Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406080096
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The percentage of college women who drink to get drunk has more than tripled in the last 15 years, putting them more at risk of rape, sexually transmitted diseases and poor grades, addiction researchers reported Tuesday.
"Women are accepting the worst aspects of the macho world," said Joseph Califano, president of the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
The report, issued by the center's Commission on Substance Abuse at Colleges and Universities, found that alcohol abuse is a growing problem on campus. It said that white college men drink more than any other group - averaging nine drinks a week, about twice as much as white women and nearly three times as much as black men.
While college men drink more, the consequences of alcohol abuse are more serious for women, said Califano, a former federal health secretary.
The report found that:
90 percent of all rapes occurred when the victim or the attacker were under the influence of alcohol.
60 percent of college women who acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, had been drinking at the time of infection.
If trends continue, the incidence of AIDS among college women, now one in 700, will surpass the rate for men, now one in 200.
Califano said the physical effects of alcohol can be more detrimental for women because they cannot metabolize alcohol as rapidly as men, but can become addicted more quickly.
The report said the rates of women drinking to get drunk increased from 10 percent in 1977 to 35 percent in 1993, while that of men rose from 20 percent to 40 percent during the same time.
Califano attributed the closing of the gap in alcohol consumption to increasing professional pressures on women and more competition with men. He said that alcohol needs to be de-emphasized on campuses.
"Drinking is not a rite of passage, it's a stumbling block to success," Califano said.
Zuki Karpinska's experiences at Georgetown University echo some of the findings that say women drink as frequently as men on campus.
"They don't drink as much, but they drink as often," the 18-year-old sophomore said. "It's become very acceptable for women to drink. It used to be that people thought only bad women drank."
Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno said most of his team's personal problems involve alcohol. Two players in five years have had to quit the team because they became "outright alcoholics," he said.
Paterno, a commission member, said most of his players who have problems with alcohol are white. "Black student athletes are more conscientious. I'm not sure [why],'' said Paterno.
The report found that alcohol is a factor in about 41 percent of all academic problems and 28 percent of all cases in which students drop out.
Alcohol consumption has a direct correlation to grades, according to the report. Students with "A" averages have 3.6 drinks a week, while those with "D" or "F" averages consume 10.6 drinks a week.
The report also found:
Students living at fraternities and sororities average 15 drinks a week, three times the average of other students.
College students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol each year.
42 percent of students reported that they had more than five drinks at one time in the last two weeks, compared to 33 percent of their noncollege counterparts.
8 percent of students drink an average of 16 drinks or more a week.
The findings came from the final commission report, which was compiled largely from two separate surveys conducted by the Department of Education and Harvard University.
by CNB