Discuss patterns of alcohol consumption. Be sure to include at least one of the findings from the 1995 – 2003 research study conducted from American colleges

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The estimated annual per capita consumption of pure alcohol for adults in the United States is approximately 2.3 gallons. This level of consumption amounts to about three-fourths of an ounce per day.16 How many alcoholic drinks does this estimated daily amount add up to? To answer this question, it is important first to consider the amount of pure alcohol that is contained in each of four basic types of alcoholic beverages
Single half-ounce of alcohol when drinking any of the following alcoholic beverages:

One 5-ounce glass of wine One 12-ounce bottle or can of beer
One 12-ounce bottle of wine cooler One shot (1.5-ounce size) of 80-proof liquor

The epidemic of gin drinking in England during the first half of the eighteenth century illustrates how destructive the introduction of a potent and easily available psychoactive drug into an urban society already suffering from social dislocation and instability can be. The consequences
in many ways mirrored the introduction of crack cocaine into the ghettos of the United States during the 1980s.Based on these equivalencies, 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 44 percent of college students report having engaged in binge drinking during the two weeks prior to the administration of the survey—41 percent of the women and 49 percent of the men. About one in five students abstains from alcohol, whereas one in four is a frequent binge drinker. About half of college students (48 percent) report that drinking to get drunk is an important reason for drinking. Three students in ten (29 percent) report being intoxicated three or more times in a month.
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,
failing behind on course assignments, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. One in five students report that, while intoxicated, they engaged in unplanned sexual activity or engaged in unprotected sex. One in three students report that they had done something they regretted while intoxicated. The surveys have also shed light on the negative
impact of alcohol consumption among college students on nondrinkers (defined as either abstainers or nonbinge drinkers).