<p>How do you parents face the partying aspect of college life? Especially underaged drinking. Is it just seen as a normal part of the college experience, or is it a major problem for parents?</p>
<p>I see it as a normal part of the college experience. My role as a parent is to educate them BEFORE they go to college so that they handle themselves as wisely as possible when they get there.</p>
<p>Every family is different, but since my husband and I are social drinkers, we always had alcohol around the house. We have given them the opportunity from time to time to "taste" whatever we are drinking. From my standpoint, I would rather have them satisfy their curiosity at home rather than treat booze as some sort of evil forbidden fruit that will cause them to be struck by a lightning bolt dare they imbibe once Mom and Dad aren't there to monitor them. Fortunately, they don't like the taste all that much and have NEVER raided the liquor cabinet while we were gone.</p>
<p>When I went to college in the Stone Ages, the "wildest" freshmen were the ministers' kids. Alcohol, drugs, sexually promiscous, you name the potential for out of control behavior and they were it. My opinion - it had a lot to do with being so overly repressed before they got to college that they had no idea how to self-regulate once they got there.</p>
<p>I'm sure others will disagree, but that's how it's worked for us. As for the specific "underage" aspect, they know that at 18 they're criminally and civilly responsible for their actions, so you HOPE that they act as responsibly as a college freshman can!</p>
<p>I would refer you to the thread in the Cafe about an alleged rape. There might be 1000 posts (more or less) on the underaged drinking problem both related and unrelated to the Duke situation.</p>
<p>It's too bad that a young adult old enough to vote, old enough to fight in wars, etc. is not old enough to have a little beer with his pizza in a restaurant. I'm not the only parent that feels this way.</p>
<p>I have little problem with underage drinking (or drugging for that matter). Yes, both are illegal - and the biggest threat from both of them is being arrested.</p>
<p>I DO have problems with binge drinking (or drugging), heavy drinking (or drugging), or a laundry list of behaviors associated with the same, and the future impacts (alcoholism and drug addiction) associated with same. And, no, I do NOT think they are a necessary part of a normal college experience. The data indicate clearly they are NOT part of a normal college experience, not at a time that 20-30% of college students are total abstainers, and a majority of the rest do not binge drink or drug and are not heavy drinkers or drug users. They are a minority of all students, and, the data tells us, a shrinking minority of all students, and the fact that a large percentage of them tend to congregate at prestige colleges where college presidents lack the courage to deal with it doesn't change my view.</p>
<p>Try this thread.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=159778%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=159778</a></p>
<p>Honestly, I've seen the worst alcohol related behavior from students who have waited to drink until they turned 21.</p>
<p>The entire set of articles and papers can be found at <a href="http://www.casacolumbia.org%5B/url%5D">www.casacolumbia.org</a></p>
<p>NEW STUDY IN ARCHIVES OF PEDIATRICS AND ADOLESCENT MEDICINE AND CASA* REPORT REVEAL: UNDERAGE DRINKERS, ALCOHOLICS AND ALCOHOL ABUSERS CONSUME BETWEEN 37.5 AND 48.8 PERCENT OF ALCOHOL SOLD </p>
<p>MORE THAN A QUARTER OF UNDERAGE DRINKERS MEET CLINICAL CRITERIA FOR ALCOHOL ABUSE OR DEPENDENCE</p>
<p>THREE FORMER SURGEONS GENERAL, BETTY FORD, CALIFANO CALL FOR FEDERAL REGULATION OF ALCOHOL INDUSTRYS ADVERTISING AND MARKETING PRACTICES</p>
<p>New York, NY, May 1, 2006 Underage drinkers and adult pathological drinkers (those that meet the clinical DSM*-IV criteria for alcohol abuse or addiction) consume between 37.5 percent and 48.8 percent of the value of all alcohol sold in the United States, according to an article in the May 1 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (APAM). </p>
<p>This groundbreaking study, The Commercial Value of Underage Drinking and Adult Abusive and Dependent Drinking to the Alcohol Industry, conducted by researchers at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, finds that underage drinkers and adult pathological drinkers account for at least $48.3 billion and as much as $62.9 billion in alcohol sales in 2001, the last year for which the necessary data were available. </p>
<p>CASAs related White Paper, The Commercial Value of Underage and Pathological Drinking to the Alcohol Industry, reveals that in 2001 at least $22.5 billion of consumer spending on alcohol came from underage drinking and $25.8 billion came from adult pathological drinking. </p>
<p>Consuming at least $48 billion in beer, wine and liquor, underage and pathological drinkers are the alcohol industrys most valuable customers, said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASAs chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. It is reckless for our society to rely on an industry with such an enormous financial interest in alcohol consumption by children, teens, alcoholics and alcohol abusers to curb such drinking. Self regulation by the alcohol industry is a delusion that ensnares too many children and teens.</p>
<p>The peer-reviewed APAM article and CASA report reveal that 25.9 percent of underage drinkers meet clinical criteria for alcohol abuse and addiction -- more than two and one-half times the 9.6 percent of adult drinkers who meet the criteria for such pathological drinking.</p>
