Drinking Responsibly: A Lifestyle Challenge on Campus

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.,publishing as Benjamin Cummings

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Michael HallMichael Hall

1212Drinking Drinking

Responsibly:Responsibly:A Lifestyle A Lifestyle

Challenge on Challenge on CampusCampus

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

Objectives

• Summarize the alcohol use patterns of college students, and discuss overall trends in consumption.

• Explain the physiological and behavioral effects of alcohol.

• Explain the symptoms and causes of alcoholism, its cost to society, its and effects on the family.

• Explain the treatment of alcoholism, including the family’s role, and varied treatment methods.


Alcohol and College Students

• Approximately 85% of college students consume alcohol

• 1/3 of college students are heavy drinkers

• College drinkers spend more on alcoholic beverages than on soft drinks and textbooks combined


Table 12.1 The Frequency and Effects of Binge Drinking among College Students

Table 12.1


Binge Drinking and College Students

• Binge drinking – 5 drinks in a row for men, 4 drinks in a row for women on a single occasion

• According to the Harvard School of Public Health, 2001:

• 44.8% of students were binge drinkers

• 22.8% were frequent drinkers (binge drink 3 or more times in a 2-week period)

• Frequent binge drinkers are 16 times more likely to miss class, 8 times more likely to get behind in their school work


Table 12.2 Psychological and Physical Effects of Various Blood-Alcohol Concentration Levels

Table 12.2


Figure 12.1 Alcoholic Beverages and Their Alcohol Equivalencies

Figure 12.1


The Chemical Makeup of Alcohol

• Ethyl alcohol or ethanol – the intoxicating substance

• Fermentation – yeast organisms break down plant sugars, yielding ethanol and carbon dioxide

• Distillation – alcohol vapors from the fermented mash are collected and mixed with water

• Proof – the measure of percentage of alcohol; the alcohol percentage is 50% of the given proof:

• 100 proof vodka is 50% alcohol by volume


Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

• BAC – the ratio of alcohol to total blood volume

• Despite individual differences, alcohol produces some general behavioral effects depending on BAC

• Learned behavioral tolerance – person learns to modify their behavior to appear sober despite a high BAC


Absorption and Metabolism

• Alcohol molecules are sufficiently small and fat-soluble to be absorbed throughout the entire gastrointestinal system

• Factors that influence how quickly body absorbs alcohol:

• Alcohol concentration in beverage

• Amount of alcohol consumed

• Amount of food in stomach

• Pylorspasm

• Mood


Alcohol Poisoning

• Death from alcohol poisoning can be caused by central nervous system and respiratory depression or inhalation of vomit or fluid into the lungs

• The amount of alcohol that causes someone to “pass out” is dangerously close to the “lethal dose”

• Signs of alcohol poisoning:

• Unable to be aroused

• Weak, rapid pulse

• Unusual or irregular breathing pattern

• Cool, damp, pale, bluish skin


Women and Alcohol

• Women have different body fat composition than men

• Women have half the amount of alcohol hydrogenase, the enzyme that breaks down alcohol; if a woman and a man drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman will have a BAC that is 30% higher


Table 12.3 Calculation of Estimated Blood Alcohol Concentration for Women and Men

Table 12.3.1


Table 12.3 Calculation of Estimated Blood Alcohol Concentration for Women and Men (continued)

Table 12.3.2


Immediate Effects

• The primary action of alcohol is to depress the central nervous system

• Diuretic – results in fluid being drawn out of cerebrospinal fluid and leads to mitochondrial dehydration

• Alcohol irritates the gastrointestinal system

• Hangover

• Congeners – forms of alcohol that are metabolized slower than ethanol and more toxic

• Drug interactions


Table 12.4 Drugs and Alcohol: Actions and Interactions

Table 12.4


Long-Term Effects

• Effects on the nervous system

• Cardiovascular effects• Antithrombotic effect

• Liver disease – alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis

• Cancer

• Irritant to gastrointestinal system

• Inflammation of the pancreas

• Block absorption of calcium

• Interferes with immunity


Alcohol and Pregnancy

• Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) – alcohol consumed during the first trimester may affect organ development, alcohol consumed during the last trimester may affect the central nervous system development

• Fetal alcohol effects (FAE) – children with a history of prenatal alcohol exposure but with fewer than the full physical or behavioral symptoms of FAS


Drinking And Driving

• Approximately 41% of traffic fatalities in 2002 were alcohol related

• According to the College Alcohol Study, 20% of nonbingers, 43% of occasional bingers, and 59% of frequent bingers reported driving while intoxicated


Figure 12.2 Percentage of Fatally Injured Passenger Vehicle Drivers with BACs >0.10 Percent, by Driver Age

Figure 12.2


Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

• Alcohol abuse – interferes with work, school, or social and family relationships or entails any violation of the law

• Alcoholism – when personal and health problems related to alcohol use are severe and stopping alcohol consumption results in withdrawal symptoms


The Causes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

• Biological and family factors:

• Type 1 alcoholics – drinkers that had at least one parent of either sex that was a problem drinker

• Type 2 alcoholics – seen in males only, biological sons of alcoholic fathers

• Social and cultural factors:

• Social pressure

• Family attitude toward drinking


Effects of Alcoholism on the Family

• Children in alcoholic dysfunctional families generally assume at least one of the following roles:

• Family hero

• Scapegoat

• Lost child

• Mascot


Costs to Society

• Half of all traffic accidents are attributable to alcohol

• In1998, alcohol related costs to society were $184.6 billion when health insurance, criminal justice costs, treatment costs, and lost productivity were factored in

• Responsible for 25% of nation’s medical costs and lost earnings

• 50% of all child abuse cases are the result of alcohol-related problems


Women and Alcoholism

• Trend is for women, especially college-age women to drink more heavily

• Some studies suggest that there are almost as many female as male alcoholics

• Women get addicted faster with less alcohol

• Female alcoholics have death rates 50–100% higher than male alcoholics


Recovery

• The family’s role

• Treatment programs:

• Private treatment facilities

• Family therapy, individual therapy, and group therapy

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

• Al-Anon

• Alateen


Relapse

• Approximately 60% of alcoholics relapse within the first three months of treatment

• A comprehensive approach is needed – drug therapy, group support, family therapy, and personal counseling designed to improve living and coping skills is usually the most effective course of treatment

Documents

Drinking Responsibly: A Lifestyle Challenge on Campus