New SAMHSA Report: Full-Time College Students Drink More But Smoke Cigarettes Less Than Other Young Adults
09/01/2016
Findings Can Help Shape Campus Substance Use Prevention Efforts
Recently, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a report that offers critical insight into how full-time college students (ages 18 to 22) differ from others their age in their use of, and attitudes toward, various substances. The report becomes increasingly relevant as many colleges and universities begin the new school year.
According to the report, full-time college students are far more likely to be current (past-month) alcohol drinkers than others their age (59.8 percent versus 51.5 percent, respectively), and more likely to engage in past-month binge drinking (37.9 percent versus 33.5 percent).
On the other hand, the report shows that people in this age group who are not full-time college students are far more likely than full-time college students to be current cigarette smokers (32.6 percent versus 17.9 percent). But use levels of other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, LSD, and heroin are nearly identical among full-time college students and their non-college counterparts.
The study also finds that full-time college students have different perceptions of risk regarding certain substances compared to others their age. For example, they are significantly more likely to perceive a great risk of harm from heavy cigarette use than non-full-time college students (72.5 percent versus 62.7 percent). They are also more likely than non-full-time college students to perceive a great risk of harm from daily binge drinking (63.9 percent versus 55.3 percent).
However, full-time students are less likely than others in their age group to perceive a great risk of harm from using cocaine monthly (59 percent versus 64.3 percent), trying heroin once or twice (76.6 percent versus 80.3 percent), and trying LSD once or twice (49.6 percent versus 58 percent). There are no significant differences between the two groups’ perceptions of great risk of harm from weekly marijuana use or weekly binge drinking.
This school year, many colleges and universities will welcome new students into campus life by holding Communities Talk: Town Hall Meetings to Prevent Underage Drinking events. Individuals planning these activities can take advantage of the following helpful resources:
- The College Alcohol Intervention Matrix helps college and university officials choose the best prevention intervention for their campus community.
- A recent blog post from Fran Harding, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, shares tips for what works in helping students make healthy decisions.
- SAMHSA’s School and Campus Health information offers data and proven prevention actions.
For the full SAMHSA report, visit www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2418/ShortReport-2418.html.
The following resources provide national overviews of college student drinking and underage drinking.
- The College Student Drinking Fact Sheet provides statistics on alcohol use consequences, alcohol use prevention programs, and binge and heavy drinking (including a gender breakdown).
- The Underage Drinking Fact Sheet is an overview of underage alcohol use and the overall health and safety risks, including data on underage drinking by adolescents and young adults and a breakdown by gender and racial/ethnic group.