Literature Review of three primary-source scholarly

Research On Drinking And Drug Use

Among Young Individuals

Substance Abuse Among College Students

Binge drinking and drug use are very common among young adults including college students . As a matter of fact , young people are also facing dire consequences of substance abuse with falling grades , drunken driving accidents , sexual harassment , and violence . Unsurprisingly society views this as a serious problem , and psychologists are trying to understand substance abuse among young adults before they can hope to provide help to the individuals concerned . This effort on the part of researchers

is based on the premises that we cannot solve a problem before we understand the nature of the problem . Hence , Melanie E Bennett , Joseph E . Miller , and W . Gill Woodall (1999 ) published their study on substance abuse to expand researchers ' knowledge on the subject in question

Through this study , the researchers sought to examine the patterns and correlates of drinking , binge drinking , underage drinking , and substance-related negative consequences over a period of three years The study allowed for an examination of changes in use patterns over the specified period of time . Moreover , the researchers sought to compare Hispanic , non-Hispanic white and other students on drinking patterns as well as the patterns of consequences . Finally , the researchers sought to examine the effects of illicit drug use as well as alcohol use on drinking patterns and consequences . The researchers had hypothesized that with students consuming a

RESEARCH ON DRINKING AND DRUG USE AMONG YOUNG INDIVIDUALS Page 2

greater number of substances , their problem patterns of drinking would increase . In addition , students who use greater number of substances would experience more substance-related negative consequences

This study used the survey method to collect data . Students from a large , southwestern university in the United States were surveyed These students included minority correspondents . Furthermore , the survey was repeated over a course of three years

The results of this study revealed , once again , that drinking underage drinking , and binge drinking are common among college students However , all students did not suffer because of drinking . Instead , the amount of trouble caused by drinking is directly related to the frequency of alcohol use . Further , the research revealed that there are , indeed , ethnic differences with regards to drinking among college students . Hispanic students reported more binge drinking , while non-Hispanic , nonwhite students reported higher rates of abstinence Finally , the researchers found that drug use in combination with alcohol increases the likelihood of problem drinking behavior and also the negative consequences of substance abuse

These results give direction to campus programs against substance abuse . Now that colleges know the kinds of students who may display high-risk patterns of drinking , they can target these students via campus programs against substance abuse . What is more , campus programs may now be made to focus more on drug use , given that it is drug use in combination with alcohol use that gives rise to greater problems

All the same , this research also has limitations that future studies may seek to avoid . The present study used a...