College drinking linked to poor academics and mental health for those around the drinker

It’s well known that alcohol misuse can harm not only drinkers themselves but also those around them. Now, a new report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs shows that, among college students, harms such as lower grades, mental distress and even suicidal thoughts are linked to being exposed to a drinker’s poor behavior.

“We often think of alcohol’s harms as physical or social, but this was the first study to assess academic harms from others’ drinking, like having to drop a class or take on extra work,” says lead researcher Pamela J. Trangenstein, of the Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, CA.

“These harms were relatively rare yet had some of the strongest links to lower college satisfaction, poorer academic performance and worse mental health.”

In their study, Trangenstein and colleagues surveyed 1,822 sophomore and junior college students. The investigators asked about five harms students may have experienced from others’ drinking: being harassed (bothered, called names, insulted), being physically harmed (punched, hit, pushed, shoved), experiencing unwanted sexual contact, experiencing academic harms (decreased academic performance, dropping a class, transferring to another institution), and “babysitting” the drinker (caring for drinkers, cleaning up after them).

The researchers also asked students about their own academic satisfaction and performance and supplied questionnaires to ascertain the students’ mental health status.

Overall, more than one-third of respondents said they had babysat drinkers during the current academic year. Nearly 15% said they had been harassed, and about 5% said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact or been physically assaulted by someone under the influence of alcohol. Three percent reported some form of academic harm.

In the study, different harms were linked to different aspects of academic performance and mental health outcomes. Being harassed was associated with a 43% decreased likelihood of overall satisfaction with college as well as a 74% increased likelihood of suicidal ideation.

Those who were assaulted by drinkers were 58% less likely to have a 3.0 GPA or higher. Students who experienced unwanted sexual contact were almost three times as likely to have signs of depression.

“Colleges should use these findings to partner with policymakers in support of measures like increasing alcohol taxes, limiting alcohol availability and restricting marketing, all of which can help safeguard students’ health and academic success,” says study co-author David H. Jernigan of the Boston University School of Public Health.

He adds that colleges can offer alcohol-free residence halls for those concerned about being exposed to the behavior of drinkers.