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Using Social Media to Identify Problem Drinkers in College
Excessive alcohol consumption and underage drinking are serious ongoing concerns in colleges and universities throughout the United States. Personal and social harms associated with these drinking patterns include accidental injuries and deaths, physical and sexual assaults, suicide attempts, drunk driving and involvement in unsafe sex. Unfortunately, health officials at colleges and universities often encounter difficulty when trying to identify and counsel students at risk for alcohol-related problems. According to the results of a study published in 2011 in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, displays of drinking-related behaviors on publicly viewable social media profiles act as clear indicators of problematic alcohol consumption in college-age populations. Regular reviews of these public profiles may give health officials a new tool to identify at-risk students.
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Are Addicts Able to Choose Not to Use?
The biggest question surrounding drug and alcohol use has been who or what is to blame for the disease of addiction. Were the drugs themselves responsible, possessing qualities that made it impossible for people to resist them? Or were certain individuals simply weak, engaging in self-destructive behavior because they enjoyed it and didn’t really want to stop?
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Alcohol in Movies Leads Teens to Drink, Study Finds
Product placement in movies can range from overt to subtle. While some products, such as a particular brand of car featured in a movie, can simply influence which vehicle a person chooses, other placements have a more important influence.
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Links Between ADHD and Substance Abuse
ADHD is the common abbreviation for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which typically begins in childhood and sometimes continues into adulthood. People with the disorder exhibit varying degrees of impulsive or hyperactive behavior and/or an inability to stay focused and maintain attention. A variety of modern studies have linked childhood ADHD with increased risks for substance abuse in both adolescence and adulthood, as well as increased risks for smoking. ADHD-affected individuals with either of two childhood conditions-conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder-have especially high risks for later participation in both substance abuse and smoking.
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Health Effects of Energy Drinks
Energy drink is a general term used to describe a relatively new group of beverages marketed as energy or stamina boosters, athletic performance enhancers, concentration enhancers or weight loss aids. These beverages typically contain high levels of the stimulant drug caffeine, as well as sweeteners and a variety of other secondary ingredients. Young children and teenagers make up a large percentage of the energy drink market in the US, and people this age generally have a higher level of caffeine sensitivity than adults. In the last several years, public health officials have started to take notice of the potentially dangerous or deadly effects of energy drinks, especially among young people.
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College Students’ Perceptions of Alcohol and Drug Use
College campuses are a common site for drug and alcohol experimentation. For many, the increased freedoms experienced translate to many aspects of life, from academic responsibilities to lifestyle choices. Many view that freedom as extending to the use of alcohol and illegal drugs.
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Study Finds College Students Engage in Bad Habits, Females More so Than Males
Adolescence and the years of young adulthood are typically carefree and sometimes a bit haphazard. But what many young people often don’t see is that decisions made in youth often have consequences that follow into the later years.
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Smoking in Addition to Drinking Linked to More Severe Hangover Symptoms
Following a night of heavy drinking, the drinker is rarely the only one to pay a price. Safety at work, the ability to perform well on the job or in school and relationships are all jeopardized by the after-effects of too much alcohol. Of, course, the drinker themselves does often suffer painfully.
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Leaving Home and Binge Drinking: Study Looks at Student Stress and Alcohol
The likelihood of college students to try binge drinking may be connected to the methods they have in place for dealing with stressful situations.
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Policing Substance Abuse on College Campuses
College campuses may be centers of learning, research, intellectual activity, and many positive things, but they are also frequently places where substances are abused at a disproportionately high rate. Studies have shown that college and university students will binge drink and consume both legal and illegal drugs at a higher rate than their peers who do not attend institutes of higher education. The structure of college campus communities contributes to this reality, and can also pose challenges when it comes to policing this kind of behavior.
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