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MADD report
Students overestimate peers' alcohol consumption

By David J. Craig

Excessive drinking has long been considered a rite of passage among college students, but new research suggests that students drink far less alcohol than their peers believe.

Almost 90 percent of college students surveyed recently at 18 colleges and universities by the Education Development Center (EDC) of Newton, Mass., believe other students consume more alcohol when partying than is actually the case.

The study found that while the mean number of drinks consumed each week reported by all students was 4.73, and 3.35 drinks at a party, the mean number of drinks students perceived their peers drink a week was 9.01, and 6.54 at a party. The findings were announced at a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) national news conference at BU on February 28.

The EDC study also found that many students would support tougher alcohol policies at their schools, including prohibition of kegs on campus (58.4 percent), stricter penalties for students who use fake IDs (66.3 percent) or who repeatedly abuse campus alcohol policies (77.1 percent), and making on-campus residences alcohol-free (42.3 percent). In addition, the study found that the number of students who supported such policies was 125 percent higher, on average, than the number of students who perceived their peers would back such policies.

"It is interesting that although there is strong student support for alcohol prevention policies, most students believe there is very little support for such policies," says William DeJong, director of EDC's Social Norms Marketing Research Project. "These data are important because they serve to encourage college and university administrators who wish to implement new alcohol policies but are reluctant for fear of negative student response."

EDC's findings were included in MADD's College Commission Report, a five-step plan announced at the BU news conference to guide the development and enforcement of stricter alcohol policies on American college campuses. The report proposes that a national standard for college alcohol policies be established, that students become involved in alcohol prevention efforts through advocacy training programs and college MADD chapters, and that colleges and community organizations collaboratively form support groups aimed at reducing underage and binge drinking.

While underage drinking is a problem on campuses nationwide -- a 1999 Harvard University study found that 23 percent of U.S. college students binge-drink frequently, up from 20 percent in 1993 -- BU administrators believe the University's efforts to reduce underage drinking should serve as a model for other schools.

Daryl DeLuca, director of BU's Office of Judicial Affairs, says that through substance-free campus activities organized by BU's Wellness Center and Office of Residence Life and through strict enforcement of the University's alcohol policy (see sidebar), BU makes it clear to students that "alcohol does not need to be the focus of any given weekend" at college.

"The University's challenge is to promote to all students events like the Back Bay Ball, the Wellness Center's Spring Break and its other activities, and all the lectures that are on campus every weekend," says DeLuca. "The success of those activities and the increasing participation in student clubs and organizations at BU shows that there is a significant segment of the student population that does not consume alcohol."

In addition, the first college chapter of MADD was established at BU in 1999, and under the direction of Corrie Barnett (SAR'03) disseminates information about alcohol awareness to students.

"BU is not like other schools that look the other way with regard to alcohol," says DeLuca. "If students under 21 are seen with a can of beer, they will be confronted, and if they are found in possession of a large amount of alcohol in a residence hall, it is likely that they will lose their housing. The University's alcohol policy is made clear to incoming students several times, including at summer orientation, before they enroll in a single class."

Read the sidebar "Tough on booze abuse"

30 March 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations