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How drugs and alcohol effect college students during their academic study
Thesis Statement
Drugs are a part of the society, they have existed in it for decades, and have affected its
inhabitants, including college students, permissible ones such as alcohol have had catastrophic
impacts since they are legal, and thus they are silent unavoidable killers as noted in the sources
outlined in the subsequent sections.
Overview
Substance abuse is an ongoing problem in the current world. Ranging from abuse of
banned substances, medical drugs such as opioids, and legalized options such as alcohol, the
options targeted at college students are endless. The pressure at college compounds this issue as
these students battle multiple deadlines, hard assignments, peer pressure, and teenage zipping
hormones. The effects of these drugs include derailment in education goals, complex health
issues such as cancer, and a denial of skills to society as its talented youth are distracted, and
their lives wasted.
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Effect of mental illness
1. Research has found that abuse of prescription drugs, and alcohol among college students
results in mental health issues, when these individuals are not accorded the appropriate
medical care.
2. Studies have further found that this affects the female gender more than the male. A
specific study that attests to these result is the paper written by Lo, Monge, Howell, &
Cheng (Lo, Monge, Howell, & Cheng).
Effect on emotional intelligence
1. Emotional intelligence is the ability for someone to judge, and understand emotions
properly, and respond to them appropriately.
2. In a study conducted by Manoj Sharma, relationships between tobacco, marijuana,
alcohol, and emotional intelligence were investigated. The specific elements of emotional
intelligence analyzed were understating, utilization, and regulation of emotions. Tests
such as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test were used to determine the relevant
facts. The study found that the student’s emotional intelligence levels were direct
innovations of their substance abuse problems.
The peer effects
1. Peer pressure is the push from agemates, and company that often influence the behavior
of college students.
2. In a study conducted by Duncan, Boisjoly, Kremer, Levy & Eccles it was found that
when males who admitted to binge drinking in high school were placed in the same room
with other male students who practiced the same, they drank more. This effect was not
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observed in females selected for the experiment (Duncan, Boisjoly, Kremer, Levy &
Eccles).
Prevalence
Studies have shown that of the drugs available in colleges, alcohol is the most abused,
with 2 out of 5 American college students being heavy drinkers. This trend is observed more in
male students than in their female counterparts. However, students who drank in high school,
and never graduated to college have a lesser degree of increased alcohol drinking than their
college counterparts (O’Malley, & Johnston). This is a wake-up call for colleges in their efforts
to reduce drinking in their attendees.
Contribution by individual differences
Studies have also found that the individual characteristics of a student have a significant
effect on their decision to use illicit drugs. Use of legal drugs often exacerbates the situation as
well. A study conducted on Turkish students revealed that factor such as self-esteem, parental
level, smoking, and alcohol abuse were likely culprits in inducing students to engage in illicit
drug abuse (Ayvasik, & Sumer).
Persistence
Studies have demonstrated that drug use does not stop at college. It often persists even as
these young adults proceed into later years of their lives. In addition, these drugs, apart from
leaving a significant negative academic dent, they go on to affect these individuals negatively
health wise (Arria, Caldeira, Allen, Begbee). It is therefore important that students are educated
on these issues, and counseled by universities on the appropriate mode of operation while on
campus.
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Works Cited
Lo, C. C., Monge, A. N., Howell, R. J., & Cheng, T. C. The Role of Mental Illness in Alcohol
Abuse and Prescription Drug Misuse: a gender-specific analysis of college students.
(2013). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45(1), 39-47.
Manoj Sharma, M. B. B. S. The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Abuse of
Alcohol, Marijuana, and Tobacco Among College Students. (2012). Journal of Alcohol
and
Drug Education, 56(1), 8.
Duncan, G., Boisjoly, J., Kremer, M., Levy, D. & Eccles, J. Peer Effects in Drug Use and
Sex Among College Students (2005). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(3), 375385
O’Malley, P. & Johnston, L. Epidemiology of Alcohol and Other Drug Use among
American College Students. (2002). Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 14, 23-39
Ayvasik, H. & Sumer, H. Individual Differences as Predictors of Illicit Drug Use
Among Turkish College Students. (2010). The Journal of Psychology, 144(6), 489–50
Arria, A., Caldeira, K., Allen, H., Begbee, B. et al. Prevalence and incidence of drug use
among college students: an 8-year longitudinal analysis. (2017). The American Journal of
Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 43(6), 711-71