1. Policy Brief Fact Sheet:
Binge Drinking in Undergraduate Students
Issue:In 2012, 24.6 percent of people ages 18 or older in the United States reported recently engaging in binge
drinking.1
Binge drinking is a pattern of drinking to intoxication. It quickly brings blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men2
College students
have higher binge drinking rates and a higher incidence of drunk driving than their non-college peers.3
Roughly 40
percent of college students report binge drinking.1 University of California Davis (UCD) reports 57.9 percent of
undergraduate students drink and 28.9 percent report recent binge drinking.4 College students put themselves and
others at risk when they binge drink. Binge drinking results in a wide range of individual consequences including
injuries, altercations, car crashes, blackouts, low grades, unprotected and/or nonconsensual intercourse, overdoses
and death. Secondhand effects of binge drinking place the community at risk and include injury, assault, vandalism
and disrupted sleep or studying.5
Introduction:
Alcohol is a part of many celebrations.
Drinking is emblematic of college life.
College students are more likely to
binge drink. The University of
California system recruits the top 9
percent of California high school’s best
and brightest minds. UCD students and
those around them have a lot to lose
from binge drinking. Students who have
pushed themselves to be the best may
consider drinking another competition
examples include Witness 21 for 21
(drinking 21 shots on a 21st birthday) or
the Century Club (consuming 100 shots
of beer in 100 minutes) beer. Students
who drink with the objective of getting
drunk are more likely to experience
negative consequences than students
who don’t binge drink.6
The Consequence of Binge Drinking Each Year
Among College Students
 Driving Drunk: over 3 million drive while under the influence 7
 Unsafe sex: 400, 000 have unsafe sex of which 100,000 can’t be
sure it was consensual7
 Sexual Abuse: 97,000 are sexually abused while under the
influence7
 Assault: by someone under the influence 696,000 students7
 Injury: 599,000 are unintentionally injured7
 Death: 1825 deaths7
 Binge drinkers report spending less time studying and less time
in class than non-binge drinkers8
 Binge drinkers report more cognitive problems, sleep
disturbances and difficulty with concentration8
 Heavy drinking is a predictor for not reenrolling next term9
Understanding Why
It is the perfect storm. There is an anticipation to drink at college. Drinking is a rite of passage. Developmentally
college students are at an age associated with risk taking and experimentation at a time when they have reduced
interaction with adults. Peers become more important. They want to fit in socially. UCD student focus groups say that
it's not just acceptable to drink; it's expected.10
Students have more unstructured time and few responsibilities.
Students bring behaviors learned in high school. Half of all college binge drinkers engage in binge drinking before
they arrive on campus.11
UCD is a highly competitive campus. Roughly half of the students seen at the UCD campus'
Counseling Center are there for anxiety, some students turn to alcohol to cope.10
Widespread availability of alcohol
and inconsistent enforcement of underage drinking laws permit drinking. Drink specials like the Wickiwackywoo at
Bar Bernardo in downtown Davis and placing ping-pong balls next to the beer in the grocery store target college
students and promote heavy drinking.

2. The information presented in this health policy brief fact sheet was
assembled by Kim Petersen, RN, MSN student
School of Nursing, California State University Sacramento
References
1. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2014). Alcohol facts and statisitic. Retrieved on 09/14/2016, from
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics
2. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2014). Drinking levels defined. Retrieved on 09/14/2014 from
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-your-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking
3. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2013). College drinking. Retrieved on 09/24/2014 from
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/CollegeFactSheet/CollegeFactSheet.pdf
4. American College Health Association.(2013). University of California Davis Undergraduates Executive Summary Spring 2013.
Retrieved 09/16/2014, from http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA-
II_ReferenceGroup_ExecutiveSummary_Spring2013.pdf
5. White, A., & Hingson,R. (2013). The burden of alcohol use: Excessive alcohol consumption and related consequences among
college students. Alcohol Research & Health, 35(2), 201-21.
6. Boekeloo, B.O., Novik, M.G., & Bush, E. (2011). Drinking to get drunk among incoming freshmen college students. American
Journal Health Education,42(2), 88-95. doi: 10.1080/19325037.2011.10599176
7. Hingson, R.W., Zha, W., & Weitzman, E.R. (2009). Magnitude of and trends in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity among
U.S. college students ages 18-24, 1998-2005. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs Supplement,(16), 12-20.
8. Arria, A., M.,Caldeira, K., M., Bugbee, B., A., Vincent, K., B., & O’Grady, K., E. (2013). The academic opportunity costs of
substance use during college: A brief report from the Center on Young Adult Health and Development. Retrieved from
http://www.cls.umd.edu/docs/AcadOppCosts.pdf
9. Martinez, J., A., & Wood, P., K.. (2008). Is heavy drinking really associated with attrition from college? The alcohol–attrition
paradox. Psychology of Addictive Behavior,22(3), 450-456. doi: doi:10.1037/0893-164X.22.3.450
10. Bachman, T. (2000). Wasted. UC Davis Magazine 18.
11. Weitzman, E., .R., Nelson, T., .F., & Wechler, H. (2003). Taking up binge drinking in college: The influences of person,social
group, and environment. Journal of Adolescent Health, 32, 26-35
12. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2013). Results from the 2012 national survey on drug use and
health: Summary of national findings. Retrieved from
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/nsduh/2012summnatfinddettables/nationalfindings/nsduhresults2012.htm#ch3.1.6
13. Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems. (2013). Reducing alcohol use and related problems
among college students:A guide to best practices. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public
Health.
Policyrecommendations
Campus culture, alcohol policies, enforcement, access
and availability all need to be taken into consideration
to reduce binge drinking and its negative consequences
among college students. Policy should be written to
detect problems, control the environment and enforce
existing laws.
Detection
Educate, screen, identify and intervene 19 percent of
college students between 18-24 meet criteria for
alcohol abuse but only 5 percent seek treatment. About
16 percent will require intensive intervention.12
Examples include mandatory online alcohol education
for freshman, universal screening of freshman at
orientation to determine those at high risk, alcohol
education to increase awareness of risks of heavy
drinking and routine screening at student health center.
Control the environment
Environment can change behavior. Regulate alcohol
pricing, time available and size of containers. Limit the
number of places where alcohol can be purchased and the
proximity to campus. Create an alcohol free campus. There
is a correlation between cost and consumption.1
Enforcement
Clearly communicated and uniformly enforced alcohol
policies on and off campus. Everyone must believe they
will be caught and punished when alcohol is sold or served
illegally. Notify parents of underage alcohol infraction.
Advertise sobriety checkpoints. Party patrol foot officers
who make their presence known, know what is happening
on the street and enforce drinking laws.
Policyimplications
Alcohol problems that develop early in life are predictive
of later alcohol related problems. Successful interventions
that prevent or reduce heavy drinking while students are in
college will reduce the chance of adverse consequences in
young adults and will also have important long-term
effects as the young adult grows into adulthood and have
children of their own.