U.Va. Students: Is Everybody

Drinking?

Department of Student HealthCenter for Alcohol & Substance Education

The purpose of this presentation: Address the perceived and actual norms of

student behaviors around several health issues

Briefly review policies, state law & emergency guidelines

Provide you with an overview of the educational programs we provide

Why do we care about college students’ alcohol use?

We used to think that adolescents were impulsive and risk takers due to hormones…

and that alcohol abuse was just a harmless rite of passage.

We now know the brain continues to develop into adulthood (up to about age 25) and undergoes dramatic changes during adolescence…

The brain develops at different rates

The parts of the adolescent brain which develop first control physical coordination, emotion and motivation.

The part of the brain which controls reasoning and impulses - the Prefrontal Cortex - develops last and does not fully mature until the age of 25 (on average).

Compared to older adults, the brains of young adults (under the age of 25) respond differently to alcohol

Source: H Scott Swartzwelder, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University. Research supported by NIAAA and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

More sensitive to memory impairment (harder to learn new information)

Easier to drink to impairment without realizing it (don’t realize they are making poor choices)

Faster development of tolerance (needing more alcohol to get the same effect)

Less sensitive to sedative effects(young adults stay awake longer, which allows them to drink more)

May be more vulnerable to long-term damage

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/87033E59-822F-4491-B0B5-F08C7C955588/0/NIAAA_Brain_Fact_Sheet_508.pdf

Problem drinking and biology

A family history of alcoholism/drug abuse puts students at a 4 times greater risk of developing an alcohol/drug problem.

Help your son/daughter make informed choices based on their genetic risk.

Have/continue conversations about any family history of substance abuse.

Alcohol abuse that occurs while the brain is still developing, even into the early 20s, may have “profound and long-lasting consequences.”

Source: National Institute on Drug Abusehttp://www.nida.nih.gov/scienceofaddiction/addiction.html

IS U.VA. A

PARTY

SCHOOL???

What’s the norm for drinking at UVA?

Drinking Behaviors of U.Va. First-Year Students

*2010 Health Promotion Survey

> 1 year ago2%

Over 1/3 of 1st years (37%) don’t drink (but many students incorrectly believe that everyone drinks)

Of 100 U.Va. students on a Saturday night…

About 3131 people are consuming no alcohol.

About 3333 people are drinking moderately -

1 to 3 drinks over the course of the evening.

About 19 19 people are drinking a bit more -

4 or 5 drinks over the course of the evening.

About 1717 people are drinking heavily-

6 or more drinks over the course of the evening

*2010 Health Promotion Survey

Alcohol energy drinks Alcohol mixed with energy drinks can be

dangerous They generally have higher alcohol

concentrations than beer and are packaged in larger cans. As a result, a single 23.5 oz. alcohol energy drink at

12% alcohol is the equivalent of drinking a 6 pack of beer (at 4% alcohol)

Marijuana use by U.Va. students

Most students have never used marijuana

2010 Health Promotion Survey

Tobacco Use by U.Va. Students

Never61%

In past month

18%

In last 12 months

14%

>12 months ago7%

*2010 Health Promotion Survey

82% don’t use tobacco (4 out of 5)

U.Va. student abuse of prescription stimulant drugs (i.e., Ritalin, Adderall, etc. that were not prescribed to them or used for purposes other than intended)

4.54

2.7 3 32 2.3

87

5.1

8.1

6.86.1

4.9

0123456789

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

past month past year

UVA Health Behaviors Survey (2004-2009) & Health Promotion Survey, 2010

perc

en

t

Motives for Abuse of Prescription Stimulants – National College Student Data

60 60

30

010

20

30

40

50

60

7080

90

100

Help with studying Help withconcentration

To get high

% r

espo

ndin

g

Sources: Teeter et. al., 2006; White et. al., 2006

Prescription Stimulant Abuse Over half of students w/ prescription stimulants

for ADHD were asked to share/sell pills About 1/3 of these students did share/sell their meds

in the past year

72% of students who abuse ADHD drugs got them for FREE

Sources: Thomas et al., 2008; McCabe et al., in preparation; Arria et al., 2008

ADHD Medications If you have a prescription for ADHD drugs, think

about: Who to tell you have ADHD meds How to handle requests to give/sell your meds

If you think you need these meds to study, consider evaluation for attention difficulties at Student Health’s Learning Needs Evaluation Center

What is a norm? Norms are the unspoken social rules that we all

follow in our public behavior and often in our private beliefs.

Because they are unspoken, norms can often be misperceived. People try to figure out the norms of the groups they

want to belong to, and then they act that way. If a person is misperceiving the norms of a certain

group, they'll act that way anyway, because they want to be accepted as a part of that group.

Reality

UVA and national research have shown that most students overestimate the extent of heavy drinking by other students.

In reality, heavy drinking is not as prevalent as most students think.

Students also underestimate the prevalence of protective behaviors, things like preventing a friend from driving after drinking.

So students falsely believe that their peers are reluctant to intervene in dangerous situations.

