Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students

Binge Drinking has been argued to be the number one public health hazard and the primary source of preventable morbidity and mortality for the more than 6 million college students in the United States. Binge drinking often begins in adolescence and continues into young adulthood. Recent estimates indicate that 1 in 5 adolescents and 1 in 2 college students binge drink. Binge drinking has resulted in numerous alcohol-related tragedies, including acute alcohol poisonings, falls, and automobile collisions, and is often associated with other high-risk behaviours. This comprehensive resource contains all of the newest information that is now known about binge drinking and how this type of alcohol consumption (drinking to get drunk) differs from social drinking and chronic drinking and alcoholism. All of the recent research on this topic are included, such as the results from recent animal studies that indicate that binge drinking may be more damaging to an adolescent brain compared to an adult brain and how changes in trends in alcohol consumption (such as mixing energy drinks with alcohol) maybe be exacerbating this behaviour. Finally, recent successful intervention techniques both on the individual level (eg: motivational interviewing in the emergency room) to the institutional level (e.g., programs to reduce binge drinking on college campuses) are described. This book is an excellent resource for any professional who comes in contact with the problems associated with this type of alcohol consumption.