<p>Prior to the CASA study, no research had ever examined the combined commercial value of underage and pathological drinking to the alcohol industry. CASAs investigation discloses that the financial stake of the alcohol industry is in direct conflict with the nations interest in public health.</p>
<p>Former U.S. Surgeons General Julius Richmond (President Carter), Antonia Novello (President George H. W. Bush), and David Satcher (Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush) and former First Lady Betty Ford have joined Califano and CASA in calling for federal regulation of the alcohol industrys advertising and marketing practices. </p>
<p>In a joint statement, the U.S. Surgeons General said, If unchecked, the alcohol industry stands to gain at least one-half trillion dollars in cash revenues over the next decade from consumption by underage and pathological drinkers. The industrys significant financial gains from underage and pathological consumers create a conflict of interest for the alcohol industry. This conflict is so substantial that regulation of advertising and marketing practices solely by the industry cannot be expected to work. </p>
<p>Exposure of young people to alcohol advertising has been shown to increase their drinking, and the earlier a child starts to drink the greater the chance that he or she will become a pathological drinker, said former First Lady Betty Ford. It is imperative to provide effective prevention and treatment services for teens to interrupt their progression to adult pathological drinking.</p>
<p>Other findings in the CASA white paper:</p>
<p>· Alcohol abuse and addiction cost the nation an estimated $220 billion in 2005 more than cancer ($196 billion) and obesity ($133 billion).</p>
<p>· Each day more than 13,000 children and teens take their first drink.</p>
<p>· The 25.9 percent of underage drinkers who are alcoholics and alcohol abusers consume 47.3 percent of alcohol drunk by underage drinkers.</p>
<p>· The 9.6 percent of adult pathological drinkers consume 25 percent of alcohol drunk by adult drinkers. </p>
<p>· Children and teens that begin drinking before age 15 are four times likelier to become alcohol dependent than those who do not drink before age 21.</p>
<p>The CASA report also recommends a public health campaign, education of health care providers, more effective prevention and treatment programs, and insurance coverage for treatment.</p>
<p>It is critical for our nation to put an end to this senseless savagery that alcohol abuse and addiction visit on our children and teens--in deaths from auto accidents and risky sex and alcohol poisoning, rape, murder, suicide and other violence, Califano added, as he urged parents, colleges and the media, as well as alcohol industry executives to accept personal responsibility to help curb underage and pathological drinking.</p>
<p>The current article and White Paper are part of CASAs continuing examination of underage and adult pathological drinking. In February 2003 CASA released a White Paper and CASA researchers published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), both entitled The Economic Value of Underage Drinking and Adult Excessive Drinking to the Alcohol Industry which found that eliminating underage and adult excessive drinking (measured in the study reported in the article as more than two drinks a day, the maximum level recommended for most men by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services) would mean a reduction of at least 50.1 percent of the alcohol consumed in the United States in 1999 or $56.9 billion in consumer expenditures for alcohol. </p>
<p>The APAM article was written by CASA Fellows Susan E. Foster, Vice President and Director of Policy Research and Analysis; Roger Vaughan, DrPH, MS, head of CASAs Substance Abuse Data Analysis Center (SADAC) and Associate Editor for Statistics and Evaluation for the American Journal for Public Health, Associate Clinical Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; William H. Foster, PhD, Interim Dean, Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine and former CASA Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Califano.</p>
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[quote]
I have little problem with underage drinking (or drugging for that matter). Yes, both are illegal - and the biggest threat from both of them is being arrested.</p>
<p>I DO have problems with binge drinking (or drugging), heavy drinking (or drugging),
[/quote]
I think too many kids dont have the maturity to know how to do the former and avoid the latter. They often dont seem that interested in just drinking a small glass of wine with their pizza. Too often they drink to get drunk, which in my view is an abuse of alcohol and an abuse of self.</p>
<p>I am not against drinking, in principle. Just like I am not against guns, in principle. But I dont think either should be casually allowed to exist in the hands of kids.</p>
<p>As for drugs like pot & coke and stuff like that, I am just completely against it. I'm trying to come up with rational reasons for it. For now, I'll just say I am totally against it. I can see wine as a food element. Like all food, its amount needs to be controlled, lest one runs into problems. But pot? No way.</p>
<p>because my parents were relatively laid back about drinking before college (for example let us have a glass of wine with them, give us a drink at a wedding), neither my brother or myself were stunned in college to see drinking- we were prepared (i.e. didnt drink on an empty stomach, drank a lot of water), knew our limits, and partied A LOT without any consequences (besides an occasional headache the next morning). i think that the people who were totally abstinent before college had the biggest challenges adjusting to college parties.</p>
<p>Drinking at 18 is not bad (illegal, but not necessarily bad), drinking at 21 is not bad. Drinking and driving or drinking to get totally passed out drunk is bad at any age!!!