Why does this matter?

► Even if you don’t agree with the misperceived norm, if you think everyone else does, it can influence your behaviors.

► If no one challenges the misperception, the distance between reality and the misperception grows

► When we correct misperceptions, healthy behaviors increase.

Promoting the True Norms One of the ways we promote the true norms is

through the Stall Street Journal series.

When we give students more accurate information about their peers’ behaviors, we increase the healthy behaviors.

The students saw a summer version in the Hereford bathrooms.

Stall Seat Journal

www.Gordie.org

Leslie Baltz (1976-1997)Leslie died as a result of an alcohol-related fall during her 4th year at U.Va.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)

All new students receive one of these gender-

specific, wallet-sized

cards

This poster is placed in all residence halls

Selected U.Va. Alcohol

Policies

Emergency Room Procedures

UVA medical personnel DO NOT notify police or U.Va. administrators when a student is seen in the ER for an alcohol related incident.

Parents or guardians are NOT notified without student permission unless a situation is deemed life threatening or the student is under the age of 18.

Any 911 call from Grounds WILL result in automatic University Police response.

◦ The officer’s primary emphasis is to provide assistance and see that the student receives emergency care.

◦ On occasion, police follow up and investigation will take place only in exceptional circumstances.

◦ There will be follow up from the Dean on Call or AC.◦There is no charge for the rescue squad to respond

Parental Notification Policy(pages 75-76 in the 2010 Handbook for Parents)

Applies when:A student is arrested for a drug- or alcohol-related

violation while the student is a dependent (for federal tax purposes) Violations include, but are not limited to, DUI, public

drunkenness, underage possession, and unauthorized possession of controlled substances.

There is a pattern of behavior or a severe incident involving the use of alcohol or other drugs while the student is a dependent (for federal tax purposes) Includes, but not limited to, frequent or severe episodes of

drug use, drunkenness and/or hazardous drinking

Selected Commonwealth of Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control

(ABC) laws

(See pages 75-76 in the

2010 Handbook for Parents)

Underage alcohol consumption/possession/purchase*

Class 1 misdemeanor Mandatory minimum $500 fine

(max. of $2,500) or 50 hours of community service

Mandatory driver’s license suspension - 6 month minimum, 1 year max.

Possible jail sentence: up to 1 year

*COV 4.1-305 http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+4.1-305

Purchasing, giving, providing, or assisting in providing alcohol to person under 21

Class 1 misdemeanor Possible fine up to $2,500 Possible jail sentence: up to 1 year Mandatory driver’s license suspension

for up to 1 year

*COV 4.1-306 http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+4.1-306

Using or possessing a fake IDUsing a fake ID

Class 1 misdemeanorMandatory minimum $500 fine (max. of

$2,500) or 50 hours of community service Mandatory driver’s license suspension - 6

month minimum, 1 year max.Possible jail sentence: up to 1 year

Possessing a fake IDClass 2 misdemeanor

Possible jail sentence: up to 6 months Possible fine: up to $1,000.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-204.2

University of VirginiaAlcohol and Other Drug

Education Efforts

Alcohol-Wise online education program for U.Va. first-years

One hour program, divided into four sessions

Throughout the program, provides personalized feedback on student’s behaviors

First-years will receive log in information by email approximately two weeks before move-in day

Parents will also receive log in information by email so they can preview the program

The yellow cab program was used

more than 4,200 times in 2009-10.

If students find themselves without a safe way home for any reason (not just alcohol-related) They can call the Yellow Cab Company and show

their U.Va. ID to charge the fare to their student accounts

AADAPTDAPT

Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Team

Student Athlete Mentors (SAM)

U.Va. Peer Education

Peer Health Educators

ADAPT

Hoos Sober Listserv Provides a weekly email of non-alcohol focused

events at U.Va. Coordinated by ADAPT peer educators Over 1,400 students registered

Hoos in Recovery

An association of over 80 University undergraduate and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni in recovery from alcoholism or addiction who provide a non-judgmental, non-critical, anonymous forum for discussion.

First meeting:

Wednesday, Sept. 1 @ noon

HoosInRecovery@virginia.edu

U.Va. Resources Department of Student Health

Gordie Center for Alcohol & Substance Education (CASE) – virginia.edu/case Office of Health Promotion Counseling and Psychological Services

Rick Heisterman - Substance Abuse Clinician

Office of the Dean of Students Residence Life Fraternity & Sorority Life

University Police Women’s Center Office of African American Affairs

Project RISE peer counselors Parent e-newsletters and Web site www.virginia.edu/parents

Students: Preparing for U.Va. Know that many students don’t drink and

among those who do, most drink moderately (1-3 drinks)

Prepare in advance how you will handle situations where you may be offered alcohol Say you don’t drink Fill your cup with water or soda. Hold the cup all night but don’t drink it!

Intervene with your friends when needed

Parents: Your continued role Students trust you

Initiate conversations

Clear expectations

Avoid scare tactics

Reinforce U.Va. norms

Repeat the message