Students have always had a reputation for hard drinking and ignoring the consequences under the “YOLO” banner. If it was ever true that students had a lack of concern for alcohol, it’s dead in the watering hole. However, they are certainly aware of alcoholism and its effects. Awareness is high, according to a recent survey of over 1,000 students through prestigious survey organisation YouGov, and students today are more aware of the consequences of poor health choices on their part.
Challenging Stereotypes
The survey revealed that around 25% of those who took part know a fellow student whose relationship with alcohol is a borderline or actual addiction. Despite these concerns which highlighted not just an ongoing problem in the UK, but also that perception of levels of problematic alcohol consumption was lower than expected, came another surprising statistic. 52% of students who answered said that they did not tend to get drunk during a typical week at term time. This flies in the face of the stereotype.
- In most cases, fears about the over-drinking habits of their peers apply to just one (27% of respondents) or two (23% of respondents) peers
- Students today are far more health conscious than students of previous generations. Not only have they cut back on their alcohol consumption, but they also spend far more on fitness too – and that’s a bonus in a time when we are all concerned about the obesity crisis
- They are also far more aware of drug issues. Most felt that binge drinking was a far bigger problem on campus than the use of narcotics
Despite these encouraging signs, there remains a cause for concern. Stresses on modern students cause anxiety and depression. Some may turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
But Alcoholism is on the Rise
It’s not all good news though. Despite the drop in alcohol consumption and rise in health-consciousness amongst students, some statistics stood out demonstrating that there remains an issue of which we need to be aware.
- 32% of respondents in the YouGov survey say they can point to three of their peers with alcohol dependency issues. This is higher than those who could point to just one or two – highlighted in the previous section
- Male students came out higher in identifying issues and knowing somebody with an alcohol problem (31%) compared to females at 22%
- We noted above that 52% did not get drunk in the week during term time, 27% admitted to doing so
Officials for NUS largely welcomed the findings, expressing concern at the number of problems. However, they also praised universities for engaging with responsible drinking programmes on their campuses. Of particular note was the discouragement of alcohol-related events and the banning of initiation ceremonies into certain societies.