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Abstract
The abuse of alcohol and other drugs by students on American college campuses is not a new phenomenon. Many people consider drinking a normal and integral part of the college experience. Despite this expectation, researchers made headlines again when a nationwide survey revealed that one-third more student drinkers “drank to get drunk” in 1997 (52%) than in 1993 (39%). Before the release of this study, the untimely deaths of two students in Fall 1997 (at Louisiana State University and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) once again elevated the issue of alcohol and other drug abuse to the forefront of college campuses.
Texas A&M University—Kingsville is not immune from the problems that alcohol and other drugs cause on college campuses. Since Fall 1991, the Kingsville campus has been collecting data on the actual use of alcohol and other drugs as well as on the attitudes and perceptions pertaining to these substances. In 1994, an institution-wide alcohol and other drug prevention program was initiated as a result of a U.S. Department of Education Funds for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education grant program. The primary purpose of this study was to analyze patterns of alcohol use within a 7-year period at an Hispanic Serving Institution. A secondary purpose was to determine if a relationship existed between selected demographic and background characteristics and alcohol use.
The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey was used to collect the data. A representative sample of 2,291 surveys was collected using a random selection of classes from 1991 through 1997. The research questions revealed that 81% of students reported using alcohol within the last year and 31% of students reported at least one binge drinking episode in the previous 2 weeks. Furthermore, more males than females are consuming alcohol on the campus. Off-campus students do not report more binge drinking episodes than on-campus students, and the Hispanic students' drinking pattern is similar to the white (non-Hispanic) students. Overall trends in alcohol use have remained fairly stable. Although the perception of binge drinking on campus increased slightly, this perception did not match actual reported drinking patterns.
