Q:Our daughter has been attending university for the past three years. For the most part, she is doing well there. I am, however, concerned about her drinking when she is on campus.
She goes out only occasionally, but when she does, she has six or seven stiff drinks and usually gets intoxicated. When I try to talk to her about it, she becomes impatient with me and says, “well, it’s not like I’m an alcoholic or anything like that.”
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She thinks that I am overreacting, as does my wife. What do you think?
A:It’s called binge drinking and, yes, it can be dangerous.
Probably about 70 percent of all university students have engaged in binge drinking during their time on campus and about half of those who binge drink do so weekly.
The intent of binge drinking is to get intoxicated. For guys, this takes about five standard drinks. For girls, it takes four or more.
Binge drinking is not limited to university students, but given that your concern is about your daughter studying on campus, I will confine the following comments to people who are roughly her age.
Binge drinking is serious and can lead to any number of problems.
In college, binge drinkers are known to be accident prone. They are, for example, more inclined to drive an automobile while intoxicated than are others who have been drinking.
This is frightening. Remember, 20 to 30 percent of all automobile accidents are alcohol related. A binge drinker behind the wheel of a car is vulnerable to mishaps.
Intoxicated binge drinkers who are not driving are easily irritated. Most of the violence young people find at the door of their favourite pub is alcohol related.
Binge drinkers also put their physical health at risk.
Drinking too much in a short period of time depresses nerves that control bodily functions such as breathing and gag reflexes. When people vomit, which is what binge drinkers often do, they may choke on the vomit and struggle with asphyxiation. It has been known to kill young people. As well, binge drinking can build within a person a solid foundation for continued alcohol abuse and addiction.
Your daughter may not be an alcoholic now, but the probability of her becoming one goes up should she continue to binge drink.
Your local addictions counsellor will likely identify for you other problems associated with binge drinking. You would do well to have a chat with her. Perhaps your wife, and even your daughter, will join in your discussions.
Your daughter, as a university student, is an independent adult and capable of making up her own mind about whether she is to continue drinking. However, alcohol abuse is a family problem and she is more likely to resolve her binge drinking when all of you are supporting her.
Jacklin Andrews is a family counsellor from Saskatchewan. Contact: jandrews@producer.com.
