, but did so based on your post. I didn’t think it possible that a 200 lb. Person could drink 11 beers over five hours and avoid being legally drunk… I was right, but I do see it is in fact possible to drink 9 beers over that time period and avoid the .08 that CA defines as drunk driving, per the two links above.</p>
<p>If a 200 lb. Male drink 4 beers at 9pm, it puts him at .06, under the BA level in CA. He may then, per the second link, metabolize 1 drink per hour, so having a 5th beer at 10pm replaces one metabolized beer, and so on, at 11pm (beer #6), at 12am (beer #7), at 1am (beer #8), and at 2am (beer #9).
Of course for a 100 lb. Person, everything is cut in half.</p>
<p>Nobody can do anything about it, so study is a waste. It is not against the law to drink when you are over 21. Even when alcohol was illegal people stil were getting drunk, it did not work, did it? OK, let’s sing and make everybody very happy so that they do not drink…correct? When people go to college, they are responsible for their lives, including who they are around and how they spend their time and if they waste time/money or they work hard to acheive a set goal. They are not in kindergarten any more,…or maybe we have to tell them just that, amybe some of them do not know? But that is again, nobody’s business but the family’s.
Another wated study, just like have a horseshoeer in department that does not have horses, I heard about it in a morning driving to work. We can laugh, but we are laughing at ourselves, it is our money after all.</p>
<p>4 drinks in one night, twice a month, is binge drinking for a female??? You’ve got to be kidding. </p>
<p>I went to Penn State (yeah, yeah, party school) and I was known as a very light drinker. And I was. I rarely got drunk. I NEVER got drunk if I wasn’t in a familiar setting, needed a ride home, etc. I NEVER got drunk (or even went out) if I needed to study or write a paper, etc. In other words, I balanced my work and my play. So did my friends. We all did well in school and in life. And yet, according to this definition of “binge drinking”, 75% of us would have been binge drinkers and the rest would be close. If you go to happy hours on a Friday at 5 pm, stay out with your friends, go to a few different parties or bars, eat some dinner about halfway through the night, go see a band or go dancing later in the evening … get home around 2 or 3 am – yeah, you’re definitely going to have around 4 alcoholic drinks. And at the most, I might have been slightly tipsy. If I did this twice a month, I’d be considered a binge drinker??? (BTW, at PSU, if you stay in the main part of town, you don’t need to drive anywhere. So DUI isn’t a consideration.)</p>
<p>Yes, there were binge drinkers at college. They got trashed more days than not. They skipped classes because they were wasted or hungover. They passed out on strangers’ lawns. Sometimes they were Greek, sometimes not. People with that level of problem drinking made up a small minority of students. THOSE are the people with a problem, not the vast majority of kids that like to go out and have fun but do have limits and some sense.</p>
<p>And yeah, I went to college a long time ago. So maybe things are different. But that definition of binge drinking just sends up red flags.</p>