For many adults in the United States, ages 18-24 are the years of peak alcohol use, which include traditional college years. A recent study investigated the drinking behaviors of college students and how those behaviors may project into future Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) symptoms. This study surveyed over 300 first year students and continued to collect data from the cohort for their four years of college. Additional surveys were administered during the years following college, and the participants were surveyed a total of 19 times.
These surveys collected data on participants’ daily alcohol use behaviors. The results split the participants into two groups: those who exhibited symptoms of AUD and those who did not. The results showed that the individuals who showed symptoms of AUD began to do so during their first years of college, reporting higher levels of each alcohol related outcome compared to the non-AUD group. Throughout the years of being assessed, the differences in drinking behaviors between the two groups grew apart rather than becoming more similar—that is, those who exhibited symptoms of AUD used alcohol more heavily, while those who did not used alcohol less.
Overall, students who engage in problematic drinking and exhibit symptoms of AUD and those who do not experience different alcohol related consequences. These findings can be linked to other studies that identify students at risk of AUD so that the trajectory of continuing problematic drinking behaviors can be changed.
Take Away: College students who exhibit symptoms of alcohol use disorder begin to do so as early as their first year of college, and continue to do so and face alcohol related consequences post graduation.