It’s not rare to hear sensational stories about college parties and binge drinking. It makes you wonder if booze riddled nights, substance abuse and sex are common for college students. While the jury is still out on the latter, some new evidence clearly shows that alcohol may indeed be a problem for the average student. Every four out of five students drink alcohol, which translates to about 80%. Then again, just that information alone doesn’t necessarily indicate that there’s a binge drinking issue, right? Think again, because half, or 50% of college students that drink, consume their alcohol through binge drinking.
To put the numbers into something you can better visualize, there were 21.6 million students total enrolled in college during Fall of 2012. Out of that number, 17 million students drink alcohol. To break that down even further, 8.5 million college students binge drink which is more than the entire population of the state of Virginia.
Binge drinking has dire consequences especially under prolonged circumstances. Approximately 25% of college students report that their drinking causes them to miss classes, fall behind with projects, perform poorly on exams or papers and receive lower grades. The list doesn’t just stop there however, because there are more than just academic consequences for abusing alcohol. 1,825 students between the ages of 18 and 24 die every year from alcohol related injuries. More than 97,000 students in the same age range are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or rape. 690,000 students of the same age are assaulted or attacked by another student that has been drinking.
On campus crime has even increased due to alcohol abuse. About 5% of college students are involved with the police or campus security as a result of their drinking, and 110,000 students every year are arrested for an alcohol related violation.
If you think those stats are crazy, just take a look at how much is spent on alcohol. In 2011, $163 billion was spent on alcohol in America. For every $100 Americans spend, $1 of that goes to alcohol alone. To compare, the average college student spends $500 per year on alcohol, or $50 a month. That’s a lot of money going to waste anyway you look at it! No wonder students are having a difficult time paying for their college tuition.
All of this aside, it’s clear that alcohol has become a glaring issue for the average student. More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol related health problem due to substance abuse. Mental instability comes along with that, as 1.2-1.5% of students indicate that they have tried to commit suicide within the past year because of drinking or drug use.
You’ll find all of this infographic and more in the video below! The more everyone knows about the growing issue the better so please feel free to share and pass on this information!
Did you find this infographic interesting? If so, share it with your friends and family to help raise awareness about college drinking.