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.
