Sunday, October 9, 2011

TylerFred Exploratory Essay

“Mommy, why I can’t I see Daddy?” an innocent confused child would ask his mother. “Because it just isn’t safe right now honey” is how she would casually respond. This was a reoccurring conversation I had with my mother throughout my childhood. I never understand what truly was going on until I grew older and learned more about my family’s history. Alcoholism is a disease that runs rampant in my family. All four of my grandparents suffered from it and my father and brother still struggle with it today. Luckily as of right now I have shown no signs or symptoms of being an alcoholic but coming into college where drinking is so prevalent I couldn’t help but wonder, is binge drinking and the progression of alcoholism linked? Also, seeing this sudden burst of binge from high school to college made me wonder, what motives drive the college drinking craze?
Binge drink is defined as “heavy episodic alcohol use” (Leppel 519), which basically means consuming large amounts of alcohol in a relatively short time frame. But how much alcohol has to be consumed for it to be considered “heavy alcohol use”? The Center for Disease Control stated, “heavy drinking is typically defined as consuming an average of more than two drinks a day” (“Alcohol and Public Health”). I have a problem with that definition. For me, a 150-pound male, consuming two drinks in thirty minutes would give me a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of only .046% (“Blood Alcohol Calculator”). If I was twenty-one years old, I would still be able to drive in the state of Ohio seeing as the legal limit to drive is a BAC of .08% (“Blood Alcohol Calculator”). If I am still able to legally operate heavy machinery then I would not classify two beers as heavy drinking. Karen Leppel also found that “while there were significant fluctuations in binging by high school students and young adults not enrolled in college, college binge drinking remained stable and at a high level” (Leppel 520). My general understanding of this data was that the relationship between binge drinking in high school students and high school graduates not attending college wasn’t necessarily very high or very low and is consistently changing while binge drinking in college remains very prominent and rarely fluctuates. This idea coincides with my initial thought but I did not factor in young adults out of high school that are not in college.  After continuing my reading I found this statistic stating “Over 40% of college students have been found to engage in… binge drinking” (Leppel 519). My primary thought was that this statistic was a bit low. The first weekend I was at Ohio University the streets were flooded with people stumbling and blocking the streets. Now my perception may be marginally skewed seeing how OU is the number one party and other college campuses may not be this nonchalant about public intoxication.
It is clearly evident that a large percentage of college students do engage in consuming excessive quantities of alcohol, but what exactly is the driving purpose for the alcohol abuse? At first I was thinking it might just be the excitement of being on your own and having freedom. Drinking is so easy to get away with when you are not worried about your parents waiting for you as soon as you walk in the door, but as I researched, I found several more motives I had not given any thought to. One obscure reason I discovered was based on the amount of time on spends at a particular campus. Karen Leppel states that “students at four year institutions have a greater investment in the college culture. They are therefore more likely to binge than students at a two year school” (Leppel 521). Now this sounded acceptable to me the first time I read it but once I let it fester in my mind I thought of a minor flaw. If somebody goes away to a four year school, there is a good possibility that they are leaving their group of friends behind, while someone attending a two school would most likely be living at home and still have a large number of close friends still around. Now personally, I feel much more comfortable drinking with people I am more comfortable with as opposed to those that I am not nearly as close too. This might vary from person to person but I believe this fact that Karen Leppel is presenting is not completely valid. One particular reason for why some students choose to drink that really stuck out to me touched on the fact that they are two different cultures in reference to family life and college life. The first culture was called the “Traditional Culture”, their family, friends, teachers and community. This “Traditional Culture” focuses on more socially accepted goals like studying and getting good grades as opposed to drinking (Leppel 520). However, once students leave for college, they no longer have such close ties to their “Traditional Culture”, but are instead surrounded by a “Second Culture”, being Fraternities/Sororities and new college students looking to party (Leppel 520). This “Second Culture” encourages drinking (Leppel 520). They push others to join into the party atmosphere. I have never really thought about this idea before but it makes a lot of sense. Every time I talk with my mom she always pushes the idea “Studies come first. Be safe”. She has never said “Be sure drink a few me honey!”, but whenever I would go out when I got to Ohio University all the frat houses would have open doors, just inviting random people in. Typically I would see a group of attractive girls inside so I would poke my head in and somebody there would offer me a free drink. This “Second Culture” really does encourage consumption. They make it seem fun. Brandie Pugh, a twenty-two year old who attended Ohio University was quoted saying “It’s about the effects. It’s about the lowered inhibitions” (Jayson). She drank because she liked the way it made her feel which I believe is the same reason many people choose to drink. It makes you feel good. However, for some people drinking isn’t just for the sensations. I found that social anxiety seems to be another large factor in some college student’s decision to drink heavily. “Socially anxious people tend to believe they are undesirable to others…and that their own actions will lead to embarrassment and social rejection” (Tennen 600). Coming to college is a scary thing for a lot of people, especially when they’re surrounded by thousands of new faces they don’t recognize. Being in this new environment allows people to reinvent their identity. They no longer have to be remembered as the weird girl who peed her pants in the fifth grade. It’s a fresh start. I can see how the burden to make good impressions and not be rejected could weigh heavy on someone’s mind. Now I am absolutely positive that this is not the case for all college students. There is probably a decent amount of college students that are fairly secure with the person they truly are by the time they reach college. The article goes on to say, “social anxiety should be positively related to alcohol use because alcohol reduces anxiety which, in turn, reinforces drinking in similar situations” (Tennen 601). Drinking helps these people feel better about themselves. They no longer are afraid of not being accepted so alcohol becomes their crutch they use to overcome their anxiety. If somebody needed alcohol to operate in a social situation, would that be considered alcoholism?
                An alcoholic is defined as someone who is dependent on alcohol (“National Institute…”). This can include “strong cravings or urges to drink, not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun, or withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking” (“National Institute…”). Alcoholism is a disease and it makes those suffering from it desire alcohol just like they desire food and water (“National Institute…”). I know my father was very dependent on alcohol. He did not just drink for the fun of it, he needed it to survive. The first time he tried quitting his body completely shut down. His withdrawal symptoms were so body that his respiratory system completely stopped functioning and he had to be hospitalized for two weeks.. He eventually got treatment and has sober for seven years. All the information I found about alcoholism stated, “the risk for developing alcoholism does indeed run in families” (“National Institute…”). I know for certain that alcoholism does run in my family, so drinking any amounts of alcohol could be detrimental for my future.  I found no solid information proving or disproving that binge drinking could lead to being an alcoholic. However, I feel that after what I read on those with socially anxieties using alcohol as a crutch that it certainly is possible for individuals without the genetic background of alcoholism to become dependent on alcohol. 

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