Discuss patterns of alcohol consumption. Be sure to include at least one of the findings from the 1993-2015 research study cited in the text conducted on American colleges.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The estimated annual per capita consumption of pure alcohol for adults in the United States is approximately 2.3 gallons. The average alcohol consumption in the United States can be approximated as about 1.5 "standard drinks" per day. Bear in mind, however, that a "standard drink" may not be the drink you consume, so it is not necessarily the appropriate unit to use when computing your own personal level of alcohol consumption.
Another consideration when looking at statistics based on population averages is the obvious fact that not everyone is "average." There is an enormous disparity in terms of how much alcohol each person actually consumes during a given year. Some people drink no alcohol at all, whereas others drink heavily. Eighty percent of the total amount of alcohol consumed in the United States each year is consumed by only the 30 percent of Americans who drink and only 20 percent of the population in general. 
Overall, approximately 38 percent of college students report having engaged in binge drinking during the two weeks prior to the administration of the survey-37 percent of the women and 39 percent of the men. About one in five students abstains from alcohol, whereas one in four is a frequent binge drinker. 
College students who drank alcohol at some time over the past year frequently report alcohol-related problems while at college. One in four students report that their drinking had a negative impact on their academic performance. Problems included missing a class, falling behind on course assignments, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. Alcohol consumption was also associated with DUIs, injuries, and sexual assaults.