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</p>
<p><a href=“http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/main.asp[/url]”>http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/main.asp</a></p>
<p>It occurs to me that this is an area where CC could be extremely helpful. If, as mini says, certain standardized data about drinking patterns is available at every school, but you have to ask for it, someone could start at thread and parents could post the information that they get from the three or four schools each of them asks. Over a couple of months, we could assemble a pretty broad collective database that would be useful for comparisons among schools.</p>
<p>Edad–I’m late to this thread, but I wanted you to know that I did get that your post was satire…</p>
<p>(But I still don’t get why that Jonathan Swift guy thinks it’s okay to eat Irish babies.) 
<<—note helpful smiley. :)</p>
<p>“certain standardized data about drinking patterns is available at every school.”</p>
<p>Right. :D</p>
<p>A book pertinent to this thread is “Smashed” by Koren Zailckas. This autobiographical book focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on Zailckas’s drinking in college. Many of the alcohol-related events and details are frightening, such as an X-Files-like scene in which Zailckas awakens at home, in her own bed, and unexpectedly discovers that she is wearing a hospital gown.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Smashed-Drunken-Girlhood-Koren-Zailckas/dp/B000FKP9VU/sr=1-1/qid=1170257963/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8340530-7763323?ie=UTF8&s=books[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Smashed-Drunken-Girlhood-Koren-Zailckas/dp/B000FKP9VU/sr=1-1/qid=1170257963/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8340530-7763323?ie=UTF8&s=books</a></p>
<p>mini:</p>
<p>Can you briefly summarize what is known statistically or otherwise about the relationship between home environment and binge-drinking?</p>
<p>Penn State Drinking for March 2006
http:<a href=“http://www.sa.psu.edu/sara/pulse/140-StudentDrinking.pdf[/url]”>www.sa.psu.edu/sara/pulse/140-StudentDrinking.pdf</a></p>
<p>There are a few websites that have a lot of information, general statistics/fact sheets, studies on drinking, alcohol education resources, etc. (NIAAA, collegedrinkingprevention.gov are a couple I am familiar with). Below is a link to one paper that discusses some of the personality factors of college students that drink although I suspect there’s lots more out there:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/SupportingResearch/Journal/baer.aspx[/url]”>http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/SupportingResearch/Journal/baer.aspx</a></p>
<p>“Can you briefly summarize what is known statistically or otherwise about the relationship between home environment and binge-drinking?”</p>
<p>Not a lot is known, though we have lots of evidence-based prevention programs for middle schoolers and high schoolers that focus on the home environment. But they are directed at drinking generally, not binge drinking, and not at college binge drinking. </p>
<p>More is known about heavy drinking (near-daily, or bingeing 3-4 times a week), and the progression to alcoholism. Let’s be clear: college binge drinking is not tied directly alcoholism; drinking itself is (and heavy drinking in particular).</p>
<p>We do know that age of first use is closely associated with future alcohol dependence. A youth who starts drinking at 14 is four times more likely to become alcohol dependent than on who starts at 20. But that is an association, not necessarily a correlation. A 14-year-old who starts drinking might be more likely to have alcoholic parents, have easier access to alcohol, or have drinking role models.</p>
<p>As for college binge drinking, I think I’ve summed up campus environments where it is more likely. Among the individual characteristics (as opposed to the environmental ones) are race (whites are twice as likely to be binge drinkers as African Americans, and substantially more likely than Asians or Hispanics); male; non-religious; and wealthier than average. One would think there is a higher genetic predisposition, but while we know that is true for heavy drinkers and for those who are alcohol dependent, we don’t (yet) have evidence that this is true for college binge drinkers.</p>
<p>Link from the collegepreventiondrinking.gov website to various college policies on drinking:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/policies/default.aspx[/url]”>http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/policies/default.aspx</a></p>
<p>Brochure for parents which lists factors to look at when visiting or choosing colleges, similar to what mini and others have suggested:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/parentBrochure.aspx[/url]”>http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/NIAAACollegeMaterials/parentBrochure.aspx</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at fraternity/sorority percentages for some of the universities/LAC’s which have been mentioned as having a drinking culture, and I am a little confused by what I’m seeing. </p>
