Students Double Their Drinking when Studying Abroad
A new study by researchers from the Department of Psychology at University of Washington has found that college students are likely to double their alcoholic intake when studying abroad. Furthermore, those who pursue the travel opportunity with the intention of drinking more heavily are likely to return home consuming alcohol at a higher rate than their pre-trip drinking levels. Although the study touches upon a commonly assumed perception about study abroad students, there is no prior empirical evidence to document the occurrence of this trend and its related risks.
Lead researcher Eric Pedersen and colleagues conducted a longitudinal study involving 177 college students set to study abroad in foreign countries. The students were asked to report their demographics, drinking behavior, and perceived peer drinking behavior one month prior to their departure, and again one month before they were scheduled to return home from their trip.
Overall, the researchers’ data revealed that students more than doubled their alcoholic intake while studying abroad, raising their alcohol consumption rate from an average of four beverages per week to eight drinks per week while abroad. While most students returned to their normal alcohol consumption rates once they returned home, those who consumed the most alcohol while abroad exhibited sustained elevated consumption levels after their trip that exceeded their pre-departure levels.
The researchers found that students’ likelihood to increase their alcohol consumption rate was influenced by such factors as traveling with peers they considered to have higher drinking rates, self-reported intentions of drinking more heavily while abroad, the location to which they traveled, and being under the U.S. legal drinking age. In fact, those who were under the U.S. legal drinking age were likely to drink three times their normal rate while abroad, compared to students age 21 and older who had doubled their drinking rate. This data indicates that traveling underage students take most advantage of the lax laws regarding alcohol sales and consumption in foreign countries, which may put them at an increased risk of alcohol-related injuries. Additionally, those who traveled to locations in Europe and Oceania had greater alcohol consumption rates than their counterparts who traveled to Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, or Africa.
The researchers’ study has been published in the current issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
Based on the findings of their study, the authors advise officials of study abroad programs to target those students who are at highest risk of alcohol use problems or injuries, such as underage students and those with preexisting high levels of alcohol consumption, and develop pre-departure prevention strategies. Effective outreach could help prevent these students from experiencing alcohol-related consequences both during their trip and after they have returned home. The researchers also suggested that further research is needed to identify how changes in traveling students’ drinking behavior affect their risk of alcohol-related injuries while abroad.
Being far from home and parental supervision, and near relaxed drinking laws and increased drinking environments, many students consider the opportunity of studying abroad as a way to engage in reckless drinking behavior without the harsh consequences they would otherwise experience at home. However, heavy alcohol use in foreign countries can create various problems including increased health risks, problematic alcohol use, legal issues with foreign governments, encouragement of negative stereotypes regarding American travelers, and disruption of travel plans.
Source: ANI, Study-abroad students increase alcohol consumption, October 11, 2010
