One more drink: The impacts of college student binge drinking and the effectiveness of alcohol education and enforcement

Abstract

Binge drinking is defined as “a pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% … or more” (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA], 2023, p. 1). To address a research gap related to the effectiveness of efforts to combat binge drinking among college students, this mixed-methods study obtained statistics and current enforcement and educational initiative information from university student affairs and police leaders at 13 four-year institutions in a large State University System in the Midwest, as well as any unique circumstances and major influences on their respective institutions’ alcohol culture. The findings of this study did not show a statistically significant impact of alcohol enforcement or educational intervention efforts on the measured college students’ binge drinking-related consequences—citations, hospitalizations/detoxifications, and deaths—or a statistically significant impact of medical amnesty policies on hospitalizations/detoxifications and deaths. To assist with consistently measuring future data, it is recommended that higher education leaders standardize data collection practices in these areas with peer institutions. Future researchers should also attempt to obtain student perspectives of these initiatives to assist with determining what level(s) of tolerance, amnesty, education, and enforcement are meeting the evolving needs of today’s students.