Students Cite Having Fun, Peer Pressure and Campus Culture as Leading Reasons for Heavy Drinking
Students Cite Having Fun, Peer Pressure and Campus Culture as Leading Reasons for
Heavy Drinking
- Ottawa, August 16, 2018 — In a new report released by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and
Addiction (CCSA), post-secondary students express their thoughts on binge drinking. Heavy Episodic
Drinking among Post-secondary Students: Influencing Factors and Implications provides student
views on heavy drinking and the major factors for participating in it, and addresses possible
solutions and alternatives.
Binge or heavy drinking, referred to technically as heavy episodic drinking, poses serious health and
safety risks. Young adults, particularly post-secondary students, are more susceptible to these risks.
However, student participants in the focus groups upon which this report is based generally did not
recognize their drinking behaviours as harmful.
This study demonstrates the extreme nature of binge drinking and its risks for students. It explores
high-risk drinking consequences such as alcohol-induced blackouts and non-consensual sexual
encounters, and drinking to cope with other issues such as stress and anxiety. Students also
discussed how their experiences with alcohol changed over time as they learned to understand and
manage their limits.
Key findings and recommendations
The frequently reported causes for participating in binge drinking include:
The campus culture of drinking to socialize, have fun and be with friends;
Peer pressure to keep up with others’ drinking through various activities, including drinking
games and buying rounds of drinks; and
Boredom and having nothing else to do.
The students also proposed solutions to help curb participation in such behaviour. Their
recommendations include:
Educating students early and often about alcohol;
Normalizing moderate drinking as a part of everyday life rather than condemning it;
Finding fun alternatives for students in the evening rather than spending time at bars and clubs;
and
Eliminating risky behaviour through smart practices such as:
• Bringing a set amount of money to a bar or club, or a set amount of alcohol for pre-drinking
occasions;
• Asking friends to monitor or stop their drinking after a specified amount; and
• Consuming non-alcoholic drinks during drinking occasions.
The technical report, a report at a glance and a separate document of recommendations are
available on the CCSA website