Leadership Exchange

Binge Drinking Tied to Campus Environment

Heavy alcohol use, or binge drinking, among college students in the U.S. is tied to conditions in the college environment, according to the landmark Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, a survey of more than 50,000 students at 120 colleges from 1993 to 2001. In a new review that examines findings from the study and their implications, researchers conclude that heavy drinking behavior of students was more common in college environments that have strong drinking cultures, few alcohol control policies on campus or in the surrounding communities, weak enforcement of existing policies, and easier accessibility to alcohol through low prices, heavy marketing, and special promotions.

While some students chose to enroll in a college because it has a party reputation, research found that campuses that emphasize intercollegiate athletics and fraternity and sorority activities have higher levels of binge drinking. Students who lived off campus with friends or in other unsupervised settings were also more likely to binge drink.

On the other hand, colleges that restricted use by banning alcohol on campus or offering substance-free housing

options had fewer drinkers and, as a result, lower binge drinking levels. State and local government can also play a role. Students who attended colleges in states with stronger alcohol control policies were less likely to be binge drinkers.

Science Daily, July 14, 2008

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Window View Beats TV

for Stress Relief

After a bad day at the office we are more likely to flip on a nature channel than find a flower-filled meadow or sunny beach to lower our stress. But if you can’t head outdoors, you might want to at least have a look. A report in June’s Journal of Environmental Psychology says televised nature is no match for a good old window. In the study, University of Washington researchers had students perform a series of challenging mental tests. They hooked each student up to a heart monitor to record higher heart rates caused by the stress of completing the assignments. Some students worked in an office with a view of the university’s tree-filled grounds. Others watched a live camera feed of the exact same view on a plasma screen TV. Both groups stole glances a similar number of times, but window-gazing students looked longer and were quicker to lower their stressed-out heart rates. In a time of obesity and nature deficit disorders, the researchers say, it is important to remember that your television may be a window to the world, but it’s no substitute for the real deal.