I agree wholehartedly with Colorodomom, I am a social drinker, my husband does not drink at all. Alcohol in itself is not a bad thing. it's the individual choices that turn out badly. I have to hope that I have taught my child enough to allow her to make the right decisions. Drinking goes with the territory at most colleges, some abstain, others do not. I cannot be there to grab a bottle of beer out of her hand, just like I can't be there to watch her cross the street. Hopefully I will have done my job as a parent, so that my daughter will be able to know when enough is enough.</p>
<p>Interesting thread. Up to this point I have not given my 17 year old any type of alcoholic beverage because I thought that it would send a bad message. I do know some parents let their son have the occasional glass of wine or beer. I'm wondering if I made the wrong decision. Is he going to go crazy with it in college? His whole experience I believe is maybe 1/2 a beer snuck in by a friend. He mostly hangs out with his girlfriend who doesn't dink. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>chammom, my suggestion - talk to him. Ask him. Maybe lighten up a bit as a result of that conversation, but just start talking about alcohol, illegality, binge drinking. If he sees you're approachable about the issue, the "overdoing it because of repression" may not occur at all.</p>
<p>"Is he going to go crazy with it in college? His whole experience I believe is maybe 1/2 a beer snuck in by a friend. He mostly hangs out with his girlfriend who doesn't dink. Any thoughts?"</p>
<p>Statistically, delaying age of first use is the single most effective way to prevent future alcohol and drug problems. I don't know whether there are studies of delay on potential binge drinking behavior at colleges, and so much of it has to do with WHICH college, and what subculture within those colleges. Again, 20-30% of all colleges students are total abstainers, and the majority of the rest don't binge drink. Those numbers just don't hold true at some of the prestige colleges or flagship state u's.</p>
<p>I think you've done just fine. Just make sure communication is open.</p>
<p>Chammom - talk about drinking with your son. Educate yourself and then him about the huge role heavy drinking plays in college life, and about the substantial number of kids who never drink. Delay of drinking does statistically reduce the rate of alcoholism - I think it works the same for tobacco addiction, too. Being open, but not encouraging of drinking, I think helps produce healthy attitudes about alcohol as well. Total repression and denial - "don't do it because i said so" - seems to be what leads to the overboard behavior. As Mini points out - communication is key!</p>
<p>Individuals who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who do not drink before age 21, and the odds of lifetime alcohol dependence are reduced by 14% with each increasing year of age at first use. (Grant & Dawson, 1998). In 2001, 47% of 12-20 year olds reported they were current binge drinkers; 30% reported binge drinking in the past month. (CDC). It has dropped somewhat since then, though it doesn't seem to have at the prestige schools.</p>
<p>You're doing just fine!</p>
<p>I think the statistics don't apply well to college students. The only study I have seen of post college drinking found no connection between future alcoholics and bingers in college.</p>
<p>Actually there are multiple studies of this, and they all seem to find about the same: about 1/3 (or a little less) will become alcoholics in the next 10 years, about 1/3 (or a little more) will become heavy drinkers (but not alcoholics), and about 1/3 will become moderate drinkers or abstainers. Who becomes which is likely mostly a matter of genetics.</p>
<p>These numbers are not as high as they might seem on their face. Remember, 20-30% of college students are total abstainers. Not many future alcoholics among them (though there are some). So virtually all of the future alcoholics have to come from the remaining 70-80%. It stands to reason that they are more likely to come from the "heavy drinkers" (though not necessarily the occasional bingers.)</p>
<p>I'm actually reviewing data as we speak. Nationally, underage drinkers ages 12-20 (not necessarily in college, obviously) consume 18.1% of all drinks, with an average of 35.2 drinks per month. Underage patholological drinkers (abusers and dependent) consume 8.5% of all drinks, and average 64.3 drinks per month. This is very close to the adult average of pathological drinkers of 66.4 drinks per month. The point being that the pattern of heavy adult drinking is set early, which is why the industry aims at those under 21. Of the $128.6 billion spent on alcohol in 2001, the cash value of underage drinking was $22.5 billion, or 17.5% of the total. But the key is that most industry profits come from pathological drinking among adults, and the best way to ensure future profits is to support pathological drinking among youth.</p>
<p>I run a pretty tight ship, so I expect my son is looking forward to spreading his wings a bit in college, which is ok and to be expected. I guess I could only hope that I have given him the right foundation for him to make his own decisions. I remember that my own mother was very strict, and I was very rebellious. Yet when I found myself in a bad situation I remember very clearly saying to myself "I wasn't raised this way" and walking away. I could only hope that my son has been absorbing the values I have tried to convey, and when the time comes, those values wil kick in.</p>
<p>i work with alcoholics- most dont start having significant issues until their 30s.</p>
<p>Median age for treatment admission for alcohol in our state system is 35, though it usually reflects a 20-year history of "significant issues". For other drugs, younger (except methadone treatment for heroin or synthetic opiates, which is 38, and ageing).</p>
<p>Remember that the number of 18-21 year old college students is limited; the average college age is 24.5. So hard-drinking 18-21 year olds in college (especially residential ones) are a subset of a subset of a subset.</p>