At one point, colleges used to be considered a protective factor against developing substance use disorders, but that has since changed. In the past few decades, substance use is now one of the most widespread health problems on college campuses. A recent study reported that up to 39% of college students engage in binge drinking. It also has been reported that a possible reason for this is that drinking, use of nonmedical Adderall, and other substance have become more of a normative acceptance. This article discusses the trends and risk factors for substance use among college students and treatment/prevention strategies.
There are risk factors such as mental health, family history of substance disorder, and more but, that are so many additional risk factors that come with being a college student. Peer influence is a big risk factor for many colleges student, especially for first-year students. Fraternities and sororities have some of the highest rates of substance use on college campuses. It also is reported that members of those organizations also suffer more negative consequences from substance use than compared to nonmember students. Fraternity members are at an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder later in adulthood.
One of the things that students in recovery may deal with is the feeling of missing out on their college experience. Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRP) try to help students with this, CRP is a college-based drug and alcohol-free program that provide support and give students a safe social outlet. Only a few studies have been done on these programs but those conducted have found these programs to be a great success. One study reported that 87.5% of CRP alumni had no relapse after graduation. Another study done at Texas Tech University reported that of the 80 students enrolled in CRP, 82.5% have a GPA higher than 2.75, and almost half of the students planned on obtaining professional degrees after undergrad. Colleges are continuing to face challenges around substance use, this article ends by listing many great recommendations for colleges to take moving forwards. These recommendations could help so many college students around the nation in so many ways.
Takeaway: College students face many additional risk factors when it comes to developing substance use disorder. Collegiate Recovery Programs have been a very successful options to help students in their recovery process.
Welsh, Justine W., et al. “Substance Use among College Students.” FOCUS, 11 Apr. 2019.