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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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Do Tougher Laws Against Parents Really Curb Underage Drinking?
Underage drinking happens all the time, but does placing the parent in jail really solve the problem? That’s the question some parents are asking after a California father was arrested following his teenage son’s party. The man is charged with suspicion of contributing to a minor’s delinquency on 44 counts which could deliver a sentence of a year in jail and a possible fine of $2,500 or more for each count, according to a recent news article.
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College Students More Interested in Messages Geared Toward What They Gain by Not Binge Drinking
When convincing college students not to binge drink, the University of Missouri says a new approach focused on what students have to gain by avoiding the dangerous behavior is more effective than messages aimed at what students have to lose. The findings contradict the negative, loss-based messages many groups have believed would be most effective toward binge drinking.
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Parents Play Important Role in Preventing Teen Binge Drinking
A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has shown that parents who are present and engaged with their children play an important role in preventing their teens from binge drinking. Teens who smoke, stay out late with their friends, and have access to alcohol are at a greater risk of becoming binge drinkers in their late teens.
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Program Designed to Help Young Drinkers Overcome Binge Drinking Tendencies
Binge drinking can be a dangerous habit, and one that a young drinker may develop without realizing it. Now, according to this news release, a Beat Binge Drinking guide has been published and is promoted as the only guide to direct young adults away from binge drinking behaviors.
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DUI Risk on College Campuses Calls for More Visible Deterrents
Preventing loss of life among college students from DUI, whether caused by using alcohol or drugs behind the wheel, continues to be a problem experts say many campuses are failing to adequately address.
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Study Suggests a Lowered Drinking Age Would Not Curb Binge Drinking on College Campuses
For years, individuals engaged in the underage drinking debate have argued that a lowering of the legal consumption age could thwart drinking activities and thus improve health outlooks for young drinkers. A recent study featured in a Science Daily release suggests that lowering the drinking age is unlikely to have a reducing effect on binge drinking among college age people.
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Multi-Tiered Programs Studied to Curb Binge Drinking on College Campuses
A drinking culture on campus is nothing new, yet binge drinking activities put lives at risk. As a result of this heighted risk, colleges and universities are implementing their own programs to try and discourage the activity.
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Family Dinners Can Help Prevent Substance Abuse
It is easy to assume that the traditional family meal in the evening has been set aside for busy schedules, soccer games and after school activities. While busy families still want to be involved, it may be a good idea to see how this involvement interferes with family meal time.
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