<p>While some of the numbers are fairly obvious, there are others that are not so clear to me. There is no Greek presence at some institutions; affiliation at others is equally divided between sororities/fraternities but composed of less than 1/2 of the student body; at others sororities seem to be more popular than fraternities (does that make a difference?). </p>
<p>Accounting for school size, is there an easy way to tell from just the numbers the prevalence of Greek life on those campuses with a Greek presence?</p>
<p>Half of the student body would be a huge greek presence, dominating the social scene.</p>
<p>With respect to other ways to identify schools with or without a strong drinking culture, one (less than reliable) resource is the Princeton Review rankings for party schools and non-party schools; they list the top 20 schools at either end of the spectrum for various subcategories. However, most of the listed “party” schools share many of the characteristics noted earlier.</p>
<p>From Carelton’s Alcohol Policy document:</p>
<p>“At Carleton during the 2004 school year statistics were recorded showing that 45-48% of all Carleton students were binge drinkers .”</p>
<p>That’s slightly above national averages. If I were considering Carleton, that’s in a range where I’d want to take a closer look. It’s not off-the-charts, but it’s high enough to suggest that the drinking culture might be pretty widespread. They had an eight day stretch in 2004 with eight students transported to the hospital for alcohol poisoning and seem to average maybe as many as one per weekend.</p>
<p>* at others sororities seem to be more popular than fraternities (does that make a difference?).*</p>
<p>not necessarily
Men have actually been reducing their rate of binging- while overall still higher than women- but more women are participating in this dubious behavior.</p>
<p><a href=“http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blcas000314.htm[/url]”>http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blcas000314.htm</a></p>
<p>Also, many schools have more women attending than men, which might tend to make the sorority population larger than the fraternity population without making sororities necessarily more popular.</p>
<p>“That’s slightly above national averages. If I were considering Carleton, that’s in a range where I’d want to take a closer look. It’s not off-the-charts, but it’s high enough to suggest that the drinking culture might be pretty widespread. They had an eight day stretch in 2004 with eight students transported to the hospital for alcohol poisoning and seem to average maybe as many as one per weekend.”</p>
<p>Here at Georgetown I can say with certainty that there are multiple students admitted to the hospital for alcohol poisoning each weekend.</p>
<p>"Penn State Drinking for March 2006
http:<a href=“http://www.sa.psu.edu/sara/pulse/140...ntDrinking.pdf[/url]”>http://www.sa.psu.edu/sara/pulse/140...ntDrinking.pdf</a></p>
<p>Yeah, the Penn State numbers are nothing short of astounding, about as high as I’ve ever seen (especially given that we know they are underestimates.) But they have every single on the characteristics of high bingeing schools.</p>
<p>Carleton has many of the characteristics, but not all. They lack big spectator sport participation and fraternities (I think?).</p>
<p>I’ve always thought of the fraternity/sorority critical mass as being around 25-30%, but I imagine it varies from campus-to-campus, so take that with two heaping fi<em>s</em>t<em>f</em>u*ls of salt.</p>
<p>Grinnell quote a binge drinking rate of 39% in a 2003 article.</p>
<p>They had the following number of alcohol hospital transports:</p>
<p>2000-01 – 21
2001-02 – 6
2002-03 – 15 (thru April)</p>
<p>A 2005 article said they average 7-10 alcohol transports per year.</p>
<p>The binge drinking rate is moderately low – below average. The hospital transports seem a little high, but that depends on whether or not there is a 24/7 health facility. </p>
<p>Swarthmore typically has 0 to 3 transports per year, but that does not include students who “sleep it off” in the campus health center (the nurses will typically keep students there overnight as long as they can walk under their own power, transport if they can’t).</p>
<p>Which shows you much difference “campus culture” and administration can make. There you have two colleges - Grinnell and Carleton - virtually interchangeable in student bodies, both in rural midwestern locations, both without fraternities, both without big athletic scenes. There are smallish demographic differences. But one with binge data actually well below average and one a bit above.</p>
<p>The difference (from what I can tell) is that Grinnell has a very proactive alcohol-related effort on campus over the past five years. They share the data regularly with the student body, focus on social marketing campaigns, hold community forums. The college pres. has been regularly engaged. In short, they show by their actions that they care.</p>
<p>Perfect? Not by a longshot. But it belies the notion that nothing can be done, and that kids will be kids, and that all the schools are the same, and that it’s hopeless anyway.</p>